April Update

Work is extremely busy with two tax return deadlines; US and Canada.
In the last month since my last blog post I have been given many more complex returns with upwards of 200 tax slips to sift through. This is both challenging and rewarding.

I am looking forward to May 2nd when busy season ends and I can gain a more balanced work-life relationship.

The job environment is fairly high stress but from what I've heard thats the nature of any busy season.

I have seen so many returns pass me that I will only generalize on what I have experienced.

The department I work in is very technical and deals with tax treaties for every taxpayer's returns we process. These come in many forms; from claiming a 401(K) deduction as a non resident of Canada to lower the tax liability for Canada. On the US side, any US citizens holding foreign assets outside of the country need to report them. If they have a Tax Free Savings Account or an RESP the amount of interest gained in the year, even if it is not distributed to the taxpayer has to be claimed on their US tax return as income.

I am dealing with clients daily that have a range of questions and I need to respond in a timely manner.

I also need to keep on top of my time and task list in order to keep it manageable. My task list right now can range from 6 - 30 tax returns on any given day and missing information not submitted by clients is a very common situation and I need to be aware if we have or have not contacted the client to request this information and follow up if we have not heard anything.

E-filing is mandatory this year and it has been interesting to be involved in the transition of the company.  Many of the returns we do are disqualified because of non resident status. However, in the US the Federal return will be disqualified for non resident status but if the taxpayer holds a tax liability in a state it may still need to be E-filed.

Sometimes it is hard keeping all the information and procedures clear so I am constantly referring to our E-filing memos and company wide documents regarding technical positions.

I am amazed at how the long term staff keep their head and seem to have a pleasant attitude in some of these stressful situations. It looks as though the experience of going through annual busy seasons gives them skills to accept and deal with difficult situations.

I hope and believe I am gaining many of these skills right now.

Now I am off to enjoy my precious evening off! I miss you all in Lethbridge very much.