Do you accept picture of tax statements taken by cell phone?

[Rapid Robert]

Well, good for you!
BREAKING NEWS: Not everyone operates the same way as Rapid Robert.[...]
Heck, I even retype the mailing address on the W2/1099-R if it differs (auto-fill?) from the mailing address used on the tax return itself.

I was simply responding to your previous comment "Where are you if the client sends you (only) an image of the "employee copy" ?? Perhaps land of non-compliance? " I was disagreeing that keeping only a digital copy was somehow non compliant. I haven't yet seen any cites to back up your contention that it might be non-compliant.

I too make sure the address on the W-2/1099 efile record matches the actual form even if different from the return address, doesn't everyone?

I don't understand what your "BREAKING NEWS" and "good for you" comments were intended to convey. It sounds like my operating methods are similar to many others, I wasn't boasting about anything.

[abctax]

I agree

No one cares which copy of the W-2 you have. I believe it's only forms showing federal withholding (most commonly W-2 and 1099-R) that you are supposed to keep a copy of, for efiled returns.

Since I have signed 8879 forms that have never existed in paper form, I am also fine with attaching to them a W-2 that I have also never had in paper form.

We are required to retain a copy of any form that has income tax withholding (W-2, F 1099-R, sometimes F 1099-B). A copy, not necessarily one of the originals - so an emailed/scanned etc version is acceptable. I prefer to see the original, and I generally attach the Federal copy to the client copy of the return (for paper copies), keep one of the state copies in my files, and return the other W-2 copies to the client with their original source docs. IF for some reason, it's one of those lovely W-2's with numerous *state if different allocations* I make sure I have a copy of allllllll the allocations.

[Rapid Robert]

Interesting point that had also crossed my mind.
I always keep the federal and state copies of the W2s attached to any Form 8879 I have on file.

Where are you if the client sends you (only) an image of the "employee copy" ??

No one cares which copy of the W-2 you have. I believe it's only forms showing federal withholding (most commonly W-2 and 1099-R) that you are supposed to keep a copy of, for efiled returns.

Since I have signed 8879 forms that have never existed in paper form, I am also fine with attaching to them a W-2 that I have also never had in paper form.

[taxea]

Your client used his cell phone to take a picture of his W-2 and then email it to you.

Are you ok with it? Or do you require a scanned copy?

Aren't we required to keep two of the original? The one attached to 1040 and one attached to State return had they been mailed rather than efiled? This is what I do.

[kathyc2]

Wow, I'm just the opposite. I do everything possible to keep my clients out of my office so I can get some work done. The second highest priority is to keep them off my phone. Email, text, and even snail mail are far more important to me than looking them in the eye and trying to keep them on task, avoiding talk about everything from their aches & pains to their kids, grandkids, pastor, or politician.

I genuinely like the majority of my clients and look forward to seeing them every year. I purposely schedule appointments far enough apart so there is time to chit chat.

[ATSMAN]

Wow, I'm just the opposite. I do everything possible to keep my clients out of my office so I can get some work done. The second highest priority is to keep them off my phone. Email, text, and even snail mail are far more important to me than looking them in the eye and trying to keep them on task, avoiding talk about everything from their aches & pains to their kids, grandkids, pastor, or politician.

If you can achieve that on a consistent basis, you are lucky. Unfortunately for the rest of us, many of our clients want us to work like the fast food joint!

[JohnH]

Wow, I'm just the opposite. I do everything possible to keep my clients out of my office so I can get some work done. The second highest priority is to keep them off my phone. Email, text, and even snail mail are far more important to me than looking them in the eye and trying to keep them on task, avoiding talk about everything from their aches & pains to their kids, grandkids, pastor, or politician.

[kathyc2]

>> To illustrate, one young client last year, walking around obviously as if she were going to die on the spot if she didn't have her phone,

Unfortunately many young people use their smart phone for all financial transactions, document archiving etc. I routinely run into this issue and have to ask them to e-mail me the pdf from their phone. Going forward this may be the way people will interact and stop getting paper statements all together.

Many times this works out great. I prefer to prepare simple returns while clients wait. If younger people are missing a doc such as student loan interest, they just look it up on their phone and e-mail it to me while I'm inputting the rest of their info.

Much better than having to wait for them to get it later and have to make a separate appointment for pick up.

[ATSMAN]

>> To illustrate, one young client last year, walking around obviously as if she were going to die on the spot if she didn't have her phone,

Unfortunately many young people use their smart phone for all financial transactions, document archiving etc. I routinely run into this issue and have to ask them to e-mail me the pdf from their phone. Going forward this may be the way people will interact and stop getting paper statements all together.

[Snaggletooth]

Lemming-like rush to electronic demise

Old School from me. We are too far allowing ourselves to be "convenienced" into the wonderful world of electronics. We are losing control of basic functionality and we may live to see the day when all the electronic keys and passwords are controlled by a single source. At that point we will be controlled like pawns on a chessboard.

I meet with my clients face-to-face every year and insist on source documents. If they tell me "Oh, I've got everything online" then "everything" will have to be printed out. My long-time clients know this, and most of them admire the policy.

To illustrate, one young client last year, walking around obviously as if she were going to die on the spot if she didn't have her phone, told me she had a 1098-T from college. Other evidence convinced me she was a college student during the year in question. When I asked to see it, she said "Oh, I've got it online, wanna see it?" She then proceeded to scroll through 300 pages of telephone data, then finally gave up.

[ATSMAN]

For some strange reason USPS mail processing system is not as linear as one may imagine. I have mailed first class letters in western MA and the cancelling postmark is Hartford CT. Springfield, MA where they have a huge sorting facility is only 20 miles away.

Over the years I have noticed that a first class letter mailed in MA get to its destination in MA in 2 days, barring some exceptions in rural areas.

[Lion]

I use the flat rate envelopes and tracking. It's my clients, several of them, that don't trust the USPS and won't use it. If in CT, I can understand: our mail goes from our town to a distant sorting facility in CT, then to Kearny, NJ, then to Springfield, MA, then to Hartford, CT, and then to a distant sorting facility in CT, and then finally to the local PO in CT and out for delivery the following day! I receive mail from my clients in CA, CO, PA, NY, OH, MA, etc., faster than I receive mail from clients in CT.

[JohnH]

I "accept" or use anything I can get that's readable. I encourage clients to use FileShare or fax or drop-off. I myself use FileShare and do not email, text, or in any unsecure way, send tax information to clients. More and more of my clients (and not just the young ones) use text as they don't have scanners or printers, except maybe at work if they're not retired. Many do not trust the safety of the USPS.

I don't have any problems with the USPS. It's still a great bargain and very reliable for getting paper documents back & forth. But tax preparers who don't embrace regularly exchanging source documents electronically may as well plan for a decreasing client base in the long run - especially among their younger clients.

[ATSMAN]

I have been using the USPS Flat Rate 2nd Day Envelope for most of my tax return copy mailings out of state and except for one situation where it was 4 days late they arrived on time.

[Rapid Robert]

Many do not trust the safety of the USPS.

U.S. mail is still one of the best bargains and safest delivery methods around. I use it to pay utility bills, and return paper documents to clients, have never had a problem. I've not read any news stories either about any sudden surge in U.S. mail theft, and I'm sure anti-government political party would be all over it with hyped up fake news if there were even a hint.

A few people may have unsecure mailboxes that are a problem AFTER the mail is delivered, but that's not the USPS' fault.