He had a choice: ignore it, file on time, and face a furious client tomorrow. Or add it, recalculate six worksheets, and risk the e-file system crashing at midnight.

Leo Harris stared at the blinking cursor on his screen. The words "Harris CPA Download - 45% Complete" mocked him. It was 11:58 PM on April 14th. The digital tax deadline was two minutes away.

"Leo, you're impossible."

Leo’s blood pressure spiked. $2.3 million would drop their effective rate from 24% to 17%. It was a game-changer. It was also a nuclear bomb to insert at 11:59 PM.

"I know. See you at 9."

Leo leaned back. He hadn't beaten the deadline. He had lost. But as he looked at the final tax summary—now showing a correct, defensible $2.3 million credit—he smiled.