Frequently Asked Questions

1. Filing an extension is free.

2. The IRS accepts the timely-filed extension AUTOMATICALLY. No signature, explanation, reason, or excuse is required.

3. Filing an extension does not increase audit risk or trigger additional scrutiny of your return.

4. The extension of time to file is ALWAYS for SIX (6) MONTHS until OCTOBER 15th.

5. The extension provides the government with an interest-free loan, which will eventually be refunded to the taxpayer.

6. The extension is NOT AN EXTENSION OF TIME TO PAY TAX OWED on April 15th.

7. Interest and a "Late Payment Penalty" are charged for any money owed on April 15th but not paid by that date. If there is a possibility of owing money, or if the taxpayer is owed it last year, it is advisable to estimate an amount due and send it to the IRS. This can be refunded if there is an overpayment and may avoid interest penalties.

8. The penalty may be waived due to reasonable cause. Interest may not be waived by law. Owing money and not paying it in time does not increase audit risk or trigger additional scrutiny of your return.

Please see the links at the bottom of the page for a list of documents to send for Personal and Corporation tax return preparation. For scheduled appointments, all documentation must be provided to our office 48 hours before your appointment at the latest. Documentation can be emailed, mailed, or faxed to our office.

If sending documentation via email, please provide passwords to open files. Also, please be advised that our office does not accept files provided using Google Drive, Dropbox, USBs or other thumb drives, or any documents through file hosting services. Please send all emailed documentation as Microsoft Office files, PDFs, or JPEGs.

If mailing your documentation, please limit the use of staples, post-its, tape, paper clips, binder clips, and binders. Our office has to remove/take apart these items to put through our scanners, which can be very time-consuming. Please ensure all text and numbers are legible and properly formatted, preferably in a typed document rather than handwritten. Poor quality documentation causes difficulties for our preparers and can be easily avoided with typed text and organized paperwork. Please send copies of your documents and keep your originals at home.

I recommend to all of my clients to save their tax returns, W-2 forms, and IRA documents until three years after they die. You may need your W-2s for Social Security benefits as they may make mistakes in your records. You may need the information to support your Roth IRA withdrawals' partially or entirely tax-free status. You should keep documentation regarding the original cost and dividend reinvestments of stocks and mutual funds. You should keep documentation regarding the actual costs and improvements to your house.

The actual checks, receipts, and credit/debit statements to support claimed deductions can be discarded seven years after the return is filed.

Changes in your deductions and earnings will not trigger an IRS audit. You could be working a W-2 job earning $75,000 one year, then be unemployed the next, then start your own business the following year. The IRS does not keep track of these changes because everyone’s circumstances can change drastically from year to year. It would be a waste of their time to try and follow the irregular patterns of an individual’s earnings.

Every person and their tax returns are unique and can vary widely, and all variations from the norm do not automatically result in an audit. However, the IRS does compare individuals to their occupational group. Teachers, nurses, chiropractors, and police all fit within distinct occupational groups and can be compared to their peers. The best approach is to be able to document all deductions claimed on the tax return.

Your first step to solving the question of what to do is contacting a qualified CPA. The system works more favorably if you come forward and voluntarily file your missing tax returns. Since nearly three of four tax returns filed are due a refund, the IRS might owe money to you. The only catch is that if you do not ask for your refund within two years, the IRS will not give you what was yours in the first place. Unfortunately, sometimes, life gets in the way of filing your tax returns. Some penalties can be reduced if there is a good reason for not filing a tax return. Generally, there are no penalties if the IRS owes you a refund. If you owe money, you can set up an installment plan.

Some tax preparers claim that home office deduction is a “red flag” and can provoke an audit. I disagree with their opinion. I have had a tax-deductible home office since the early 1980s. I have taken all the tax deductions allowed by current law, as it has changed over the years, and prepared tax returns for many self-employed clients doing the same. I have not been audited during this time, nor had any clients audited on this issue.

Taking all the deductions legitimately allowed by the Internal Revenue Code is proper and wise. Congress passes laws giving tax deductions to taxpayers. Taxpayers and their paid tax preparers must utilize all the deductions allowed by law to minimize their tax burden. There is no logical reason to pay more tax than necessary.