When I complete a taxes for signature. After their signature I supply to them a complete copy of their taxes. Do I need to do this or not? This increase my bottomline due to excess papers and ink for printer.
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No, you need to provide them a copy of the tax return BEFORE they sign. In part, the signature indicates they "have examined a copy of my electronic individual income tax return and accompanying schedules and statements for the tax year ending December 31, 2019, and to the best of my knowledge and belief, they are true, correct, and complete". So they need to be able to examine the entire tax return BEFORE they sign.
If you want to decrease paper and ink cost, you could ask clients if they want the copy of the tax return via PDF, rather than on paper. But if you give them a PDF, be SURE you send it to them securely. -
I like your solution, but I wonder if my clients will go to PDF. My clients like all call yearly for past copies when loan companies ask for them.
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You will need to look at your work flow to determine which method is best:
1) If you are dealing with face to face appointment or if the client drops off and picks up their tax return then a hard copy is required before they sign the 8879 as mentioned above
2) If you are dealing with folks that can agree to receiving a pdf of the return before they sign, then I suggest that option is the best. I typically e-mail a password protected pdf of the tax return stamped client copy and the signature forms and request them to either e-mail or upload the signed document or mail/drop off that before I can e-file it.
Try to wean people off the hard copies and eventually you will achieve your goals.Taxes after all are the dues that we pay for the privileges of membership in an organized society. - FDRComment
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If you use something like CCH eSign, it sends the client everything they need to review and sign electronically. If you have original documents from clients that you need to return anyway, then a folder with their documents and copy of return might work better for those clients. You do NOT have to provide paper copies, though.Comment
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You ARE allowed to charge them for that. Ideally, when you give them the original, notify them that if they later need another copy, your fee will be $xx. Personally, I recommend a fairly high amount to encourage them to keep their original in a safe place. You are their tax preparer, not their storage locker.Comment
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In principle I agree that we should charge client's who abuse us to get several hard copies of their return. When the refinancing boom was on almost daily I would get requests to give them 2 or 3 years copies of their returns. So what has worked for me is that I keep a pdf copy of their return in my files as I complete each year. Then if they request additional copies for any reason I will e-mail them a free copy of their return pdf. If they want a hard copy then it will be $5 for mailing cost. I am not trying to make money off that but to cover my printing and mailing costs. Amazingly 90% of people will say just e-mail it to me. Those who want a hard copy are usually folks who don't have access to a printer or have very slow internet service.
BTW the client who says they lost their return copy for some reason (happens a lot), just resend that earlier e-mail. I archive all client e-mail contacts for 12 months.Taxes after all are the dues that we pay for the privileges of membership in an organized society. - FDRComment
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Last edited by TAXNJ; 04-18-2020, 08:16 AM.Always cite your source for support to defend your opinionComment
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Using a secure file exchange portal is not only probably more secure than using email attachments, but it has several advantages: audit logs to record every access by network address, audit log of file downloads, ability to place partial blame on vendor if there is a breach, ability to offload some basic support to a vendor, and archiving. For all of my clients except the handful I still print paper returns for, their final tax returns are stored online and accessible to them as long as they are my client, so I don't get requests for copies, and if I do I just forward them a link.
I use a commercial service, not one of the "free" ones like MS OneDrive or Google Drive. Client can choose to use Multi Factor Authentication (MFA) if they wish."You said it, they'll never know the difference. Come on, we'll paint our way out!" - Moe Howard
"That's enough! When you didn't know what you were talking about, you really had something! [to Curly]" -Moe HowardComment
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I do things similarly with a commercial secure email service used by much of the medical community. Recipients can choose how they want to validate themselves or I can dictate it. I do not use any of the free services nor any of the email services that force your clients to become their clients as well (which I believe is a potential violation of ยง7216 without prior signed consent).
DougComment
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We are talking about a very small amount compared to rent/utilities/software/payroll.
Example 50 page document. Paper is .006 a page = $.30 Toner about .02 a page = $1.00. We are talking about spending less than a $1.50 on a $150+ tax returns or less than 1% of the total cost.
ChrisComment
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