Tax Prep Process 2024

Updated December 24, 2023

Overview

Welcome back! We continue to offer convenient and flexible service that fits into your schedule, not the other way around. Our virtual doors are open 24/7, allowing you to securely upload your tax documents whenever it suits you—no appointments necessary. With our streamlined electronic approach, you can stay compliant and on top of your taxes from the comfort of your home or on the go, ensuring your financial obligations are met with ease and efficiency. Let's make this tax season the smoothest one yet, with our expert team just a call, click, or email away.

If you’re not currently a client, click here for more information.

On this page

Get Ready

Preliminary steps you can take while waiting for your W2s and 1099s to arrive.

  • Verify you can access your client portal (click here for more information). If you have problems, contact your preparer.
    ▶ If you have used your portal successfully in the past and cannot remember your password, there’s a link to reset it on the portal logon page.

  • ▶ You can send scanned copies through your portal, mail documents to our mailing address, send documents by fax, or drop off documents at our mail drop in Wappinger. Click here to learn more on your options.
    ▶ If you mail or drop-off documents, they will be scanned into your portal at no additional charge. All paper documents are securely shredded after scanning. Original documents can be returned to you for an additional fee.

  • ▶ Our organizer is online here and can be completed on your computer, tablet, or phone.

    ▶ Save your progress any time and resume later.

    ▶ Our questionnaire helps ensure your return is accurate and you’re paying the lowest legal amount of taxes.

    ▶ Parents of young adults and caregivers/POAs for taxpayers can complete the organizer on their behalf. (Children under age 18 do not need to complete an organizer.)

    ▶ As part of our organizer, we ask for your consent to receive text and email messages from us. Because we operate virtually, if you withhold consent it greatly impacts our ability to provide you with superior service. We don't spam you, we keep ALL your personal information private, and we never sell it to third parties.

    ▶ If you have problems completing the organizer, contact your preparer.

  • ▶ Our engagement letter for individual returns (form 1040) is online here.

    ▶ We must have both your signed letter and your organizer before we can begin working on your return.

  • ▶ The service is optional, but can help us prepare an accurate return.

    ▶ It also allows us to detect potential audit issues before the IRS identifies them, saving you penalties and interest.

    ▶ You’ll find more information at the end of the organizer.

  • ▶ We need a picture of your license if you are a new client or if your license has changed.

    ▶ If you have renewed your license or converted it to an Enhanced or REAL ID, that is a change.

    ▶ We need the FRONT and BACK. All numbers and dates must be legible and not cut off, and the picture must be recognizable.

    ▶ If you are a NEW client and do not have a license, please scan or copy another federal or state id that shows your photo.

    ▶ Please do not send your ID by email; it's an ID theft risk. You can securely attach copies in the organizer, send them through your portal, or provide us with paper copies.

  • Check our Special Situations page (under Client Resources) if any of the following applies to you:

    ▶ You have income from self-employment (clients pay you directly) or as a contractor (you receive a 1099-NEC or 1099-MISC).

    ▶ You are a landlord

    ▶ You own or trade virtual currency (Bitcoin, Ether, Dogecoin, etc.), NFTs, or other digital assets.

    ▶ You or anyone listed on your return attended college last year

Document Delivery

Email isn't the safest way to send us your private details. To dodge the prying eyes of identity thieves, skip the email for sending anything that could give hackers a payday, like your tax documents, bank info, or your ID. Safeguard your peace of mind by clicking here to discover the secure channels we've set up just for you.

  • Sending your personal information by email isn’t secure and can expose you to identity theft. Please: never email your personal information, tax documents, bank account or credit card information, copies of your license, or anything else a hacker might use to steal your identity or assets. Click here to read about our secure options.

  • Once you’ve completed the questionnaire, you’ll be given a checklist of most of the information that you will need to provide.

    ▶ If you receive any tax documents that aren’t on your list, provide those too.

    ▶ If you give us your original documents, we will scan them into your portal for you and shred the originals. If you prefer us to return the original documents to you, an additional fee will apply.

    ▶ Please note we only scan required tax forms, not instructions or supplemental forms. We do not need, do not want, and will not scan every medical or charitable receipt. Please provide us with your total dollar amounts and keep your receipts in the event IRS or a state asks for substantiation.

    ▶ If you are hand-delivering documents to our mail drop, the UPS Store has copiers available.

  • ▶ We do not need, do not want, and will not scan every medical or charitable receipt. Please provide us with your total dollar amounts and keep your receipts in the event IRS asks for substantiation.

    ▶ We also don’t need cancelled checks, trade confirmations, or anything else that backs up information reported on a tax form.

    ▶ An additional processing fee may be added to your bill if you send us too many irrelevant papers or ask us to add up piles of receipts.

  • If you can download PDF copies of documents, put those files right in your client portal -- no need to print them.

    ▶ Many employers, brokers, banks, colleges and other institutions provide documents in PDF format.

    ▶ If files are password protected, make sure you send us the password through our secure form.

    ▶ Make sure you send us the actual PDF files, not an email that let's you access the PDF. We can’t retrieve the PDF for you.

  • it's not necessary to scan "boilerplate" text like the instructions on the back of your W-2 or 1099.

    ▶ Form instructions on the back of your W-2 or 1099, inserts about additional services, and other such things are not needed.

