FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Our Response

​

For electronic documents, we prefer clients to use our ShareFile client portal or other secure portal or file-sharing service.  Dropping off or mailing to our office is also fine. Clients who provide documents digitally are generally billed less in administrative or scanning time.

​

We do not prepare returns in an in-person ‘interview’ setting. Our clients generally send or drop off their documents, then we begin processing the information and working on your return.

​

As soon as possible.  You can expect to hear from one of our tax preparers if they have any questions regarding your return, even if just to confirm the bank account to be used for your payment or refund.  Once our tax preparers have fully drafted your return, it will be reviewed by our managers and/or partners before it is sent to you.

​

Only if e-filing is not an option, such as for amended returns or late returns.  We send most returns through DocuSign to be reviewed and authorized.  The IRS now requires justification for not e-filing current returns.

​

If you have a balance due, we can assist with an electronic payment by bank account (recommended), or provide vouchers to make a check or credit card payment to the IRS and applicable states.  Some states do not have online payment options, and we will let you know when action is required on your part.

​

Once your tax return is completed we will invoice you for billable time and expenses related to the filing.  As for payment options, we use an ACH Payment Service, accept checks, and provide links on our invoices for credit card payments.  More information will be provided on our invoice.

​

Estimates are fine for extensions.  To complete a return we will need complete information, and we will let you know if questions arise during the drafting process.  We will not be able to finish a return until we are reasonably certain we have accurate and complete information.

There is no penalty for the extension itself, only if your tax liability is underpaid.  We would recommend making a conservative payment on April 15th with your extension, and we are happy to facilitate.

​

We are often approached with bookkeeping projects during tax season.  While ‘yes,’ we do have several bookkeepers on staff, most of their time is devoted to our bookkeeping contracts and other recurring client work.  In short, we can’t promise to complete 12 months of bookkeeping, in addition to your tax return(s), by April 15th.  We won’t judge you if your “dog ate your Quickbooks file” or some other calamitous event occurred, and we are happy to extend your return and make it a summer project.  We will do our best to communicate with you if more time will be necessary to complete your tax return (i.e. file an extension), as soon as we know.

​

Generally not, at least during tax season (January-April).  TurboTax is intended for personal/individual use, and it takes more time for us to review your return on TurboTax than preparing it ourselves.  We also have to prioritize clients who have engaged with us to complete their return.  We’re happy to review your tax return over the summer and assist with filing an amended return if necessary.

​

We do not recommend this.  Our administrative staff needs to be able to access your documents and process them into our local network. If you share a Dropbox folder with only one staff member, there is a higher chance that it could be missed.