2020 is almost behind us - it's been quite a challenge for many of us and my heart goes out to those who have suffered losses due to the COVID Pandemic, especially lost loved ones as well as losses in your life's work and dreams.
We are now looking forward to 2021 with hope that with a vaccine we can someday soon return to normal...
In the meantime - here at Proactive Tax Strategies, Inc. we are gearing up for another challenging tax season. Given the current state of COVID and out of concern for our staff and clients, we have made the decision to minimize traffic in the offices and will therefore will not be holding tax appointments and/or delivering returns in person. We will continue to implement the "contactless" process we started earlier in the year when the pandemic first hit. Each office is equipped with a large drop box out front if you prefer to drop off your tax documents in person. If you wish to pick up your finished tax packet in person, please call the front desk to make arrangements.
We are also expanding our electronic services. Tax information should always be sent to us in a secure manner. Therefore, if you would like to send documents electronically, please use the link on our website to upload the files securely, https://www.protaxstrat.com/select-office. Please do not email us directly with sensitive documents and information. We are also able to provide you with an electronic organizer, upon request, that you can use to provide us the tax information and upload documents that way as well. This is a nice tool as it allows you to see the information from the prior year as a guide. Paper organizers are still available upon request if you prefer good old paper. You have an option to request either of these when you submit your engagement letter to us. Organizers will not be sent out automatically this year.
Speaking of engagement letters - this year we will be sending personal engagement letters out electronically as well. You will be able to sign it digitally and print and/or save a copy for your records. These will be going out the week of Dec 15th to the primary email address that we have on file - please keep an eye out for this. If you don't see it or if your email address has changed, please reach out to Luna (ext 10 or 25) and she will update your records. If you are married, the letter will need to be "signed" by each of you. Once it is signed by the taxpayer another copy will flow through to the spouse to sign via the same primary email address. We would appreciate getting this back as soon as possible as we use this to gauge our upcoming work load and staffing needs. Also note - we cannot start any work without a signed engagement letter, nor can we prepare extensions without this on file. Reminders will automatically be sent on a weekly basis until the document is completed (an automatic nag factor). Our checklist of questions will be included with the engagement letter. Please print this out and return it completed with your tax data.
Even though we are not meeting with clients in person this year, we are still available for telephone or Zoom calls. We have set up a scheduling assistant on our website to help with this as well. If you'd like to schedule with one of us - please visit the website www.protaxstrat.com and under the scheduling tab choose the person you wish to set up a call or zoom meeting with. If the purpose of the "meeting' is to review your tax return before completion, please make sure you provide us your information at least one week prior to your scheduled meeting so we have time to process it and be prepared for the call. As usual, we will give you a call if we have questions as we prepare your returns.
Finally, we have some updates to our staff. Paula has returned to her former life as a teacher - she will be missed! Luna has taken her place as our Lead Admin and is working hard supporting both offices. She is also studying tax preparation and will eventually become a preparer as well. Lisa is our newest team member. She will be starting right after the New Year and will be working as an Administrative Assistant out of the Hilltown Pike office. We are happy to welcome them both to our team.
As always please do not hesitate to call us with any questions or concerns. We value the trust that you place in us and are happy to continue our service to you.