And that’s it … we made it!

And even though we are now on the other end of tax season, I hope you’ll forgive this writing for being a little shorter than usual. We need the energy recoup time … and to that end, also know we will be working limited hours through the rest of the month before jumping in full again come May.

So, first, thank you for those concessions. But beyond that and much bigger, also thank you for your trust and confidence during tax season. We aimed to make this year more seamless and painless for our clients and we hope you felt that.

If you did, please, let us know. Being told what worked well can help us ensure we continue implementing such strategies into the future. And if things did not work for you, please also let us know that and we can hopefully make next year even better. For that trust and confidence can go both ways, and when it does, we can make things better for everyone.

But for now … rest.

Warmly,

Josh Bousquet
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Last week I wrote about extensions, how they don’t have to be feared, and can be the right move depending upon where in the tax filing preparation process you are. This can be a big weight removed from someone who has legitimate reasons why they would not be able to get their return completed on time. After all, this is not being awarded a two-week reprieve but rather gives one another six months to get things complete and filed.

But what about those who have not filed their taxes yet just because they did not start the process in time and only need to get moving to have things complete? Well, unfortunately this can often serve as an invitation to spend more time procrastinating.

This then is the article that is going to tell you that this is not a good idea. Granted, everyone knows this already, we mention it often during the start of tax season, but we still must keep trying.

After all, the reason that an extension can feel like a reprieve is because it does take a task that you have to do and pushes it much deeper down the calendar. If this was feeling like something that weighed on you on April 1, though, if you just decide not to think about it for a while, it is probably going to feel even worse on October 1.

And also, remember that an extension only gives extra time to file but not extra time to pay any taxes that you may still owe. So the sooner you take care of it, the sooner you can be sure you have a handle on that debt.

So, yes, there can be good reasons why one needs an extension and needs to use the time that it gives, but if you don’t have a good reason, get on top of things as soon as possible so that this can be something you can really not think about anymore.

Warmly,

Josh Bousquet
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We have made it. It is now officially April.

For many of you, this will mean that your taxes are completed or that your return is on the verge of completion.

For others out there, this will mean that it is time to get an extension.

How people feel about extensions covers quite a spectrum. Many worry about them as if they could be some tip-off to the IRS that their tax return is not quite what it should be, like turning in a late assignment at school.  Well first, have you seen how the IRS is doing with its funding and employment lately? But even beyond that, realize that an extension is instead a chance to make sure that you do get everything right. You could potentially rush a return through with some numbers placed approximately where they belong, but that opens the chances for mistakes that really could draw someone’s attention more than that you had an extension before filing. After all, extensions are legal and offered by the agency to give you more time when it is needed.

On first glance, this then seems to say that April 15 isn’t really much of a deadline at all and that the real one doesn’t come until the extension is over in October. And to be fair, this could even be true for some people. For many, though, it is not the case.

Remember that an extension gives you more time to file your tax return, but it does not give you more time to pay any taxes owed. If you do owe taxes and do not file a timely return, you can start adding potential fees and interest you will owe on top of the original amount. This doesn’t mean that you instead should move to a strategy of not filing an extension, because what does it matter anyway? Where it matters is that the more on the up-and-up you remain with the IRS, the fewer of those fees you could be liable for. So if you know you will owe money, the agency even expects a payment to come with your extension.

In the spectrum of how people feel about extensions, though, are also those who have had one in the past and found it does not mean anything bad and instead revel in how it eases their time-crunch stress. It’s all just a matter of understanding where you stand in the process and what an extension means becomes of that.

Warmly,

Josh Bousquet
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If you look through headlines lately, it catches one’s eye just how many stories are written with some take on ‘What does this mean?’ President Donald Trump and his administration are pursuing so many of their goals in unorthodox ways that what will happen at the end (and just when that end will come) after first steps are made is not always clear. This has soaked into the tax world in a big way considering the time of year as there seems to even be some confusion out there about whether people need to complete tax returns this year or if they will receive their refunds if they do.

To at least tackle that quickly – yes, you still need to file your taxes and, yes, if you are owed a refund, you will receive it.

But it is easy to see how people could think this when the IRS already has endured job cuts during their biggest season and only seem to be in danger of facing more of them.

Even beyond those immediate concerns, though, we are in a spot where future confusion only appears inevitable. After all, Republicans on the whole have promised a list of tax cuts while in the House they have also set a $4.5 trillion limit on the money the federal budget can lose over the next 10 years due to tax cuts.

Just extending the tax cuts that were put into place during the first Trump administration would take up much of that limit. This is going to make it difficult to also include promises to not to tax tips or overtime, lower taxes on Social Security benefits, and increase the deduction for state and local taxes.

I suppose the good news in this is that it looks like you will have to be in a special situation to end up paying more taxes once this all shakes out. The bad news is that it is difficult to plan for anything upcoming when you can’t know exactly what is upcoming.

So, let’s go back now to the idea that you do still have to file a tax return, for the way to operate in the immediate future is just as you are operating now. Until we get to a final stage where things actually change, we have to go with what the current rules are. This includes the fact that taxes and the IRS still exist.  If and when something does happen, though, it looks like most are just going to get to call it a pleasant bonus. 

Warmly,

Josh Bousquet
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I feel like it has been a while since I wrote a blog about scams, which must be a good sign. But let’s be sure to read this sign the right way – it is not saying that scams have been eradicated but that more people seem to be aware of them than there were when they started to become so ubiquitous. There are always new scammer tactics, though, so it is probably time to at least give some reminders here.

The first thing to mention must be how much text messages are now being used to work these scams. Is there anyone out there who hasn’t received a text (and likely multiple) telling you how much you owe for tolls?

That particular one may have become prevalent enough that most are aware of it and ignore it from the start (and coming from foreign numbers is also a good tipoff that it can ignored), but there are enough others out there that we can’t pretend bad actors won’t slip through. So, if you receive a text message that you aren’t sure if it’s real or not, remember some of the key tips that can be used to keep yourself from falling victim to a scam.

The biggest thing to remember here is to give yourself time to figure out if it’s real or not. For instance, if a text comes with a link to a website where you can pay an apparent bill, even one purporting to be from an account you know you do have, sign into your account from a new browser window instead of using the link.  Then you can be sure you are on the actual website and not one set up by the scammers to look like the real one but is an impostor set up to get your money.

Another thing I want to note here may not necessarily involve a scam but could still lead you into issues, and that is to be careful on social media. For you know what they say about if something sounds too good to be true …

And on social media you can hear some of those things from ads that could be actual scams or at least incredibly misleading. Possibly more dangerous, though, could be regular people promoting knowledge or expertise that they do not have. All of us don’t want to pay more in taxes than we have to, so if you hear about some way to decrease that bill, it’s possible to latch onto it without first ensuring that it’s legitimate.

But again, these are other things that can be held off from becoming bigger problems if you spend the time to ensure things are legitimate before fully jumping in.

Warmly,

Josh Bousquet
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