Hi Friends, what a crazy year it's been!
In January 2020, I thought my largest challenge would be running the practice my mother founded, with her now in retirement. Turns out I was wrong. I could not have predicted the challenges that have faced us all. While we met with many of you in person this year, we did close the office to the public starting in March 2020 for a virtual tax year and it worked out well for everyone.
As I think about this past year and all of the people that I'm so lucky to have as a part of my life (my family, my staff, my clients), I can't help but think of their safety and well being. It's become an inescapable fact that we will continue to deal with this pandemic for a while longer. Most experts say that the soonest the general population will have had the chance to be effectively vaccinated will be April or May of next year. So after much thought and discussion with staff, we have made the decision to keep the office closed to the public (and continue to have virtual tax appointments) until at least May 2021 so that we can keep our staff, clients, and families as safe as possible.
Virtual tax appointments -- don't worry, it's easy and painless to have one!
- We did it for 70% of this year and it worked out well for everyone.
- Instead of coming to the office for your tax appointment, you will mail, portal or drop off your tax document.
- We will have a new, secure dropbox in the vestibule of our building that is available to you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year! Our staff will be the only ones with access to it.
- We are rolling out a new, easy to use, much improved portal system for people who are sending us documents electronically.
- No returns will be picked up in our office. We will portal or priority mail it to you (your choice).
- Please see below for further instructions depending on what type of appointment you have with us: In-person with Matt or Ryan, Mail-In/Portal, or Staff Interviews.
1. In-person Appointment with Matt or Ryan:
If you have an appointment with Matt or Ryan already scheduled for 2021, you will keep that appointment time and meet with them either via a video call or phone call as long as you are able to do the following:
- You will be getting an email in the next week confirming your appointment in 2021. Please call or email us to let us know that date and time still work for you.
- We will send you our Engagement Letter along with the necessary worksheets 4 weeks before your scheduled appointment time.
- We will need a completed Engagement Letter, Client Information Sheet & as many of your tax documents as you've received at least 2 weeks before your scheduled appointment time so that we have enough time to enter it into our software and see if we are missing anything before your appointment.
- If we're missing documents, one of our Interviewers (Lisa, Mari or Gina) will contact you so that we can have all of your information (if possible) before your appointment.
- Matt or Ryan will call or video conference with you (your preference) at your appointment time! Video conferencing has been fantastic since we can share screens and walk you through your return if needed. Give it a try if you have a good internet connection.
2. Mail-in/Portal Clients (no set appointment time)
(In a normal year, you mail/portal us your documents anyway and don't come to the office for an appointment)
- You will get your Engagement Letter, Client Information Sheet & other worksheets in mid-January. We will tell you the date by which we will need your tax documents (this is necessary so that we don't receive all of our Mail-In/Portal Clients' documents at the end of the tax year as happened this year). We will start on your return once we have your signed Engagement Letter, Client Information Sheet & all tax documents. Matt or Ryan or an Interviewer will contact you if they need any further information or need to talk with you.
- Depending on the complexity of your return, Matt or Ryan may schedule a call or video conference with you to review your return when it is completed.
3. Staff Interviews
(You typically call our office during the tax season and schedule an appointment to sit with an Interviewer instead of Matt or Ryan)
- You will get your Engagement Letter, Client Information Sheet & other worksheets in mid-January. We will start on your return once we have your signed Engagement Letter, Client Information Sheet & all tax documents.
- One of the Interviewers (Lisa, Mari or Gina) will contact you if they need any further information or need to talk with you.
- You should mail, portal or drop off your documents as soon as possible but no later than March 15, 2021.
- No returns will be picked up in our office. We will portal or priority mail it to you (your choice).
We will provide you with more information as we get closer to the tax year, but we wanted to give you a heads-up on what will be another unique year as we do our best to meet your needs.
As always, please email or call us if you have any questions. While we are still closed to the public, we are working and answering phones Tuesdays-Thursdays, 8:45 am - 4:00 pm. Thank you for your time!
Matthew Lincoln, EA