Before you meet with us:

• Make an appointment by either calling our office or online via our website portal. We take in-person appointments or we take them by Zoom.
• Gather your tax documents including your most recent tax return. You can provide us with them however you’d like- paper, email, a secure Dropbox folder. (Returning clients often just drop off their information and wait patiently for our call.)
• Most clients now sign their returns using DocuSign – it’s quick and easy, and it provides you with a digital copy for your review and records as well. If filing a joint return, it is best for us to have a valid email address for both the taxpayer and their spouse, although, if you share one email, that’s fine. If you’re old school and want to come in and sign on paper, that’s fine, but please let us know so we can get printed paper copies ready for you.

After your appointment:

• Work begins on your return. In normal circumstances, returns are able to be completed in two or three weeks, although the further into the heavy part of tax season we get, those times can increase to 4 or 5 weeks.
  • For individual returns, you should plan on getting us your information in full by March 15 to be able to be completed with normal processing before the April 15 deadline without an extension. (See more on extensions later.)
  • For S Corps and Partnership returns which have a deadline of March 15, it is best to provide your information by February 15 to have it done by the deadline.
    If you are unable to wait and need the return quickly, please let us know and, for an additional fee, we can push your return to the front of the line. (This is usually 50% of the preparation fee.)
• When your return is ready for review and signature, we will either email you your DocuSign pages (if you provided us with an email address) or we will call you to have you come to sign and pick them up in person.
• If you choose to have your return sent to you via DocuSign but you provided us with original copies of your tax papers we will call to remind you to either come pick up your papers or will arrange to have them mailed to you if you choose.
• Once payment is received and the e-file signature pages are signed we will file your return electronically, if applicable.
• If you have any payment due to the State or the IRS, you will mail that in (unless you have opted to have the funds automatically withdrawn).

Extensions:

Extensions can be filed for almost all returns. We do not charge our clients for filing an extension, which is done electronically and unless you are making a payment with the return electronically as well, does not require a signature. Extensions provide more time to file without incurring a late filing penalty. Filing an extension for an individual return extends your time to file by 6 months from April 15 to October 15. Importantly, the extension does extend your time to file (without a late filing penalty) but it does not extend your time to pay. If you expect to owe with your return, you must also pay the balance you expect to owe before April 15th or late payment penalties (and interest) will apply. To put it in perspective, the late filing penalty is 5% per month for not filing on time. The late payment penalty is just half a percent per month for not paying on time. So, filing an extension is extremely important if you are not able to file timely, but if you owe, you should expect some penalty and interest for not paying by April 15. However, the late filing penalty is 10 times more costly than the late payment penalty.

Worried that filing an extension will cause you more scrutiny or be a “Red Flag” to the IRS?

Worry not! There is no evidence that filing an extension causes more unwanted attention from our tax overlords. In reality, filing an extension provides you extra time and saves you some significant penalties, and except in some extraordinary cases has no real downside.