What Do We Do After Tax Season?

People ask us all the time what we do after tax season.  Everyone’s filed their returns by April 15, right?  So what are we doing the rest of the time?

This is an interesting question, and there is no fixed answer.  First of all, no, not everyone has filed their returns by April 15.  A fair number of people go on extension and we work on those returns during the summer.

Some people haven’t filed their tax returns for several years, so we help them get caught up.  If necessary, we can advise them on setting up a payment plan to take care of what they owe.

Just as tax season is wrapping up, the IRS sends out a flurry of letters requesting more information about the returns that were filed last year.  These are scary letters and imply that you owe a lot of money.  Usually when we have a chance to review them, we can reduce what you owe.  Sometimes we even get a refund for a new client when we make a correction.  I always want to thank the IRS for calling this to our attention!

We help taxpayers who are under audit.  Because we are all CPAs or Enrolled Agents, we can represent a taxpayer so they don’t have to deal with the IRS.  We can speak for you in the Examination, Collection and Appeals departments, and help you work out the most favorable settlement possible.

We offer tax planning to new and existing clients.  When something is about to happen that may impact your tax situation next year, why not come in and talk to us beforehand?  Often there are different ways you can handle the same transaction, and one of them might save you a lot of tax money.  Even if you know you’re going to have to pay, we can help you estimate how much, and talk to you about making estimated payments to avoid penalties.

In a year like this one, we spend a fair amount of time reviewing the new tax regulations that are being proposed to Congress.  We keep up on this, so we can let you know when something might impact your financial situation.

And finally, there’s continuing education.  Each of us is required to take a minimum of between 24 and 40 hours of continuing education each year.  Of course we take more than that, there are so many things to learn and our tax code is continuously changing and evolving.  We want to be sure that we provide you with the best and most up to date information available.

The best thing about what we do is that it’s always exciting!