From the desk of James E. George
Tax season is here! My staff and I recently met and discussed this upcoming tax season. We reviewed last year’s notes regarding what worked well and what we wanted to improve. We also read and discussed the responses we received to our last newsletter asking your feedback on our policies and procedures. Our planning meeting has led us to make a few changes to our procedures that will make us more efficient and improve your tax preparation experience.
To minimize your fee, we are asking you to accumulate your documentation and submit it all at one time. We are still offering a variety of methods to submit your information. You may scan your documents and upload them through our secure portal. You may submit them via the US Postal service, Fed Ex or UPS. Of course, you may still drop off your documents at our front counter during business hours.
We will not be conducting in-person tax meetings from February 1 – April 20. During the pandemic we stopped holding in-person meetings. We discovered it made us more productive and kept us much healthier. Not holding meetings during the tax return processing season will make us more efficient. This should help us have a shorter turnaround time. We understand you may need any tax refunds due you as soon as possible. This should help make it happen.
There will be limited exceptions such as when a client has lost a spouse during the year or when someone is starting a business. These situations are time sensitive and much more productive when done in person.
More of our clients are electing to receive their income tax returns through our secure portal delivery system. This is fast, safe and allows you to print out as many copies as you need. You can still pick your returns up at our office during our business hours, which have been extended for the busy filing season.
We heard your requests for more advice and guidance on future tax matters. To provide this valuable information we are giving every client a voucher for a half-hour consultation with your completed income tax return. These consultations can be scheduled from May 1 through August 31. The consultation can be about your income tax return or any other situation you would like to discuss. Last year over 60 of our clients took advantage of this free service.
We still accept payments made by cash, check, or credit card. If you have a balance due with your income tax returns, we are now offering direct debit where the IRS will withdraw the funds directly from your checking account. Most states now have an online payment option. This can be done outside our service.