How to have an Online Tax Prep appointment with Jen!
UPDATED for the 2023 season!!! Things are different, read carefully!
1. New clients, email Jen for a TaxDome link to upload everything. Returning clients, you can just sign in to your TaxDome account and put everything in your 2022 Folder. See How-To Videos for help!
2. Fill out the Client Intake Form and sign the Engagement Letter (sent via TaxDome)
3. Gather all of your tax documents - W2s, 1099s, mortgage or student loan forms etc. See a list of everything I need here! Upload it all to TaxDome. (If you are missing anything, check the Readiness Questionnaire to see if we are good to proceed without it for now) Also upload anything additional as needed like IDs or prior year returns for new clients.
4. Fill out any applicable spreadsheets and upload those to TaxDome as well. Be sure to send them as file type XLS or ODS or share as a Google Sheet. Please do not send file type Numbers or PDFs. There is no need to send me receipts for anything except large (over $500) charitable donations of physical items. If you have questions about spreadsheets, email me!
5. Once you are ready and the Intake Form is submitted and everything is in TaxDome, email Jen to let her know, and she will put you in the queue.
6. When your turn comes up in the queue, Jen will work on a draft of your return. If you are missing any documents or spreadsheets, she will email you to request them. Once the draft is complete, Jen will send you a link to set up an appt to discuss any outstanding issues, and catch up! Appts will be 15, 30, or 45 minutes depending on how much stuff I think we need to talk about. If you think you need a longer appt than I am suggesting, let me know!
7. Schedule your appt to finalize your return. This appt is for going over any issues with deductions, state stuff, tax planning etc that requires a conversation. If we are happy with the return at the end of the appt, proceed to step 8! If there are outstanding items, we'll come up with a plan for getting those done, and once they are taken care of we can go on to step 8.
8. Pay Jen via Zelle or by credit/debit/echeck through CPACharge. Jen will then send you the full copy of your return to look over and the efile docs to sign via TaxDome. Sign, and be sure to download a copy of your return!
9. Treat yourself to a brownie and/or margarita, you completed your 2022 taxes!
EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT - your date for the discount is when you complete Step 5. If you are missing major documents or take longer than 2 weeks to schedule your appt, your discount may be downgraded.
IMPORTANT DATES: To ensure your return is finished before the April deadline, I need everything by Mar 15 (Mar 8 for new clients). Between Mar 15 and Apr 1, I will do my best to get you done, and if I can't I will give you an estimate of what you need to pay with extension. After April 1 (Mar 25 for new clients), you are getting an extension. Details HERE.
FAQ
Q: Why is everything different this year???
A: I realized after 2 seasons fully online that it didn't make sense to run online appts the same way I ran in-person appts. Often people need more or less time than a 90 min appt, leaving me either rushing or with a lot of random unproductive time. Time spent during appts is also becoming increasingly inefficient while I wait for people to download a missing 1095A or 1099G form or look up something they want to deduct and I can't work on anything else while that's happening. Appts will run much faster if nothing big is missing, and I will be able to complete more people before the deadline so there is less chance you will need to extend!
Q: What if I have questions about the spreadsheets?
A: You can set up a free 15 min consultation with me before Feb 15. If you have questions after Feb 15, email and I will give you guidance. For your appt, fill out the spreadsheets to the best of your ability, we can make any necessary changes during your appt, but we need to have at least a base to work with!
Q: How do I get all this stuff to you?
A: However you can! Ideally, PDF's are the best if its something you can download. If you have a physical copy and can scan to a pdf, that's also awesome. If you don't have that though, a good picture with your phone is fine! Just make sure its a jpg or png, I can't open Apple HEIC files. Worse comes to worse, you can also physically mail me copies, email me for my address.
Q: Anything else I need to know about uploading?
A: If you can, please name your files something helpful to me, like "W2 Job 1" or "Student Loan info". When the filename is just a series of numbers, I have to go through everything and re-label. Also, count the number of files you are uploading, you can check with me to make sure that's how many I have. Here are videos about how to upload! Also make sure your pics or PDFs are legible. If you can't read them, neither can I!
Q: How secure is this?
A: As good as we can with current tech. I am the only one with access to my TaxDome account, and I do my best to keep that secure by changing my password regularly. The links I send you can only be used for uploading, not downloading, so if anyone gets into your email the link is useless. I am a very small outfit, so it's unlikely my account would become a target.
Q: Are you a Mac or PC?
A: PC all the way baby! So no, I don't have Facetime, and I can't open pages or numbers, so make sure what you send is PC compatible! Thanks!
