After almost a year, I’m back on the blog. Heading into the third pandemic-affected filing season, much has changed here at Tax Therapy.
First, I am working from home for the foreseeable future. That means the practice has transitioned from mostly office-based to mostly virtual. The only clients I will be seeing in person are those who qualify for a house call. I am still taking paper documents through the mail or, if you are in the Albuquerque area, by local courier. If you are a potential client please continue to browse the website and then, if you feel like I can meet your return preparation needs, click here to book a discovery call.
Second, I am (for the most part) now working solo. Cat has a new full-time job and will be helping as necessary to wrangle actual, and occasionally electronic, documents, but she will not be here to provide near instant answers to your phone calls and e-mails. Please allow 24-48 hours for a response and understand that during March it can take me up to 72 hours to respond to your inquiries.
Third, while I am currently accepting new clients, I am only accepting new 1040 clients (individual returns). I will not accept new clients who require entity returns (Forms 1065 or 1120-S) once filing season has started. Entity returns are much more complicated and the new client onboarding process is much too involved for one person working alone to attempt during tax season. Entity returns also have a March 15th deadline and I don’t feel that I can realistically meet that deadline for entity clients who are brand new in January. If you are interested in having me prepare your entity return, I encourage you to use the contact form to let me know and I will put you on a list of potential clients to contact later this year (typically starting in June).
Finally, my cutoff date for accepting new clients will likely be even earlier this year than it was last year. Last year I stopped accepting new clients on March 10th. This year I expect to stop accepting new clients as early as February 20th to ensure that I can manage my workload and meet the April 18th filing deadline for as many clients as possible. I have not yet decided whether or not I will be taking new clients during the summer and fall extension period. As Magic 8-ball says “signs point to no” but I reserve the right to change my mind.
Everyone (the IRS, the National Taxpayer Advocate, tax industry organizations, and tax professionals) are predicting another “hairy” filing season. Personally, I’m feeling a return to something resembling normal but I am also preparing for a bumpy ride. So put on your seatbelts and let’s get going!
And not all tax people are interchangeable.
This is my Dad’s car. Imagine that this car is having an, as yet unidentified, engine problem. Here’s a short list of items that make this car special:
My dad lives in a town with maybe one professional mechanic and a lot of hobby mechanics. Many of the hobby mechanics are pretty good mechanics, at least when it comes to cars they know. Many of the hobby mechanics have access to the internet and are willing to do their research and ask other mechanics questions. So, what’s the best option here? Put this classic car into the hands of a hobby mechanic? Take it to the local pro who works mostly on Fords and Toyotas? Or actually get it on a trailer and take it to someone who is a recognized specialist in this type of car? Maybe someone who was trained by someone who was a mechanic in California in the 1970s and who now specializes in vintage German cars? I guess it depends on how much you value your money, your time, and your car.
What does this have to do with taxes you ask? Well, I’m seeing a lot of hobby mechanics holding themselves out as professional mechanics and working on cars they have no business working on. Cars they can really damage but the owner won’t know it for the first several thousand miles. I’m seeing brand new tax professionals asking questions on Facebook about changing entity selections, about foreign tax issues, about complex individual and business tax planning when they are simultaneously asking questions that make it clear they don’t understand the difference between federal income tax withholding and FICA withholding. It’s as a friend of mine put it “horrifying.”
Even professional mechanics don’t know everything about every car. It is the same with #taxpros. Those who specialize are great at what they do but may only have a basic knowledge of other areas that also may require specialization. Understand that when you are shopping for a professional to prepare your return you may be getting a hobby mechanic instead of a professional mechanic. You may be getting a professional mechanic (#taxpro) who specializes in Ford F-150s instead of vintage, foreign, diesel engines and your car (tax return) is a 1971 Peugeot diesel. Maybe the mechanic can work on your car but should the mechanic work on your car or refer you to the specialist across town? One hopes an ethical mechanic will either decide the problem is only slightly outside their scope of competence and they have resources (other mechanics and the internet) with whom they can consult or send you on down the road. But what if they don’t? What if by the time you find out that your engine is damaged (that you’ve received the first IRS notice) you are already looking at sinking quite a bit of time and money into undoing the damage? What if indeed.
If you wouldn’t turn your car over to a hobby mechanic, why are you shopping for a #taxpro based on price, fast turnaround, and/or location?
When it comes to hiring someone to “do your taxes” choose wisely. The consequences of failure can be high (and expensive).
Read more about How to Choose a Tax Professional here.
They’re coming! Payments are supposed to start “within the next three weeks.” As to exactly what that means, your guess is probably not much better than mine. If you filed a 2018 and/or 2019 tax return and got a refund via direct deposit, your payment will be the first to be rolled out and you don’t have to do anything except wait for it to hit your bank account. But here’s what I know with respect to non-filers and everything else…
Finally, some people are saying “well, this won’t do me much good” and have asked about donating their payments. Of course you can! Here’s a list of some of the places I like to donate (in no particular order):
I also know that New Mexico’s school districts could use some help because they weren’t ready to pay for the cost of converting everyone to remote learning. The Navajo Nation and many of the pueblos are in dire need of help as well. If you are outside of New Mexico I recommend your local food banks, schools, local PBS, local arts organizations (who may be trying to help performing artists who are out of work), and charities that support your area’s indigenous populations.
The IRS is opening e-filing for business returns soon and e-filing for individual returns will open a couple of weeks after that. Here at Tax Therapy we are about ready to open our season for new and existing clients. Existing clients will receive a reminder postcard and e-mail letting them know that they can call to request their annual tax organizer (engagement documents & client interview). New clients can call to get an organizer and set up a new client intake appointment. Please note that new clients coming in during tax season (as opposed to during the summer and fall) must pay a non-refundable deposit equal to the base price of a federal Form 1040 before we will accept their return for processing.
And it’s a doozy! Every year Kelly Phillips Erb (a.k.a. The Tax Girl) posts a list on Forbes.com of the Top 100 Must-Follow Tax Twitter Accounts. For 2020, I’m on it! Mostly this list is for tax professionals (nerds) rather than taxpayers but it is an honor to be included and as you can see, I’m really excited!
I’m also excited that tax season is basically here. I am still accepting new clients. Cat will be ready to send out preliminary paperwork starting the week of January 13th. I will start processing paperwork the following week. That is also the week I expect that the IRS will open e-filing for the 2020 tax season. So if you are looking for a #taxpro, please get in touch.