By Melissa Klein Aguilar
Now that another tax season is behind us (or, at the very least, the requests for extensions are filed) CPAs and tax preparers around the country can breathe a sigh of relief and, hopefully, enjoy some well-deserved down-time.
After hearing an anecdote in our office about a Texas CPA who was getting a much-needed post-tax season haircut, I decided to informally poll a few members of the CPA community to find out how they are celebrating the passage of another April 15.
Here's what they told me:
One Los Angeles CPA celebrates every year by going to dinner on April 15 with a bunch of his CPA friends. "Some people might think it's boring, but we find it fun to talk about just-completed war stories, what kind of silly things happened to you, and, as it usually turns out everyone has a story to tell (and that at least let's you know you're not the only one things happen to)," he writes.
And as a rule, he says he won't do a tax return for the two weeks after tax season "unless absolutely necessary." "Then when I get back to them I feel refreshed and can begin the mini extension season with a clear head."
As many of you probably do, one New York-based CPA and her spouse (who just so happens to be a CPA himself) take a week off from work to "do nothing."
Another East Coast accountant says post-April 15 is a good time to catch up with clients for long-range planning. First, he calls clients from a list compiled during the busy time to remind them that tax, financial and estate planning "are all year-round propositions." Then, he gets to his garden and starts planting fresh vegetables.
Another CPA wrote in that he relaxed by going to a financial planning conference in Toronto. "As soon as the plane's wheels left the ground, tax season and New Jersey left my mind," he wrote.
So, how did you celebrate the end of tax season? Now that things should have slowed down a bit, you should have time to drop us a line and let us know…
