Dear Client:

 

 

Welcome to 2022! We hope everyone is healthy, (we know we said this last year), and that this year brings an end to the pandemic and a return to a more normal lifestyle.

First, we would like to congratulate Emily Wallace on her 3rd year at Wallace Associates and on her decision to become an Enrolled Agent, a designation that is held in the highest regards by the accounting community, as well as the IRS.

The Coronavirus continues to change the way we do business today. Our office is open; Due to the ongoing pandemic we continue to prepare returns virtually. For the safety of our clients and staff, we offer the following ways of preparing tax returns for the 2022 tax season:

• ·         Tax documents can be dropped off at our office during business hours,
• ·         Dropped in our secure physical drop box at any time of day,
• ·         Mailed by USPS, UPS or FedEx,
• ·         Faxed to 856-439-1667,
• ·         Emailed to donna@wallacetaxes.com, or
• ·         Scanned and uploaded to our secure portal, Smart Vault.

 

 Many of our clients have been using these methods for years. If you would like to take advantage of our portal, please go to our website at www.wallacetaxes.com and ask for an invitation or call or email us with your request. If you are uploading your documents into Smart Vault, please scan all your documents in one PDF file for accuracy. If you are mailing or dropping off your documents, please remove all envelopes, staples, and paperclips.

 

We can arrange appointments by phone or by using Zoom. Zoom appointments will be originated by our office. It is simple to use and very convenient.

For the 2021  tax return:

The due date is April 18th  this year due to Emancipation Day. An extension does not extend the payment date for tax that is owed.

The stimulus checks received last year are not taxable, but we will need to know the exact amount you received in March 2021 and beyond in order to prepare your tax return. Please make sure you include IRS Notice 1444-C that the IRS is mailing to you in your paperwork. (Please do not include the Stimulus you received in Jan/Feb 2021). Anyone who qualified for a stimulus payment but did not get one will have the opportunity to apply for it with the current tax return. If we do not have the correct information, your return will be significantly delayed at the IRS.

Unemployment compensation. Anyone who received unemployment compensation in 2021 must log on to your state portal and print out Form 1099-G. The states are not mailing out paper documents.

Child Tax Credit: Please include Letter 6419 if you received Advance Child Tax Credit Payments in 2021. If we do not have the correct information, your return will be significantly delayed at the IRS.

Cryptocurrency. The IRS has issued new rules regarding cryptocurrency, Bitcoin being one. Anyone who owns, or has traded in, any cryptocurrency needs to tell us. The penalties can be significant.

Our 2021 Business and Rental checklists are available on our website or you can email Donna for a copy.

Health insurance. Anyone who obtained health insurance through HealthCare.gov must go online and print out their Form 1095-A and send it to us with your tax documents.  Information on this form is needed to complete your tax return.

Cash or Check Donations.  Special tax law changes allow individual taxpayers to claim an "above-the-line" deduction of up to $600 for cash, check, debit or credit card donations made to charity during 2021. 

 

        

Important Tips and Reminders:

 

• 1099’s. If you are engaged in a trade or business and made any payments during 2021 in excess of $600 to a vendor for services provided, you are required to file a Form 1099-NEC for payments to independent contractors and subcontractors.  Businesses also need to send a 1099-MISC for rental payments made during the year. You do not have to send 1099’s to anyone who is incorporated. (Incorporated does not mean LLC’s). They are due to the payee and the IRS by January 31st. Please notify us if you want us to prepare 1099’s for you.
• If you are a PA resident and you use your car or truck for unreimbursed business miles, you are required to document the total miles driven in 2021, the business miles and the commuting miles, for the deduction.  Please supply us with your log as we will need to copy it. Without a log we cannot take car expenses on PA returns. If you purchased/leased a new business vehicle, please supply us with the sales or lease agreement.
• 
  If you are a NJ resident, please include your final paystubs, your total out-of-pocket medical and dental expenses, and your real estate taxes paid. 
• Please supply us with your current bank account number or a voided check with routing transit number for direct deposit/debit so that we may directly deposit your refund into your bank account or directly debit if you need to make a payment. 
• 
  AN EXTENSION OF TIME TO FILE IS NOT AN EXTENSION OF TIME TO PAY THE TAX. Tax must be paid by April 18th, 2022 or penalties and interest will accrue. If you need an extension you must call us.
• 
  If you have a child in college, please supply us with the Form 1098-T, as well as a 2021 billing/payment history. We cannot give an educational credit without a 1098-T. Have your student go online and download these statements. Also needed is the cost of laptops and books. We will not be able to take the deduction without these documents.
• 
  If you/your student received a distribution from a 529 plan, please include the 1099-Q. The distribution must be used to pay education expenses in the same calendar year, not the following January.
• Reporting of foreign accounts. Anyone with a foreign bank account or brokerage account must disclose this on your tax return. Please provide us with the account information, bank or institution name, address, highest balance in 2021 and account number. Penalties are high for not disclosing this on the tax return.
• 
  If you have a Health Savings Account [HSA], we will need to know how much you contributed and what you withdrew in 2021. Please include Forms 1099-SA and 5498-SA with your tax documents.
   

 

We look forward to working with everyone during the upcoming tax season. Any tax returns that come into our office after March 25, 2022 will automatically have an extension filed in the event that the return cannot be completed by April 18th.

 

IMPORTANT NOTE: Please open your tax package that we send to you when you get it in the mail. We file federal and state returns electronically, but local income tax returns must be signed and mailed manually by you, so it is very important to open any mail from us.

 

SECURITY: Your security is very important to us. The threats from cyber-attacks are very real and becoming more common. Our office has in place systems that meet and exceed Government and IRS recommendations and requirements.

 

 

Sincerely,

The Staff at Wallace Associates,

Andy, Roberta, Julie, Donna, Marianne, & Emily

 

Our billing policy: Our office will continue to bill returns based on the complexity of the return and the expertise needed to provide the best service to you. We base our fees on the complexity of the tax return; the number of forms needed to complete the tax return; the number of source documents used to prepare the tax return; as well as the level of tax knowledge required to prepare the tax return. We continue to offer our professional and personalized service while remaining competitively priced relative to our competition. We accept payments by cash, check, E-check, Visa, MC and Amex.

 

Disclosure policy: As a rule, tax practitioners are prohibited from disclosing nonpublic personal information about a consumer to non-affiliated third parties.  Your privacy is of the utmost importance to us. We do not disclose any information about you whatsoever to any non-affiliated third parties without obtaining your consent first. We also maintain the strictest security guidelines in our office to ensure that all your data is always secure.