New Client FAQ

-Income tax preparation

-Income tax advisory

-Tax planning discussions and projections

-Answering tax and accounting related questions

-QuickBooks support or bookkeeping

-Payroll setup and support

I typically provide income tax preparation services on a fixed fee basis. The amount generally covers answering high level questions throughout the year. This allows us to be proactive and address questions as they arise. The fees depend on the expected complexity and time required. I generally start with a base fee of $600 for a personal tax return and $1,500 for a business (partnership, s-corporation, c-corporation) income tax return. Additional amounts are charged for complexities such as rental properties, business or self-employment income, additional state or local income tax filings (beyond a full year resident state return). We’ll need to discuss your tax situation for me to provide a fixed fee estimate. I generally stick to the fixed fee estimates, but exceptions may be made if the time and complexity is greater than originally expected.

I encourage clients to reach out throughout the year as questions arise to allow us to be proactive. For a short question, email may be best. For multiple questions, it likely makes sense to have a phone call.

-Email

-Phone Call

-Text Message

-Schedule a Zoom Call

Since I typically work on a fixed fee basis with clients for tax preparation and the cost includes answering questions and having high-level discussions throughout the year, sometimes people ask if there is a limit to the number of questions or conversations. The answer is that I have not had to put a limit on conversations or questions for clients, but I suppose if it’s significant that I’d have to adjusting the fees I charge.

Unless otherwise stated, the fixed fees for tax preparation and answering high level questions throughout the year does not include:

-Providing a tax planner with detailed projections of your current year’s taxes and/or different scenarios. I’m happy to provide a fixed-fee estimate for this service.

-Performing QuickBooks bookkeeping services. I generally charge hourly for this service as the amount of time required is difficult to estimate. I recommend we have a Zoom call and screen-share to speed up the time it takes to perform bookkeeping and increase accuracy.

I’m generally available for discussions throughout the year.

My availability is somewhat limited during certain times of tax season; especially leading up to the March 15 business deadline and April 15 personal deadline. A few weeks leading up to the deadlines, I block off my calendar to focus on that time sensitive work. I am still available via email and phone during that time for clients with time sensitive questions or requests.

For a simple question over email, I try to respond within a business day or two. For anything time sensitive, it makes sense to just call me.

Below are the typical steps in the income tax preparation process:

1. I have an introductory phone or Zoom call with new clients.
2. I will provide access to my client portal where you can share your tax documents and copy of your prior year tax returns.
3. Once you’ve shared the bulk of your information, please notify me via email. This way I know that I have the bulk of your information to get started.
4. I will work on preparing your income tax returns and reach out to you with questions.
5. I’ll share a copy of your completed tax returns via my secure client portal and send you an email with additional information and next steps.
6. We can meet to go over your tax returns and discuss any questions you have.
7. Once you are ready to file the tax returns, please let me know.
8. I will share the e-file approval forms for you to electronically sign-off to approve the tax returns for electronic filing with the IRS and state tax agencies.
9. I will share a copy of the e-file confirmation for proof of filing for your records.
10. Please reach out throughout the year with any questions to allow us to be proactive and answer any questions as they arise.

I prepare tax returns in the order I receive the information. If you want to file earlier in the year, please provide the bulk of your information as soon as possible. Even if there are some tax documents you are still waiting to receive, if you provide the bulk of your information as soon as possible then I can get started preparing the tax returns and be ready to file the returns when the remaining tax documents are available. I generally need to receive the bulk of your information before February 15 in order to file by April 15.

For business owners, please note that you generally don’t need to wait for any tax documents for your business’ taxes. We can file early by getting records up-to-date before the end of the year.
Here’s some basic information on Extensions to Filing Income Tax Returns:
-It’s ok to file an extension. You remain in compliance with the IRS and state tax agencies. It’s not a bad thing.

-It’s automatically granted by the IRS upon request. There are no eligibility requirements. If you or I request a typical extension to file an income tax return, it’s granted by the IRS automatically.

-I do not charge anything additional for filing the extension if I’m already preparing your income tax returns.

-It’s easy. I can e-file an extension via my tax software. I do this automatically leading up to the due dates for clients that have expressed that they want me to prepare their tax returns and have completed the requested items in my client portal.

-It gives you and I additional information to file a complete and accurate tax return.

-It provides business owners additional time to make retirement plan contributions to SEP IRA or Individual/Solo 401k retirement plans.

-The extension to file does NOT extend the due date to pay any taxes owed. If you share the bulk of your information timely, I can advise on whether an extension payment is required. It’s ok to pay an estimated amount. You get credit for the amount you pay. If you overpay, you can have the excess refunded. If you underpay, at least you reduced the amount owed which reduces the amount subject to penalties for late payment.

I have another post on my website here that lists filings, other than income tax returns, that business owners should be aware of: https://jsuttoncpa.com/other-filings/