Happy Tax Filing Season!

Providing information to our office

Please send your tax information to our office as soon as you have all of it assembled. If you're scheduling a Tax Preparation appointment, we'll need your data at least 14 days in advance. We process returns on a first-come, first-prepared basis.

To provide your information,

• fill out our Online Tax Organizer, which you can find at p-f-p.com > For Clients > Client Resources or
• upload to your To PFP portal on Box.com or
• drop off hard-copy data to our office—please call Ellen at 216-688-3737, ext. 102, to arrange a time for her to meet you or
• fax to 216-688-1737

If you prefer to send your information by US Mail, please keep the originals and mail us copies of your documents. To avoid your confidential information becoming compromised by mail theft, take your envelope into the Post Office building instead of using a public mailbox. We recommend Priority Mail so you can track your envelope. 

New for this year: we're requesting that each client complete IRS Form 2848 Power of Attorney. This will allow us to review the data that the IRS already has on file for you. Please contact us if you have questions or have not yet completed this form.

Assembling your data and tax organizers

There are two ways to see the data that we need to complete your returns:

• Use our Online Tax Organizer, which you can find at p-f-p.com > For Clients > Client Resources 
• Click here for a list of the data we need

Because fewer of our clients have been using our hard-copy organizers, we are now mailing them on request. Please let us know if you would like one. 

Our virtual assistant, Nicki Kuznicki

Nicki Kuznicki will be assisting us with tax preparation again this year. She specializes in tax and is very familiar with our comprehensive financial planning approach. Nicki provides virtual paraplanning services primarily for advisors like us, who are members of the Alliance of Comprehensive Planners (ACP). Her background and expertise help us to provide high-quality and timely service. 

Nicki will input information into our tax software and may have follow-up questions for you. If you get a call or email from Nicki, know that she is working for us. If you have any doubt about whether you can reveal confidential information to someone who contacts you (by phone, email, or by any other method), politely end the call and then phone us at 216-688-3737 so we can verify whether or not the request is from our office.

You may call Nicki at 877-761-5381. As always, please do not email confidential information—upload it to your To PFP portal and let us know, or use one of the other delivery methods mentioned above. We will then forward it to Nicki if required.

Consent forms

Under federal tax law, we must ask for you to complete consent forms before we begin to prepare your taxes. In most cases, we'll send them to you for electronic signature using DocuSign. If you prefer to sign the consents in hard copy, you can download them here.

• The first consent allows us to use your tax data to benefit you in your holistic financial plan, such as for tax planning and investment advice. 
• The second allows us to share tax information with service providers, such as putting your return information into our tax planning software.
• The third allows us to share information with trusted contractors who help us to prepare your returns, such as performing data entry or proofreading.

If you're completing your consents in hard copy, please review and sign all three pages and return them with your tax data. We are happy to provide a copy for your records. And as always, our privacy policy still applies—we never release any of your information from our office for any purpose except those you authorize or as required by law.

Tax Preparation appointments and electronic signatures

Most returns will require only a 30-minute screen-share so we can review your completed return with you. Please let us know if you prefer a more detailed appointment. We're happy to review your return with you in as much detail as you might like.

We use electronic signatures for returns that are eligible for E-filing. Of course, we can provide hard-copy forms for your signature if you prefer.

Extensions of time to file

Please note that in addition to circumstances where there is a specific reason to do so, it is our practice to submit an Extension of Time to File for any client whose complete tax preparation information is not available to us before April 1.

• The office will be closed on  Monday, April 8, 2024. If, like us, you're watching the total solar eclipse, follow proper safety procedures to avoid damaging your eyesight!
• Most years, our office closes for all or part of April 15.

If we ask for more info, make sure it's us!

You may get a call from us (or from Nicki Kuznicki—see above) requesting further information. If you have any doubt about revealing confidential information to the person calling, please end the call and then phone us back at 216-688-3737. We won't be offended--we appreciate your caution.

As always, please let us know if you have any questions.