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Important Times to Seek Assistance

Published on: Published in: Taxes

Article Highlights:

  • When to seek professional assistance
  • Examples of times where tax saving moves can be made

Waiting for your regular appointment to discuss current tax-related issues can create problems or cause you to miss out on beneficial options that need to be timely exercised before year-end. Generally, you should call this office any time you have a substantial change in taxable income or deductions. By doing so, we can advise you about how to optimize your tax liability, avoid or minimize penalties, estimate and pre-pay required taxes, document deductions, and examine and explore tax options. You should call this office if you or your spouse:

  • Receive a large employee bonus or award 
  • Become unemployed 
  • Change employment 
  • Take an unplanned withdrawal from an IRA or another pension plan
  • Retired or are contemplating retirement 
  • Moved or otherwise changed your address
  • Sold or purchased a home
  • Exercised or are planning to exercise an employee stock option
  • Have significant stock gains or losses
  • Refinanced or plan to refinance your home mortgage
  • Get married
  • Separate from or divorce your spouse
  • Sell or exchange a property or business
  • Experience the death of a spouse during the year
  • Inherit property
  • Turn 72 during the year
  • Increase your family size through birth or adoption of a child
  • Start a business, acquire a rental property, or convert your home to a rental  
  • Receive a substantial lawsuit settlement or award 
  • Get lucky at a casino, lotto, or game show and receive a W-2G
  • Plan to donate property worth $5,000 ($500 if a vehicle) or more to a charity
  • Plan to gift more than $16,000 to any one individual during the year

In addition, you should call whenever you receive a notice from the government related to your tax return. You should never respond to a notice without first checking with this office.