How are you different from a CPA?
EAs are federally-authorized tax practitioners who can:
- Represent taxpayers before the IRS on matters ranging from tax issues, audits and appeals.
- Since the EA specialize in tax law, we provide tax advice
- Prepare and File tax returns for individuals, partnerships, corporations, estates, trusts, and other entities with tax-reporting requirements
To become an EA, candidates must pass a three-part test, apply to the IRS, and pass a background check.
- Complete 72 hours of continuing education every three years.
- Comply with ethical standards established by the Department of Treasury.
CPAs are state-licensed accounting professionals who may be:
- Auditors
- Accountants
- Business advisors
- Corporate accountants and executives
- Tax consultants
- Forensic accountants
- Financial planners
To become a CPA, candidates must pass a four-part exam and comply with education and experience requirements. The exam is the same no matter which state it’s taken in, but every state has its own education and experience requirements. Most require at least a bachelor’s degree and at least two years of public accounting experience.
What do you do to protect my information from identity theft?
We are very careful with your information. All our desktop computers are hard-wired and do not run with wi-fi. At night all the computers are shut down. Upon startup all the softwares require passwords and two-factor authentication. All paper information is locked up when no one is in the office. Since we are a small office, we do not use laptops to deal with client information. Tax return info is not stored on my phones. We also use an encrypted portal system for all clients.
Do you file your returns electronically?
We file 99% of our returns electronically. The only exceptions are if we are working with an individual that hasn’t filed in several years (Non-Filer). Based on the number of years to be filed, we can decide about mailing them in or e-filing. Every year we deal with multiple cases of non-filers and there are pros and cons to both methods of e-filing and mailing. We will go over this with you if this happens to be your situation
What kind of work do you do?
We specialize in personal returns, partnerships, Sole proprietors, S-Corps, C-Corps, LLC’s and estates/trusts. We also help a lot of people who have not filed taxes in several years (non-Filers). We also help business owners with planning & forecasting cashflow in addition to helping them run their business.
How much does it cost to have you prepare my tax return? What do I get when I use your services?
Well, I have spent several years developing pricing and am now proud to offer fixed fee pricing as well as package plans. All returns prepared have fixed fees and package plan options. That being said, choices are the main benefit that you get when using our services. We now offer three different pricing plans. Ask us for more info on these plans.
What are your normal hours? Do you have evening and weekend appointments?
During tax season our hours are greatly extended, but during the summer they shrink. We ask that you make an appointment so you know when we are available.
We do meet with clients in the evening during tax season, even at 9PM and on Saturday if necessary. There has been an occasional 6AM meeting as well. Sunday we are closed except during tax season which is our time to catch up with the work week. We ask you to schedule an appointment to ensure that we are available.
We do not take walk-ins.
You can easily set up a phone, Zoom, or in-person meeting with us by clicking here
How do I get my documents to you?
We have a secure portal that is encrypted. You upload your documents, or scan them & upload, using the app. The same portal app allows us to securely communicate with you by chat; if you have questions or we need additional documents it is easy and fast to send a message. Your completed tax forms are uploaded to the portal so that you may download them for your permanent records. We can also work with paper documents that you can mail to us drop them off.
How many trees do you kill a year?
Unfortunately, we are not a 100% paperless office, but we are close. We go through about 2 cases of paper a year and we average about 5 paper tax returns mailed out to my elderly clients. All other clients get PDF copies of their returns in their encrypted portal. We have moved into a new project management system that is in the cloud and prevented us from doing extra printing of emails and documents.
What are your normal hours?
During tax season our hours are greatly extended, but during the summer they shrink. We ask that you make an appointment so you know when we are available.
I'm from outside MA. Can you prepare my return?
Yes we can! We prepare returns for every state that has an income tax.
How will I receive my return from you?
You will receive an email notification that your return(s) are ready and forms to sign for E-Filing. Your copies of the returns will be placed into the portal for you to download and keep. We can also have returns and signature forms ready at the office for you to sign and pick up in person, by appointment.
How do I engage your services?
Call our office or schedule a meeting on our website Scott Alving- It Figures Tax Services for a meeting via phone, zoom or in-person at the lake house.
