| Happy New Year! What a year we are putting behind us! I still have high hopes for 2021 even though it has gotten off to a tumultuous start. We thank you so much for your patience with us and your loyalty as we continue to navigate the ever-changing tax and business world. This year will likely prove to be just as interesting with several legislative acts affecting taxes and continued IRS, state, and local government processing and communication delays. Due to the recently enacted tax changes, the IRS has not officially announced the start date for this filing season but we typically expect that to open in late January.Please take the time to read through this newsletter as it is full of important information. Thank you in advance. If you need assistance with anything in this letter, please contact Bradi at bradi@bokaccounting.com, Mamta at mamta@bokaccounting.com, or Elise at elise@bokaccounting.com. Important dates December 15th – January 15th – Individual and business engagement letters distributed. These can be signed via e-signature or by printing/scanning/mailing. Please make sure to get these back to us as soon as possible. January 5th – Due date to provide us your completed tax questionnaire (individual returns only) if you received it electronically. We have separated this out as an earlier task for you this year because it provides us valuable information we can use to customize your organizer and document request. If you have requested a paper questionnaire, you should expect to receive this soon. January 7th – January 25th – Personal/individual tax organizers and customized document requests distributed. If you have requested a paper organizer, this will be sent with your questionnaire. Business customized document requests will be distributed at this time as well. January 22nd – All information return data (W-2’s, 1099’s, 1098’s, nanny payroll, etc.) due to BOK Accounting. This only applies if you need to give someone one of these forms, not if you are receiving them. February 1st – All information forms from payers (W-2’s, 1099’s, 1098’s, etc.) due to recipients AND to government agencies. Suggested deadline to provide information to BOK Accounting. February 15th – Business tax information due to BOK Accounting for all partnerships and S-corporations. Information received after this date will likely result in an extension. March 1st – Preferred deadline to provide your individual tax information to BOK Accounting. Thank you! March 15th Personal property returns due to their respective countiesS-corporation and partnership returns and extensions dueC-corporation tax information due to BOK AccountingFinal deadline for Individual tax information due to BOK Accounting April 15th Individual returns and C-corporations and extensions due -First quarterly installment due for calendar year taxpayers -Corporate Activity Tax returns and extensions due Client Portals and Organizer Process We will continue to rely heavily on your secure client portals for both the information gathering process and delivery process. We utilize a system called Canopy for our file management. This system is user-friendly and allows you to access and sign engagement letters, access documents and completed returns, provide documents, pay invoices, and access and fulfill client requests all in one place. If we assist you with both business and personal tax matters but you use the same email you should be able to access both portals with one single sign-on. Just make sure to toggle between the available portals once you are logged in. You will have an organizer and (NEW!!!) a customized document checklist available on your portal to assist you in gathering and providing information. Please follow the directions within your requests to ensure a great experience with any fillable documents. We have also added a new Technical Support section on our web site, that explains how to do common tasks in the portal, such as uploading files and filling a PDF. New! Secure Drop Off for Tax Documents We have added an easy, secure, and contactless option for drop off. When you come into the building, the first door on your left in the lobby is the mailroom. In that room there will be a secure lockbox with signage where you can deposit documents. We will check this regularly. Please be sure to let us know via email or text that you have dropped information off and we will do our best to confirm receipt of any documents. You do not need an appointment to drop off documents and you can now utilize the expanded building hours vs. the suite hours which are more limited. We are so excited for this addition! Individual Tax Return Clients As of January 22nd, all tax organizers should be distributed for returning clients within the Action Items folder of your portal. Please make sure to indicate on your questionnaire if you want an organizer and in what format. Action items will be housed inside the Tax Year folders within the Action Item folder. Organizers for clients newly engaged for the 2020 tax season should be distributed by January 27th if requested setup information has been provided to us. If you have not received your .pdf organizer (or paper format if requested) by the applicable date, please contact our office immediately and we will make sure to get another one out to you right away. Most clients will receive an information request checklist regardless of if you fill out an organizer. If you have any issues at all either accessing or using the Organizer, portal, or other areas of our website, we are here to help make it the best experience possible. To ensure a timely return, we strongly encourage your to provide your documents as soon as possible. The final deadline for your tax return information is March 15th, 2021. If any information necessary to complete your tax return is received after this date, your return will likely be extended. We will strictly adhere to the extension policy. Extensions do not increase examination risk and have in fact been found to lower it due to the fact that more accurate and thorough returns can be produced. To schedule an appointment to meet with us, please visit www.bokaccounting.com and use the blue ‘Book Now’ button on the home page. Please remember that onsite appointments are limited at this time. We recommend utilizing web and phone consultation options until risk levels are reduced within the county. Business Tax Return Clients You should have received an engagement letter confirming our agreement to prepare your return. If you have not received anything by the dates listed above, please contact our office. You will also receive a customized information request checklist for your business return. Information for calendar year S-corporations and partnerships (including LLCs or PCs taxed as either entity type) is due in our office on or before February 15, 2021. Information for C-corporations (including LLCs taxed as C-corporations) is due in our office on or before March 15, 2021. If information is received