Engagement Letter
THANK YOU for filling out your Tax Return Engagement Letter prior to seeing us. Doing so will save us time and allows us to begin work on your return without delay. Also it relieves our firm's administrators of spending time on paper work. Your cooperation is appreciated!
Did you fill out and sign your engagement letter, enabling us to prepare your tax return? If not, please do so, and bring it in with the rest of your Tax Documents. We can not start work on your return without it! Please click here to download a copy of the engagement letter, for you to fill out on page 1, and for you and your spouse to sign on page 2.
Dependents
Whether you welcomed a new child in 2011, or had to start taking care of another loved one, if you have more (or less) dependents in 2011, your tax situation will change.
Generally, a dependent is a qualifying child or relative, who is related to you, under the Age of 18 (or 23 if they are a full time student), lives with you for at least half the year, you provide more than ½ of their support, and no one else claims them as a dependent.
If you did have a new dependent, we’ll need to know their full name, date of birth, and social security number.
Energy Saving Improvements
If you own a home an made energy saving improvements, you could qualify for a tax credit, depending on if you've ever taken a credit for Energy Savings in the past.
The 30% Tax Credit for Energy Saving Improvements from 2009 and 2010 has been eliminated, however, a smaller credit is still in place, so please make us aware if you made any energy savings improvements to your home, such as new Windows or an efficient HVAC System
Charitable Contributions (Monetary & Non-Cash)
For any monetary donation you make, you need to keep a record of the donation. Cancelled checks, credit card statements, and receipts from the organization all suffice. You can provide us with a log or diary of your donations as long as you have the support, however it would be beneficial for us to store those records as well.
If you make a single donation $250 or more to one organization, we need a copy of a letter issued by the organization stating that no goods or services were exchanged for your donation.
Lastly, if any non-cash donations were made, such as clothes to Goodwill, we need an itemized detail listing of what was donated and the condition the items were in, along with the date and name the organization donated to. We do this to get as close to an accurate estimate of the value of the donation. If no itemized list was made, you will need to provide an estimated value of the donation, however, we find that an actual valuation proves to be more beneficial. For a valuation tool, please click here.
Childcare Expenses
An often overlooked tax deduction comes in the way of expenses for childcare. Your provider should issue a letter to you that provides their name, address, Employer Identification Number (EIN), and the amount paid during 2010. We would require a copy of that letter.
Graduating Dependents
If one of your dependents graduated from High School or College in 2011, it may effect their status as a dependent.
A dependent graduating from High School who does not start college in that same year, may lose their status as a Full Time Student, and if they are 18 Years Old, would no longer be a dependent. Additionally, they may need to file their own tax return if they previously had not.
A dependent graduating from High School who goes on to College in that same year, will likely still be eligible to be claimed as a dependent if they are a full time student, and meet the other requirements. That dependent may also now have additional deductions such as Qualified Tuition Expenses and Education Interest from Student Loans that they previously may not have had.
An individual is considered a "full-time student" if they were enrolled or registered for at least 5 months during the calendar year at a qualified educational institution.
A dependent graduation from College will most likely lose their status as a full time student, and surpass the age requirements, thus disqualifying them as a dependent. Additionally, they will likely have to file their own tax return, especially if they were fortunate enough to find a job after graduation.
