2023 Tax Season Updates
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Much appreciation to all who have helped us transition to an entirely electronic firm.  While borne of necessity from the pandemic, we have found it helps us be more available for our families and turn around tax returns more quickly as well for our clients, leaving everyone happier!  The key to this success is the SmartVault Portal.  You should already be set up, but if you aren’t, please reach out via email and we’ll resend your invite.

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1. We have a new pricing method starting with 2023 tax filings.  Individual tax return price will increase by $50 on 3/15 and again on 8/15 (2/15 and 7/15 for S Corp, C Corp and Partnerships).  If you send in your information prior to the initial deadline, your price will be the lowest possible, but for those who delay and have more complicated returns, the price will increase throughout the year to cover our costs of filing extensions and follow up needed.

2. The IRS has improved online offerings and we STRONGLY recommend that you visit www.irs.gov and set up online access to your account (https://www.irs.gov/payments/your-online-account).  This is a great tool to monitor your income sources, tax payments, and other personal information to help ensure you report all necessary information and help scan for fraudulent filings. 
   
   Documentation Tips:

3. We DO need:

   1. Completed Individual Tax Organizer – even if you have been a client for 20+ years, we still need this form as some information can change from year to year

   2. 1099-INT Statements – for the first time in years, interest rates are high enough to generate reportable interest income (anything greater than $10) for most bank accounts, so please be sure to check each account you have for those statements

   3. Brokerage Statements and 1099’s – these are often saved in your online account, and not mailed to you, so be sure to check online for any accounts that you have.

   4. Please include the dates and amounts of estimated payments but be sure you are looking at the proper tax year.   A payment made in January 2023 was most likely for 2022 taxes, not 2023.

   5. 1095-A Health Insurance Marketplace Statement (for those who bought insurance through Connect for Health Colorado or their state’s marketplace)

4. Please do NOT send:

   1. Receipts – this includes charitable contributions, check copies or year end statements

   2. 5498 Forms

   3. 1095 B/C Forms (we do need the 1095 A, but not the B or C)

   4. Although we don’t need them, now is as good a time as ever to be sure you have saved your prior year bank statements and receipts somewhere secure in case you need them for an audit.  With bank mergers and collapses happening more frequently than ever, you may lose access to your online account with no advanced notice, so saving your statements in your permanent records is highly encouraged.
      
      BEST PRACTICES for submitting documents:

5. Please gather all documents first, rather than sending piecemeal.

6. Please try to save all files as PDF’s, Excel or Word Documents.  We struggle opening JPG’s and we cannot open Numbers files.

7. If you do not have a scanner, please ask a neighbor or local business for help, including your bank, financial advisor, insurance agent, or even the local UPS or FedEx Store.

8. Once all documents have been gathered, please upload them to the SmartVault Portal https://knightaccounting.smartvault.com/   You should have access to this portal from last year, or else please email cpa@cpamichele.com to request a new invitation.  Instructions are attached.  Please be sure to upload to the TY23 folder, and not the permanent folder or other past years.

9. Once you have uploaded your documents, please send a confirmation email to cpa@cpamichele.com so that we can verify we received them.

10. The IRS has issued recent rulings disallowing documents being sent via unsecured methods, so if you cannot access the portal, please let me know and we’ll see how we can help.  Because of this, we ask that you do not mail, fax or email any documents.  

11. In order to complete your individual tax return on time, we need your information by March 15th. If you need an extension filed, please let me know by April 5th, and then the deadline will be September 15th to submit your information.  Please remember that filing an extension does not extend your payment deadlines, and you may face interest and penalties for late taxes due.

12. As always, I will do my best to post updates to the tax laws & tax rates as they happen on my website, www.cpamichele.com.   If you are a Facebook user, you can get these updates automatically if you “like” the Knight Accounting & Technology Facebook page.
    
    Needless to say, there are a lot of changes this year, and we promise to do our best to support you along the way!  Communication is always key, so if you are facing delays or challenges on your end, please just keep us posted and we’ll do everything we can to accommodate.