To all our clients – welcome to 2024!
CHANGES FOR 2024:
Staffing: Please welcome our new Front Desk Receptionist – Laura. We are excited to have her on the team this year – although it is only through tax season (end of April). Sadly, after many years as a valued team member, Tina has moved on to work with her husband in their business. We miss her but extend our best wishes on their success. The rest of us (Katie, Jenny and Tabitha) are looking forward to seeing all of you this year.
Payment Changes: As a small business, we are not immune to the increasing costs of doing business. As a result, we will begin charging a fee for processing credit card payments whether in office, online or by phone. For Visa/MasterCard the processing fee is 3%. For Amex the processing fee is 3.5%. To avoid these fees, payment can be made via check or cash. You do also have the option to pay by ACH from your bank account (via our emailed invoice payment link), in which you will be charged a flat $2.00 fee per invoice paid online.
Data Entry Outsourcing: As we do every year after tax season, we analyze the successes and failures/problems that we encountered and evaluate opportunities to streamline the preparation of tax returns to make our processing easier, and faster, leading to better service for you – our client. We have been unable to fill Tina’s position, so this was another wrinkle in looking at how best to improve our service to our clients with fewer staff. One opportunity involves the use of data entry services that enable us to complete tax returns more efficiently, and we have made the decision to contract with a company to provide remote data entry services only for1040 individual (personal) tax returns this tax season.
Here are the important things to know about outsourcing:
• The work performed by data entry services is limited to electronically organizing your source documents and putting the data into our tax software.
• Once the data entry is complete, WE follow our firm procedures to complete the return, which includes a detailed review of your tax returns, just as we do if we have staff in the office entering data.
• Using data entry services enables us to focus on the complex areas of your tax return preparation, rather than the time-consuming portion of organizing documents and entering your data into our software.
• We anticipate being able to return to our timely service to you, as in previous years and overall allows us to better serve you.
• We will be using Xpitax Solutions Pvt. Ltd., a third-party data entry service provider. Xpitax Solutions Pvt. Ltd. is a U.S. owned service bureau with both onshore and offshore employees. It is a recognized leader in the field of tax preparation. We have entered into a non-disclosure agreement with Xpitax which legally establishes its obligation to maintain the privacy of your information.
• Based on regulations issued by the Internal Revenue Service, we must obtain your express written permission to use a data entry service provider where the services may be provided offshore. By signing the CONSENT TO DISCLOSE form enclosed, you are allowing us to use this service to assist in the data entry portion of your tax return. NOTE: Both taxpayers MUST sign this form for a joint tax return.
• If you elect to allow us to use services provided offshore for the sole purpose of preparing your tax returns, we will disclose the information you provide to us. We will not disclose any of your information to any party for a use other than the preparation of your tax returns.
• Business & trust returns (forms 1120, 1120S, 1065 & 1041) will continue to be prepared in our office this year.
Electing to leverage these services is a choice- we look forward to serving you better by preparing your taxes in either situation. However, please be aware that the time and cost to prepare your return entirely within our office will take longer and be more costly by approximately a 25% increase to your tax preparation fee.
Carney & Associates complies with IRS and FTC security standards applicable to tax and accounting tax companies, and are Cyber Safeguards certified for 2024.
DEADLINES:
• 1065 partnership and 1120s S Corp returns are due March 15, 2024
• 1040 individual, 1041 trust/estate and 1120 Corporate returns are due April 15, 2024
NOTE: Beginning for this tax season, tax returns documents received after the due dates (Feb 15 or March 15) that need to be extended will be assessed a $50 fee for calculating and filing the extension.
ONLINE YEAR END FORMS (fill-in and submit online):
As in prior years, all our required annual forms are available on our website at www.carneyllc.com, INCLUDING the enclosed engagement letter and Consent to Disclose form referenced above. These can be completed either online or from this mailing, however, you will still need to go online to complete other required forms and checklists.
Click on the FORMS tab. Click on REQUIRED TAX FORMS. We will not be able to start on your tax return until these required forms are received by our office, as well as all of your 2023 tax documents.
We strongly recommend using a computer (desktop or laptop) to complete your forms. Using a mobile device (phone or tablet) has been an issue in several situations where the forms did not complete or submit. If you do not have access to a desktop/laptop, we have a computer station set up here in our office for this purpose that you are more than welcome to stop by and use to complete these forms.
IMPORTANT Each form has required fields that are designated with a * that require an answer (either a Yes, No, N/A or maybe even a zero if asking for numbers or amounts).
Make sure when you click on the submit button you see the green circle check mark and the note saying “Thank you, your form has been submitted”. If you do not get this, then you need to scroll back up to the beginning of the form and go back through to see which question(s) you missed. It should be highlighted. Do not close out of the form until you see the green circle check mark, otherwise you will have to start over from the beginning.
SUBMITTING /REQUESTING FORMS (or any other information):
• If emailing any information, please send all tax return correspondence to: info@carneyllc.com unless you are responding to a direct inquiry from your preparer.
** NOTE** Un-encrypted email is NOT secure – please do not send any information with social security numbers or date of birth. We offer a secure email link for these types of documents – please call our office 907-376-2191 if you would like to use this option and we can send you the secure link to send us your documents.
• If you desire an organizer with your pre-printed info, please call our office or email info@carneyllc.com and request a tax organizer, please specify if you’d like a paper copy to pickup at our office or if you’d like a digital copy to be securely emailed to you. Organizers will be available after January 29th and require at least a 24hr notice.
Meetings with Katie:
For this upcoming tax season, Katie is scheduled to be in Alaska from February 12 to March 29. If you need to meet with her, please call the office at 907-376-2191 to get on her schedule. As a reminder, if you are just dropping off your tax documents and don’t need to speak to her about anything specific, you are more than welcome to do that anytime during our normal business hours Monday – Thursday 9 am to 5 pm.
All returns will be delivered electronically for your signature via email through our tax signature software (which you will sign and download a digital copy of your tax return for your records) unless you specifically request (on the tax questionnaire) to sign manually via a printed paper copy.
• All requested printed paper copy returns will be charged an additional fee of $30 on your invoice.
• We do not send returns for electronic signature and provide a paper copy. It’s either or. If you choose electronic signature and end up not completing this process once it’s sent to you electronically and end up signing via paper copy, the printed paper copy fee will then be $50 on your invoice.
Thank you all for your continued support and we’re looking forward to seeing you in 2024!
All of us here at Carney and Associates: Katie, Jenny, Tabitha & Laura