after these respective dates, it is likely your return will be extended. Please note that when a business return is extended, this often leads to an extension of the individual shareholder/member returns as well. If you are unsure of your filing type or the information you need to provide, please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions. Return Filing/Delivery We want to thank you so much for using our portal system and data upload area within the secure client portal. We are thrilled to be able to offer you multiple ways of gathering and providing your data to fit your needs. Exchanging sensitive data via the portals is the best way to go. Please remember to never email documents with sensitive information without password-protecting them first. You can print your organizer directly from your portal. If you want a paper copy of your organizer mailed to you for completion and did not indicate that on your questionnaire, please contact our office right away.We are mandated by federal law to e-file all current tax returns unless a particular exception is met. When your individual return is completed, you will sign in one of two ways. 1) If we have valid and unique (applies to jointly filed returns) e-mail addresses on file for you, you will receive an e-signature request. 2) Otherwise, you will receive a form (Form 8879/8453 series) to sign that authorizes us to file your return electronically on your behalf. We will send all e-signature requests directly from our tax software or via a form in your portal. Consistent with changes that occurred last year, you will also be required to verify your bank information during the preparation process. All business returns signers will use the 8879/8453 series. We file your return upon receiving both the signed form and payment for services. In addition, as part of our paperless initiative, we deliver the client copies of your returns to your secure client portal. This is a convenient and secure location for you to access your tax returns 24/7 whenever you need them without having to request a copy from our office. If you would still like a paper copy of your return, please let us know in advance when you provide us your tax data. Paper copies will incur a $25 per return charge. Return copies posted to your portal are free. Please note that because we typically bill tax services upon completion, invoices are due upon receipt and will incur late charges if not paid within 10 days of receipt unless arrangements are made with our office. This year, there has been a tremendous amount of tax legislation that will result in more work and forms. We are doing our best to stabilize fees during these uncertain times. We take our professional relationship with you and value we provide very seriously and must ensure that we have all of the tools and expertise at hand to properly advise you. In order to keep up with increasing vendor costs and provide the same expert, quality, attentive service you are used to, price increases are sometimes a necessary step. Personal Property Returns Personal Property Returns are due to their respective counties on March 15, 2021. Most businesses will receive these forms in the mail this week if they have not been received already. If you haven’t completed yours and need assistance, please let us know as soon as possible. We provide this service and if you are a tax or accounting client, can easily produce an asset report to assist with the preparation. Information Return (1099, etc.) Payroll Year-End Tasks While we leave most of the payroll tasks to our trusted payroll partners, we are also available for assistance with certain year-end information returns payroll forms. In the past, we have assisted many of you with the preparation of 1098/1099 forms as well as W-2’s for those clients with household employees or who are not utilizing Paychex. For Paychex clients, W-2 and 1099 processing is part of your service for all employees and vendors who you pay through regular payroll. We have sent out separate correspondence on this service that includes a template we use to prepare these forms. Should you have any questions, please contact our office as soon as possible. Firm Personnel Meet Your Dedicated BOK Accounting Team  Bradi CPA  Mamta CPA  Elise Office Manager  Etienne Office Assistant We are incredibly excited about the continuity, experience, and energy of our staff this year! Please know we are all committed to making sure you have the best client experience possible. Please check our website for updated bios coming soon.We have a regular receptionist/office manager who serves the entire shared Suite 230. Adam is fairly new at this position but is a quick learner and a very friendly presence. Adam is authorized to accept drop-offs of paperwork and to take care of documents waiting to be picked up if pick-up has been pre-arranged (proper ID is always required). Any detailed questions regarding your tax file or billing should be directed to one of our dedicated staff. The receptionist is not responsible for either scheduling or taking payments, but they can take a detailed message and pass it on securely for our handling or get a hold of one of us promptly.We strive to make each one of our clients feel valued as both a person and a client by providing exceptional service. We are grateful to be able to interact with each and every one of you and am so very thankful for the opportunities you have all given us to provide value to your financial life in this ever-changing tax and accounting world. We look forward to continuing our professional relationship for many years to come!Cheers to another great tax season and a more “precedented” year!Important: A copy of this newsletter and other important information including updated rates will be both posted on our website. In mid-January, you received an email from us requesting information for your 2020 business or individual return. When you log in to your portal using the link in the email, the actual request includes a checklist of information that may be relevant for the 2020 tax year. Although the email body itself refers to the tax form your business entity type files each year (ex: 1120S or 1065, etc.), the request is not for the tax form itself. We will certainly be filing that for you. The request is for relevant data / files (including your financial reports or confirmation that we can pull those) so that we are able to prepare your 2020 business tax return. You can upload your files to your secure BOK portal (preferred) or drop them off at our office. We apologize for any confusion the new process may have caused. Please also note the business return process is slightly different from the process for your individual return due to the nature of the tax forms. We recommend referring to our newsletter for clarification or continuing to reach out to our team with any questions. We look forward to filing your 2020 business tax return. |
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