    ▶However, if you have a brokerage account, we need all numbered pages (even if they are instructions).

    ▶ We prefer documents as PDF scans rather than individual pictures. Click for some suggested apps that you can use, or check your app store.

    ▶ If you must take pictures and are using an iPhone, please send high-resolution images. Apple devices often share tiny pictures that are hard to read.

  • If you are self-employed, a landlord, buy or sell digital assets, or have college expenses in the family, remember to include your additional required information. Worksheets and additional information are available here.

  • If you want to mail your documents to us, copies are preferred. Your documents will be scanned to your client portal, but there will be an additional fee for to return paper documents to you. We securely shred all documents that are not returned.

    ▶ You can hand-deliver envelopes to our mail drop at the UPS Store in Wappingers Falls (see the bottom of the page). For your privacy and security, all documents should be in a sealed envelope and please label it with "Hudson Valley Tax Experts, #193."

    ▶ You can also fax documents to us at 845-203-4099.

Leave it to Us

When you’ve provided all your documents and completed your organizer and engagement letter, we will start working on your return.

  • You should receive a confirmation email from us within 48 hours of us receiving your return (usually sooner, but sometimes we take a day off).

    If you are mailing documents to us, we recommend sending copies rather than original documents and using Priority Mail or UPS for tracking purposes. It’s usually not necessary to pay for Express service. (We get hundreds of pieces of mail each season, and the majority arrive without incident, but the occasional package takes a scenic route and takes weeks to arrive.)

  • Your preparer will contact you for any missing information or additional details.

    ▶ Many questions can be resolved through email, but in some cases we will ask you to schedule a call. You can always schedule a call with your preparer, if it's easier than using email.

    ▶ If you are putting documents in your portal as you receive them, rather than all at once, please email your preparer when you believe you have added everything.

  • Once your return is complete, your preparer will send you a PDF copy through your portal.

    ▶ They will also review the return with you by video or other means.

    ▶ Make sure all your questions are answered before you sign your return.

    ▶ You are free to call us at any time, but we may not be able to answer (especially during tax season). If you schedule a call, you know we'll be free to chat.

    ▶ Any videos we may send will be most helpful if you can watch on a computer or tablet. Details do not show up on a phone screen.

  • ▶ You’ll receive an email with instructions to access and sign your return. If you’re married, you’ll both receive an email.

    ▶ To sign your return electronically, you will use “knowledge based authentication” (KBA) to verify your identity by answering some questions.

    ▶ If KBA fails, we can send a PIN to sign in an alternative fashion or you can print the forms to sign the old-fashioned way.

    ▶ For returns for children under 18, we will communicate the signing PIN to the parent.

    ▶ If you opted for a paper copy of your return, it will be mailed to you along with the signature forms to be signed.

    ▶ Your return will be sent to the government electronically upon receipt of your signed authorization forms and payment.

  • ▶ Payment is due on completion of your return, before it is filed.

    ▶ In 2024, some clients will receive payment information through Anchor, as part of a gradual migration to our new platform.

    ▶ We recommend payment by credit or debit card, Venmo, or PayPal. You can also mail a check. Payment options are here.

  • If you must make payments to the IRS, New York, or another state, we strongly encourage that you consider paying directly from your bank account. Mailed paper checks are susceptible to being intercepted by thieves and “washed” to change the payee information.

    ▶ Click here for information on paying the IRS or states electronically.

    ▶ If you want to pay the government with a credit card, remember they will charge a processing fee in addition to the tax you owe.

    ▶ If you can’t pay what you owe, the IRS and most states will generally let you set up a payment plan. You can do that yourself or we can provide assistance for an additional fee.

    ▶ If your tax debt is excessive, ask us about options that might be available.

    ▶ If you really prefer to mail the government a check, we can provide payment coupons.

Children & Dependents

If your child (or other dependent) who you claim on your return needs a return of their own, we can help. It’s cheaper to have us prepare the return than to fix it afterwards if they make a mistake when filing their own.

  • ▶ Whether your child has to file depends on their income and other factors. Contact your preparer for information and pricing.

    ▶ It may also be beneficial to file to claim a refund of taxes that were withheld from their paychecks.

    ▶ If they file their own return which has to be corrected, it may delay your own refund and will be more expensive to fix.

    ▶ Children or other dependents under age 18 who claimed do not need to fill out the organizer or sign their engagement letter.

  • It’s never too early to start learning about money and taxes, so we encourage your child to be involved in the process.

  • ▶ We cannot use a parent’s bank account for a dependent’s refund or payment.

    ▶ Bank account information (name, routing and account numbers) can be submitted securely.

    ▶ By default, we also use the bank information to set up electronic payment of any tax due under $25 (and for larger amounts if requested).

  • Children older than 17:

    ▶ Must provide their driver's license (front and back) if they have one.

    ▶ Must sign their own returns. If they have an email address, the signing can be done electronically; otherwise they will need to print the signature forms and sign them in ink.

    ▶ We cannot use a parents bank account for a dependent’s refund or payment.

  • Minor children (under age 18):

    ▶ We will send the parents a PIN to electronically sign the return.

As you focus on what matters most to you, leave the intricacies of tax preparation to us. With a commitment to efficiency and accuracy, we'll ensure your taxes are managed with the utmost care. Your tranquility is our highest accolade.

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