Can I refer my friends and family to you?
We not only appreciate your referrals, we need them.  You are our best advertisement.  If you are pleased with our services we hope that you will share this with others.  Most new clients to our firm come from referrals from our existing clients.

We would be pleased to meet, at no charge, with a potential client to see if the prospective relationship would make a good fit.  There is no technical advice provided in this appointment.

How much will my income tax return cost?
For income tax returns, our fees are based on the schedules that you are required to file.  If we have not prepared your return in the past, and you would like an estimate of the fees that would be charged, please call.  It is easiest if you have last year’s return in front of you so you can estimate what schedules may be needed this year from what schedules were filed last year. 

Individual income tax returns are usually expected to be paid when before the return is filed electronically (or picked up if manually filed).

We do charge extra for extra work. The following are examples of what we consider extra work:

• Bookkeeping – If you bring us the equivalent of a shoe box with receipts stuffed inside, we will need to do some bookkeeping to sort through the box.
• Bookkeeping – For businesses, we will need a balanced trial balance. For the trial balance to be “balanced” we are referring to each of the following:
• Total debits are equal to total credits,
• Cash balances agree to the reconciled cash balances at yearend,
• Other balance sheet accounts, such as accounts receivable and accounts payable are equal to the detailed listing of receivables or payables at the end of the year, in accordance with your basis of accounting, and
• The equity accounts before closing reconcile to the equity reported on the prior year’s balance sheet.
• Tax planning – We can always help to determine your tax liability for the next year based on any assumptions or changes you provide for us.
usual number of items – Most clients have just a few W-2’s to report wages and 1099’s to report interest, dividend or capital gain income.  When this becomes excessive (i.e. 10 or more), we will charge extra for this time.
• Tracking down information – Some clients ask us to track down any information they are missing.  For example, for some clients we must call the Town tax collector to find out how much was paid in property taxes, we must call the bank to find out how much was paid on mortgages, and call the stock broker to find out the needed information on the portfolio income.  This time is billed on a per hour basis.

How much do you charge for non-tax return services?
Feel free to discuss fees with us up front.  For many services, such as financial statements and income tax returns, we can estimate the fees to complete the engagement.  The estimates are always based on anticipated cooperation from you or your personnel and the assumption that unexpected circumstances will not be encountered.

Our fees are based on the actual time spent on your account at our standard hourly rates.  Our standard hourly rates vary according to the degree of responsibility involved and the experience level of the personnel assigned to your review.

We will assign the project, or segments of the project, to the lowest level (least expensive) staff member available with the upper level staff time limited to supervising and reviewing the work whenever possible.  This will allow us to keep the fees as low as possible.

We will also charge for travel, postage, and other out‑of‑pocket costs we incur on your behalf.

When are personal property tax reports due?
Personal Property Tax Declarations are due to the Assessor of the Town that you are located in by November 1 (or the next business day, if Nov 1 is on a weekend) Do I need to file one? If you are a business located in CT, and if you own any personal property you would need to file a Personal Property Tax Declaration. Not for Profits are required to file the form as well even though that do not have to pay any taxes. Check with the Assessor in your Town for more details.

What do I do if I order off the internet and they don’t charge sales taxes?
You are still liable for use tax even if it is not included with your purchase. For businesses, it would be filed on Form OS-114 Sales and Use Tax Return. For an individual, it would be filed on Form CT-1040.

What is “unclaimed property” and who has to file the return?
Unclaimed property is money and other valuables which have been unclaimed by Connecticut residents for a specific period of time, generally 3 to 5 years. Businesses need to file an Unclaimed Property Report by March 31 each year.

Who does my business need to file Form-1099s for?
Your business would need to file Form 1099 for any vendors that are not incorporated and provide you with a service that totals more than $600 in any year. You are required to send your landlord a Form 1099 for any rent that was paid as well. And you need to send a Form 1099 to any attorney whether or not they are incorporated.

Where do I go in QuickBooks to post a journal entry?
From the menu bar at the top of the screen, click on Company and then on Make General Journal Entries…

How do I add account numbers in QuickBooks to my chart of accounts?
You would choose to use them in the Accounting Preferences. To do this, click on Edit (from the menu bar at the top of the screen) then click on Preferences, the choose Accounting from the menu system on the left, then on the Company Preferences tab, click on “Use account numbers”.

Where is my income tax refund from the IRS?
To locate the status of your IRS refund you can go to WWW.IRS.GOV and click on the link. To access the information you will need your social security number or taxpayer identification number, filing status, and the exact whole dollar amount of your refund. Where is my income tax refund from the State of Connecticut?

To locate the status of your State of Connecticut tax refund you can go to WWW.CT.GOV/DRS and click on the link for the Taxpayer Service Center (TSC). To login you will need your social security number and either your pin number or prior years federal adjusted gross income. You will receive your pin number when you register for the Taxpayer Service Center.

Where is my income tax refund from the State of Rhode Island?
To located the status of your State of Rhode Island tax refund you can go to WWW.TAX.RI.COM and click on the link for “Where is my tax refund?”. To access the information you will need your social security number, filing status, and expected refund.

How long will it take to get my refund?
The length of time it takes to receive your refund will depend on the method that you have chosen to receive the funds. The IRS accepts tax returns in batches throughout the tax season. If have chosen to receive your refund via direct deposit you should receive a refund within 9 and 15 days from the date the IRS accepts the return. If you have chosen a paper check it should take approximately 7 more days. The states generally process refunds in a shorter time frame than the IRS.

When is my tax return due?
Individual tax returns (1040) and Partnership tax returns are due on April 18, 2011. If needed a six month extension may be filed extending the due date to October 15, 2011. However any taxes that are due must be paid by April 18, 2011 to avoid penalties and interest.

Corporate and S Corporate tax returns (1120 and 1120s) are due on March 15, 2011. You may also file a six month extension for these returns as well, however just like the individual returns any taxes due must be paid on the March 15, 2011 due date.

Can I get an extension?
You may file a six month extension, however the extension only covers the filing of the return. All taxes due must be paid by the original due date in order to avoid any penalties and interest.

When are estimated payments due? Where do I send them if I live in Connecticut?
Federal and State estimated tax payments are due on April 18th, June 15th, September 15th and January 15th. If you would like to increase your itemized deductions on your federal tax return you can make the state estimated tax payment in December rather than in January and you will be able to deduct it in the current year.

The State of Connecticut estimated payment voucher and check should be sent to: Department of Revenue Service P.O. Box 5053 Hartford, CT 06102-5053

How do I pay the IRS the balance I owe them?
When filing a tax return with a balance due you should receive a form 1040-V. A 1040-V is a payment voucher which indicates that amount you owe and where you should mail the payment. Payments maybe made using either checks or money orders.