Four months after the tax filing deadline, most taxpayers have put their 2016 returns behind them. So what are H&R Block’s tax professionals doing now? From tax planning and audit support to continuing education and client service, they have quite a bit to do year-round.
H&R Block at 13 Main St., Hellertown, Pa.
The local H&R Block offices conveniently located in Hellertown (Phone: 610-838-6639), Coopersburg, Quakertown and Perkasie are no exception. These are just some of the services they offer “off-season”:
- Meeting other tax deadlines
- Preparing Pennsylvania and Saucon Valley Property Tax/Rent Rebate applications
- Finding up to three years’ worth of money taxpayers may have left on the table
- Planning, estimating and adjusting returns because of life changes
- Supporting taxpayers who are dealing with a letter, audit and/or penalties
- Learning more about tax law changes and issues
- Ongoing education
- Debunking tax scams
The April tax deadline may be the most well-known, but it actually doesn’t apply to everyone. U.S. citizens and residents living or U.S. military service members stationed abroad don’t have to file a tax return until June 15. Military service members stationed in a combat zone have at least 180 days after they leave the combat zone to file their returns. Anyone who was unable to file by the April deadline and requested a 6-month extension has until Oct. 16 to file a return. And H&R Block staff annually prepare a surprising number of prior year returns; returns that were either never filed or need to be amended.
Even though the April deadline has come and gone for tax year 2016, taxpayers can still go back and amend last year’s return–and their 2015 return and their 2014 return–and claim a refund. For example, they may have been doing their taxes themselves without realizing they could get a credit for their college expenses. If the mistake was made in the last three years, it is not too late to make a correction and claim the tax benefit. H&R Block offers a Free Second Look to taxpayers who completed their returns themselves or had others prepare them. Taxpayers who think they may have left money on the table in their 2014, 2015 or 2016 returns can see if a Free Second Look is right for them.
Assistant Manager Cindy Morgandale, left, and Hellertown Office Manager Kristina Fish are ready to help you with a Free Second Look at your recent tax returns. For more information or to schedule an appointment call 610-838-6639.
When it comes to taxes, what happens after April 15 doesn’t stay there–it often ends up in next year’s taxes. That raise could push a taxpayer’s income up a bracket and out of range for a tax credit. Dependent children can qualify a taxpayer for six or more different tax benefits, which change at various ages. Getting a new job or losing an old one, going to or graduating from college, renting out a room for a little extra income, having a baby or a child leaving the nest, buying a house, retiring, getting married, getting divorced, changing health insurance plans and other common life changes will often come up again at tax time. Some of these things can change a tax return by thousands of dollars, and not always in a good way.
Instead of rolling the dice and hoping for a good outcome, taxpayers can plan throughout the year for their next tax return, giving them time to make course corrections which are more effective and less painful. Changing how much tax is withheld from their paychecks, updating their financial and household information with the health insurance marketplace and estimating their income can help them plan for the good tax stuff they want to get and the bad tax stuff they want to avoid. If you didn’t like the result of this year’s tax return, this is the time to make sure it doesn’t happen again next year. We offer this type of tax planning to all clients when their return is prepared and offer additional throughout the year, usually at no additional charge.
H&R Block’s Quakertown office is located at 1465 W. Broad St., Suite 22, in the Giant shopping center at Rts. 309 and 313.
The IRS conducts audits throughout the year. As their computers have improved over the last and several years, they now send out many, many more IRS letters (called correspondence audits) than they did 10 years ago. So at any time during the year, a taxpayer could receive a notice of taxes, penalties and interest due for current or prior returns. Many of these are wrong, just needing some additional information to go away. Almost all of them require a response or they get worse. Our Tax Professionals can help respond to the letter, contest all or part of it, apply for penalty relief or help figure out a payment plan.
Every year, H&R Block’s tax professionals must complete at least 18 hours of continuing education to update and to deepen their tax knowledge. Many go further and do 2, 3 or even 4 times that amount. This is on top of the training they must have to become an H&R Block tax professional in the first place. They may also be studying for the three exams needed to become an Enrolled Agent, the IRS’s highest credential for a tax preparer.
Each summer, thousands of taxpayers sign up for the H&R Block Income Tax Course to learn how to prepare a tax return like a professional. Experienced and highly-skilled H&R Block tax experts teach this course in traditional classroom environments supported by self-study learning and activities.
The H&R Block office at 344 S. Third Street in Coopersburg is located just off Rt. 309.
H&R Block at 13 S. Main St., Hellertown, has been a locally-owned franchise office since 1989. We have always provided these services for our clients year-round. We are open Monday through Thursday mornings from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Tuesday evenings from 4 to 7 p.m. And we routinely meet with folks at other times by appointment. Our affiliated offices in Coopersburg (Phone: 610-282-2552), Quakertown (Phone: 215-536-4224) and Perkasie (Phone: 215-453-1441) offer the same services, with similar but not identical hours. Our #1 Priority is that Clients Come First. In an increasingly digital world, we offer a warm, welcoming, human point of contact and support. Even if you’ve never been an H&R Block client, there’s no charge for an initial visit.
So why fool around with your taxes and your money? If your return is on extension or if you need help with the IRS, PA, Keystone, Berkheimer or any other tax-related issue, please give us a call. We’ll be glad to sit down with you and talk.
UPCOMING IMPORTANT IRS DEADLINES:
Individual Extensions: Monday, Oct. 16
Nonprofit Extensions: Wednesday, Nov. 15
H&R Block’s office at 507 Constitution Avenue in Perkasie, Pa.
