Last Chance for Extensions

More time to file is not more time to pay. An extension to file will give you until Oct. 15 to file your taxes. It does not, however, give you more time to pay your taxes. Estimate and pay what you owe by April 18 to avoid a potential late f It does not, however, give you more time to pay your taxes. Estimate and pay what you owe by April 15 to avoid a potential late filing penalty. You will be charged interest on any tax that you don’t pay on time. You may also owe a penalty if you pay your tax late. Interest is normally charged on any unpaid tax.

(From IRS Website)

 

An extension extends the time you have to file your taxes, not the time you have to pay them. Penalties & interest accrue on unpaid balances.

If you would like me to file an extension, please contact my office.

I can not file an extension on your behalf if I don't hear from you.

Some basic information is required to determine if you owe money, and if you have funds available to pay what you owe. Be prepared to submit your tax docs and banking info. Additional fees may apply.

Extensions will be completed and filed in the order information is received, while time permits.


If  your taxes are complete, in process,  or this message does not pertain to you, please disregard.

Source: https://us10.admin.mailchimp.com/campaigns...

IRS Urges Public to Stay Alert for Scam Phone Calls

he IRS will not: Call you to demand immediate payment. The IRS will not call you if you owe taxes without first sending you a bill in the mail.

IRS will not:

Demand that you pay taxes and not allow you to question or appeal the amount you owe.

Require that you pay your taxes a certain way. For instance, require that you pay with a prepaid debit card.

Ask for your credit or debit card numbers over the phone.

Threaten to bring in police or other agencies to arrest you for not paying. (If you don’t owe taxes, or have no reason to think that you do: Do not give out any information. Hang up immediately.)

What you can do:

If you think the call is a scam you can contact TIGTA to report the call. Use their “IRS Impersonation Scam Reporting” web page. You can also call 800-366-4484.

Report it to the Federal Trade Commission. Use the “FTC Complaint Assistant” on FTC.gov. Please add "IRS Telephone Scam" in the notes.

 

Source: https://www.irs.gov/uac/IRS-Urges-Public-t...

I’M YOUR COWGIRL!

I’M YOUR COWGIRL!



 

The unread copy of Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace may remain unread a little longer.  A recently announced paper by Arthur J. Cockfield, a professor of law with a specialty in taxation discusses  Wallace’s posthumously published “The Pale King.”  Many news outlets have picked up on it.  Probably because it was announced at the height of tax season.

The main thesis, based on the novel and additional materials is that Wallace believed in taxation (as do I) and  felt that submitting to the drudgery and paying what you owe contributes to the greater good and makes you a grown up.

A New Yorker review of The Pale King  a couple of tax seasons ago quotes Wallace::

(a teacher in tax school says) “The less conventionally heroic or exciting or adverting or even interesting or engaging a labor appears to be, the greater its potential as an arena for actual heroism, and therefore as a denomination of joy unequaled by any you men can yet imagine.”

It goes on to say: Regardless of whether anyone notices the heroism of the work conducted within a bureaucracy, the instructor alleges that accountants “are today’s cowboys.”

But since I really do prepare taxes my take on the profession is a little different.  I am a translator of your story into the vocabulary of taxation. While the IRS employees depicted in the novel may have dealt in boredom and rote I am always hearing a new tale. Because of my position I know a more nuanced version.  I have some clients that I've known for years.  I know the back-story.  I look forward to the annual episode. But my order for “The Pale King” is in.


 

http://www.thetakeaway.org/story/how-david-foster-wallace-found-tranqulity-tax-code/

 

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-03-19/tax-advice-from-david-foster-wallace


 

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE

We have initiated several procedures to insure the privacy and security of your personal information, both over the internet and through the mail.

 The first is Intuit Link, which is a secure “invitation” portal for you to upload your tax documents, expenses etc. It also contains a questionnaire which helps us keep your info current. We email a link to the site and you can create a password to upload and browse documents submitted.

The second is SmartVault, which is a document storage system linked to our tax software. Not only does it provide safe, paperless storage but allows us to send you a link to a portal where you can retrieve your tax return.

I will NOT  use email  to  send tax returns or any other sensitive information. If we must mail documents, we will use FedEx.

Please, please, please do not email us your tax information. Not only is it difficult for us to locate and work with in a busy inbox, but it is NOT secure. While we can not stop you from emailing us a picture of your social security card, we may scold you like my dental hygienist scolds me for not flossing.

I understand that this may seem more cumbersome at first, and it is a little extra work on both our parts, but constant security breaches (think Anthem, Sony, Target etc.) affirm that these steps are necessary. Legally, I can not send a copy of your tax return to anyone (mortgage broker, bank, school) without written (not emailed) permission from you.


Using the portal will allow you to access your documents easily and allow you to use them at your own discretion.

Elena