1. New clients, email Jen for a TaxDome link to upload everything. Returning clients, you can just sign in to your TaxDome account and put everything in your 2022 Folder. See How-To Videos for help!
2. Fill out the Client Intake Form and sign the Engagement Letter (sent via TaxDome)
3. Gather all of your tax documents - W2s, 1099s, mortgage or student loan forms etc. See a list of everything I need here! Upload it all to TaxDome. (If you are missing anything, check the Readiness Questionnaire to see if we are good to proceed without it for now) Also upload anything additional as needed like IDs or prior year returns for new clients.
4. Fill out any applicable spreadsheets and upload those to TaxDome as well. Be sure to send them as file type XLS or ODS or share as a Google Sheet. Please do not send file type Numbers or PDFs. There is no need to send me receipts for anything except large (over $500) charitable donations of physical items. If you have questions about spreadsheets, email me!
5. Once you are ready and the Intake Form is submitted and everything is in TaxDome, email Jen to let her know, and she will put you in the queue.
6. When your turn comes up in the queue, Jen will work on a draft of your return. If you are missing any documents or spreadsheets, she will email you to request them. Once the draft is complete, Jen will send you a link to set up an appt to discuss any outstanding issues, and catch up! Appts will be 15, 30, or 45 minutes depending on how much stuff I think we need to talk about. If you think you need a longer appt than I am suggesting, let me know!
7. Schedule your appt to finalize your return. This appt is for going over any issues with deductions, state stuff, tax planning etc that requires a conversation. If we are happy with the return at the end of the appt, proceed to step 8! If there are outstanding items, we'll come up with a plan for getting those done, and once they are taken care of we can go on to step 8.
8. Pay Jen via Zelle or by credit/debit/echeck through CPACharge. Jen will then send you the full copy of your return to look over and the efile docs to sign via TaxDome. Sign, and be sure to download a copy of your return!
9. Treat yourself to a brownie and/or margarita, you completed your 2022 taxes!
EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT - your date for the discount is when you complete Step 5. If you are missing major documents or take longer than 2 weeks to schedule your appt, your discount may be downgraded.
IMPORTANT DATES: To ensure your return is finished before the April deadline, I need everything by Mar 15 (Mar 8 for new clients). Between Mar 15 and Apr 1, I will do my best to get you done, and if I can't I will give you an estimate of what you need to pay with extension. After April 1 (Mar 25 for new clients), you are getting an extension. Details HERE.
FAQ
Q: Why is everything different this year???
A: I realized after 2 seasons fully online that it didn't make sense to run online appts the same way I ran in-person appts. Often people need more or less time than a 90 min appt, leaving me either rushing or with a lot of random unproductive time. Time spent during appts is also becoming increasingly inefficient while I wait for people to download a missing 1095A or 1099G form or look up something they want to deduct and I can't work on anything else while that's happening. Appts will run much faster if nothing big is missing, and I will be able to complete more people before the deadline so there is less chance you will need to extend!
Q: What if I have questions about the spreadsheets?
A: You can set up a free 15 min consultation with me before Feb 15. If you have questions after Feb 15, email and I will give you guidance. For your appt, fill out the spreadsheets to the best of your ability, we can make any necessary changes during your appt, but we need to have at least a base to work with!
Q: How do I get all this stuff to you?
A: However you can! Ideally, PDF's are the best if its something you can download. If you have a physical copy and can scan to a pdf, that's also awesome. If you don't have that though, a good picture with your phone is fine! Just make sure its a jpg or png, I can't open Apple HEIC files. Worse comes to worse, you can also physically mail me copies, email me for my address.
Q: Anything else I need to know about uploading?
A: If you can, please name your files something helpful to me, like "W2 Job 1" or "Student Loan info". When the filename is just a series of numbers, I have to go through everything and re-label. Also, count the number of files you are uploading, you can check with me to make sure that's how many I have. Here are videos about how to upload! Also make sure your pics or PDFs are legible. If you can't read them, neither can I!
Q: How secure is this?
A: As good as we can with current tech. I am the only one with access to my TaxDome account, and I do my best to keep that secure by changing my password regularly. The links I send you can only be used for uploading, not downloading, so if anyone gets into your email the link is useless. I am a very small outfit, so it's unlikely my account would become a target.
Q: Are you a Mac or PC?
A: PC all the way baby! So no, I don't have Facetime, and I can't open pages or numbers, so make sure what you send is PC compatible! Thanks!
