Dear Financial Advisors,
Tax season is upon us, and as CPAs, we’re gearing up for one of the busiest times of the year. While it’s crunch time for us, we know it’s also an important season for you and your clients. To make this tax season as smooth and successful as possible for our mutual clients, let’s work together closely.
We’ve put together a list of ways you can help us, and how we can help you, so we can navigate tax season efficiently and effectively together.
1. Keep Us Updated
There are certain financial activities that have significant tax implications, and knowing about them upfront helps us ensure accurate filings, finding the most potential tax savings, and a quicker turnaround time for the clients’ tax returns.
What to Tell Us About:
Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs): If your client has made a QCD from their IRA, this needs to be reported correctly to ensure the distribution isn’t taxed.
529 Plan Contributions: In some states, contributions to a 529 plan can be deductible. If your client has made contributions, please let us know so we can take advantage of any available deductions.
Backdoor Roth IRAs: These require careful documentation to avoid double taxation. If your client has done a backdoor Roth conversion, we need to ensure all steps are reported accurately.
Investment Sales and Gains/Losses: Any significant sales of investments, especially those related to tax-loss harvesting or rebalancing, should be documented and shared with us.
Major Life Changes: Marriages, divorces, births, adoptions, or the death of a spouse—all these events can significantly impact a client’s tax situation.
2. Help Clients Compile and Organize Their Tax Documents
One of the biggest challenges during tax season is getting all the necessary documents together. The more organized we can be, the less stressful this time will be for everyone involved.
How You Can Help:
Create a Checklist: Provide your clients with a tax document checklist that includes items like W-2s, 1099s, mortgage interest statements, and any other relevant forms.
Encourage Early Gathering: Remind your clients to start compiling their tax documents early. The sooner we have everything, the better.
Assist with Organization: Help your client scan and save their paper documents as PDFs in a secure, organized folder. This makes it easier to share and ensures nothing gets lost.
Review Before Sending: Offer to review the documents with your client to ensure they have everything before they send to us. This reduces back-and-forth, helps catch any missing pieces early, and cements the clients’ trust and appreciation in your relationship.
3. Keep the Client at the Center—Let’s Communicate Directly
We both know our clients are busy, and the last thing they need is to be caught in the middle of our communications. Let’s keep our exchanges efficient and client-focused.
How We Can Work Together:
Direct Communication: If there’s something you need to share regarding the client’s tax situation, don’t hesitate to reach out directly. Let’s save the client from being the go-between for information we can easily handle for them.
Share Documents Securely: If you have tax-related documents or summaries prepared for the client, share them securely with us. This not only saves the client time but also ensures that we have everything needed to file accurately.
Coordinate Tax Planning Follow-Ups: Once tax season is over, we can dive deeper into more consultative discussions, like reviewing strategies for next year or refining long-term plans. For now, let’s focus on getting through tax season with everything in order.
Let's Team Up for Tax Season!
Tax season can be intense, but with good communication and teamwork, we can make it a success for our clients. The better we coordinate, the less stressful the process will be, and the more we can achieve for those we serve.
Let’s team up this tax season together and ensure our clients get the best possible outcomes.
Here’s to a smooth and efficient tax season,
👯♀️ Claire & Logan
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