THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT  
              Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Saturday, April 13, 1996               TAG: 9604130435
SECTION: BUSINESS                 PAGE: D1   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY CHRISTOPHER DINSMORE, STAFF WRITER 
                                             LENGTH: Medium:   56 lines

THE TAX CLOCK IS TICKING. MY MIDNIGHT MONDAY, THE CHECK HAD BETTER BE IN THE MAIL. AND ACCOUNTANTS ARE WORKING. 80-HOUR WEEKS TO HELP THEIR CLIENTS MAKE DEADLINE.

It's crunch time for the number crunchers.

Accountants throughout Hampton Roads and across the land are pulling 80-hour weeks making lists of deductions and checking them twice to tell their clients whether the tax man will be naughty or nice.

Come Monday at midnight, 1040s are due.

``If you don't have it done by now, you're in trouble,'' said Bruce C. Holbrook, a partner at the Virginia accounting firm of Goodman & Co.

All federal tax returns must be postmarked by April 15.

Holbrook can't wait.

``All of a sudden, come April 16, your whole body changes because it's all over,'' he said. ``You can relax. The phone stops ringing constantly. You can take an hour and a half and go to lunch with a client.

``All of a sudden, it seems like you've died and gone to heaven.''

He's going fishing with his brother late next week and has a vacation planned for May.

Tax season for the professionals begins in December, accelerates in March and steams along until April 15. About half of individual tax filers seek the advice of the pros - accountants and tax services like Virginia Beach's own Jackson Hewitt Inc.

Holbrook said he's been working 80-hour weeks for a couple of months - 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. most weekdays, 6:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Saturday and four to six hours Sunday.

To prepare for tax season, Holbrook said he usually goes skiing in Vail, Colo., for a week in early December. To cope during the season, he wakes up with a vigorous workout on his Nordic Track and he always tries to get out of the office for a quick lunch.

By yesterday afternoon, Holbrook was almost done with tax returns. At this point in the tax season, he's mostly filing extensions for his clients. It's a process that isn't as easy as people think, he said.

``You don't just sign your name and send it in,'' he said. ``You have to pay 90 percent of your taxes, so you have to have worked up a pretty good estimate.''

The extension gives taxpayers until August 15. With a good excuse, they can get another extension until Oct. 15. ILLUSTRATION: Color staff photo by Bill Tiernan\The Virginian-Pilot

Bruce C. Holbrook, an accountantant at Goodman & Co., has been

working seven days a week tp prepare clients' returns.

by CNB