Time to Go Digital

By: Marie Holliday, CPA, MBA, Managing Director

News stories and images of mailed tax returns and payments piled up outside closed IRS and state processing centers, not to mention lengthy delays with mail delivery, drove many to use digital options for the first time. Consider the following:

E-file your tax return.

I can’t emphasize how important this is. The benefits are numerous: immediate email confirmation that the agency has received your return, refunds are processed faster, and e-Filing is more secure than mailing. By late January 2021, many paper returns for 2019 still had not been processed!

Use online payment options to pay balances due / make estimated payments.

The COVID shutdown delayed the processing of tax payments which resulted in many taxpayers receiving tax notices indicating that there were balances due even though payments were mailed before the deadline. To compound matters, taxpayers were charged interest and penalties! There are free, secure online payment options at the federal and state levels, i.e., IRS Direct Pay and EFTPS, which you can use to ensure payments are received on time by the tax authorities. Check out our blog post for more information and links.

Use secure, digital file submission tools.

TaxCaddy, the file submission solution we offer to our clients, is like having your own secure digital file cabinet. You can scan/take photos of your tax documents anytime using your PC, Smartphone or tablet from the comfort of your home and submit to your accountant. Learn more about TaxCaddy on our website.