Tax Season 2022

Please read the following engagement letter and fill out
the appropriate forms prior to attending your appointment.

Hello AOB Clients Old and New – Welcome to 2023! We hope your year is off to a good start.

 As you may be aware, the IRS continues to struggle with tax return backlog, staffing issues, and general lack of customer-facing services. This has a direct impact on our industry as we are not able to contact the IRS any easier than our clients. Resolutions to IRS issues are taking three times longer, if not more, to resolve. So, we all have to be patient.

To streamline your tax preparation and make it easier for you to get a complete tax package to us, we will be utilizing the Content Snare program this year. We will email a questionnaire to you  – please fill it out and upload documents within the questionnaire or to SmartVault. Once we receive a complete questionnaire with all documentation attached, we can add you to our list of returns ready to process.

Documents will be accepted for in-person drop-off, but the questionnaire will still need to be completed. SmartVault will also still be available for digital uploads. We do work on a first-come, first-served basis and we do not consider an incomplete package ready to work on. Payment is still due prior to your return being filed.

IMPORTANT INFO – PLEASE READ

  • Clients can now request a PIN for their tax return that will help further protect them from fraud. Go to the IRS Website: here. Furthermore, the IRS has strict regulations in place to protect you. Please do not be surprised if we ask for identification documents like your Social Security Card, Birth Certificates, and Drivers’ Licenses – we are required to do so.
  • If you are submitting through ContentSnare or uploading your information in SmartVault, please shoot us a quick email when you are done. Both these systems allow you to add things at your own pace, but we need to know when you have submitted everything you want to for the year. We will assume that you are still adding information and will not start your return until you tell us that everything is complete.
  • If you are dropping off your tax packet, make sure you have received all of your forms before you drop it off. If you are missing a form, please call the issuer and have them send it to you ASAP. If you moved, some mail may not have been forwarded. We cannot complete a tax return without all your tax documents; therefore, we will not start on your return until we have all the necessary documents. Please do not bring us your tax packages in bits and pieces as this delays your return.
  • In order to be as efficient as possible, all tax documents for individual returns need to be submitted by no later than March 16th to be filed on time. If brought in afterward, you will be put on extension. Also, all tax documents for business returns need to be in no later than February 15th to be filed on time. If brought in afterward, you will be put on extension. Processing returns does take time.
  • We do not provide estimated dates of completion for returns. Our goal for all clients is to complete your return ASAP after receiving your completed packets and documentation. However, we operate on a first-come, first-served basis, and the tax window of January 1st-April 18th is always hectic for tax preparers. Once you have received confirmation to your email or in-person visit stating that your packet is complete, please do not expect further communication from us until we are ready to file. While we always love talking to you, status updates only delay everyone’s return.
  • The IRS is requiring more documentation when taxpayers claim Head of Household, the Earned Income Credit, Child Tax Credits, and Education credits. Please expect requests for documentation from us if you are eligible to claim any or all of these on your tax return. Additionally, if you have rental property, you are required to prove involvement in your rental property to claim the Qualified Business Income Credit.
  • Payment for taxes is due upon completion of the tax return. We will be using RightSignature for e-signing and you will need to pay the Square invoice when you sign unless you pay by check or money order prior to e-signing.
  • Please provide your 1095A form if you have insurance from the marketplace/ healthcare.gov for any portion of 2022.
  • We are finding it is a good idea to sign up for an account at irs.gov and to request the wage and tax statement transcript for the current tax year (2022) so we can ensure we have received all your tax documents that the IRS has record of.

***If you are buying or refinancing a new house between January-April, we would appreciate as much notice as possible if you will need copies of prior tax returns. We are sure you can appreciate how crazy-busy tax season is and when extra requests come in, it is a challenge to meet them. Since we do provide a copy of your tax return each year, we will be charging a fee of $65.00 should we need to send copies of tax returns to bankers, if you need an additional copy, etc. (either a hardcopy or electronic copy in SmartVault). You will be required to sign and date a special consent for AOB to release information to third parties. Usually, this can be accomplished with RightSignature to keep the process moving. ***

If the bank requires a verification letter, the fee for that is $90.00. We also have an in-house Consent to Use that allows AOB to contact you about tax planning. This consent is part of the tax package we return to you.

Here are some deadlines to keep things on track for all of us:

Client Organizers – January 2023

– Client Organizers will only be provided upon request. Send an email with your request and we will upload an organizer to your SmartVault account.

– If you are a new client this year, welcome aboard! We will send you our questionnaire and you can use the checklist (Download Here) provided to gather your documents.

1099 Issuance-Due by January 31, 2023

– If you paid anyone for services over $600 this year for your business or rental property, you are required to issue them a 1099-NEC (New 1099 being issued to contractors). Included in this group would be any independent contractors used for your business or rental property, child care providers you pay directly and home health providers. The exception would be: if you paid anyone with a credit card, Venmo or Paypal, you are not required to send a 1099-MISC as those payments will be reported by the credit card company.

– If you paid an attorney in 2022, you will need to send a 1099-MISC for total payments over $600.

– If you would like AOB to file the 1099s for you, please provide completed W9s (each independent contractor should have filled one out), the amount you paid to each person, and what type of payment (Non-Employee Compensation, Interest, Dividends, Rent) was paid to each person. A fillable PDF W9 can be download from www.irs.gov. We will send out the 1099s to each recipient and electronically file with the IRS. Fees will vary according to the number of 1099s that need to be issued.

Quarterly Payroll Reports and W2s – Due by January 31, 2023

– It is a good idea to have AOB file your 4th quarter payroll reports and W2s for you as we can catch and fix any errors before final forms are mailed to employees and the IRS.

– Please call us as soon as possible to get on our schedule if you would like us to do your 4th quarter payroll reports and W2s. (If we are not already doing your quarterly payroll).

Engagement Letters – we will need a signed engagement letter from all clients this year. A letter will be available at the AOB office, or you may download it here:

Personal Tax Engagement Letter (DOWNLOAD)
Business Tax Engagement Letter (DOWNLOAD)

Consent to Use – If you need AOB to furnish a copy of your tax return to a banker, mortgage broker, or some other third party, we will send you a Consent form. We must have your signature and date before we can release information to a third party.

Corporate and Partnership Tax Returns are due on March 15, 2023.we need to have your information by February 15, 2023 to ensure we file your return in a timely fashion. Please contact us if you need an extension.

Individual, and Fiduciary Returns are due by April 18, 2023. We will need your information by March 15, 2023 to file your return on time.

Specific Reporting Documents – Some tax documents such as K1s, HSAs, or 1099-Bs tend be issued near or after the April 18 deadline. If you expect one of these documents, please contact us and we will file an extension just in case.

Business License and Property Tax Returns – It is a good idea to involve AOB in the process of filing out business license and property tax returns as localities are now cross checking their reports with tax returns and issuing penalties for underreporting information. Please let us know if you want assistance in filing out these forms.

***PLEASE PRESENT YOUR BUSINESS LISCENCE AND PROPERTY TAX INFORMATION
SEPARATELY AND IMMEDIATELY TO AVOID MISSING DEADLINES ***

 

Many Happy Returns,

Kim and Kelsey