Tax time is just around the corner. Here’s a couple of pointers that may help mitigate the cost and difficulty of preparing your taxes this year. We’ve got a lot of different clients with a lot of different desires when it comes to how best to file their taxes. Some clients, every single document, as soon as they get it, they send it to their CPA. Something to keep in mind is when the CPA opens up that envelope, it’s going to hack the clock and probably most CPAs have a minimum of 15 minutes, so you can start seeing where we’re going here. Bundle the documents. You may send one bundle late January, another bundle late February, and another bundle late March. But bundle the documents because the less envelopes that CPA opens, the less it’s going cost you.
The second challenge we have is that the IRS requires these companies to report so early in the year that to meet those reporting requirements, some companies just assume they can revise or amend the documents. If you send a document to a CPA and he puts it in the system and you send an amended document, that’s going to cost you money. So especially 1099s that come from Schwab, Fidelity, other custodians – hold off probably at least until mid-March. Hold off on those. If you have any K1s in your investment portfolio, guess what? Just plan on filing an extension, maybe even two. And when we talk about extensions – a lot of people don’t like filing extensions – but the evidence is, filing an extension has no impact on your odds of an audit. The IRS completely understands everything that I’ve just told you. And so one thing they don’t want to do is disincentivize people from filing the extension they need.
If you have any questions about your tax situation please reach out to your CPA or tax preparer. Or give us a call at 281-528-1200 and we’ll be happy to help you obtain the assistance you may need. We wish you the best of success in 2022.
*First aired for tax season 2021
Paul is the founder and CEO of Avion Wealth, LLC. He leads a team of wealth managers in building and executing financial plans for high net worth individuals and families. Contact Avion Wealth to speak with a financial advisor.
