Overview
Tax season can be overwhelming for therapists juggling busy schedules and complex finances. Consider this your Guide to Annual Taxes with Heard. This comprehensive guide outlines the critical tasks you’ll need to complete to ensure an on-time and accurate filing with Heard. From onboarding to filing, our dedicated team is here to support you every step of the way.
Important Filing Timeline
Give yourself plenty of time to complete the tasks below by their due date. If any of these tasks are not completed by their date, we’ll need to file an extension.
By January 9th, 2025
Complete the Tax Season Kickoff Survey to let us know if you’d like to file your taxes with Heard.
By January 30th, 2025
Gather and submit your bookkeeping documents (estimated time is 30-60 minutes).
- Connect your bank account designated for your business to Heard.
- Please upload bank statements for all business bank accounts from Jan 1, 2024, to Dec 31, 2024, or for all months the account was open.
- Upload your year-end documents.
- Review any outstanding transactions flagged by Heard, add in any missing business or expense transactions, and check your final numbers for tax accuracy and to maximize deductions.
- During this step, you can recategorize transactions in “Other” categories or leave notes for your bookkeeper to categorize them for you.
By February 20th, 2025
Close out your 2024 bookkeeping (estimated time is 30-60 minutes).
- Review end of year updates made by your bookkeeper and respond to any requests for additional information or documents from your bookkeeper.
- Once your bookkeeper has completed your requests, you'll receive an email confirmation. We'll ask you to complete one final review and approval of your 2024 books to consider them closed.
By February 26th, 2024
Complete your Business Tax Checklist Form 1120-S (estimated time is 1-2 hours).
- Confirm your business information and upload relevant tax forms. We’ll guide you on which documents to upload.
- Complete your final review of all of your bookkeeping and sign off on your 2024 bookkeeping.
By March 15, 2025
File your Business Tax Return (estimated time is 7-14 days):
- Connect with your Tax Preparer to review your draft return
- Reserve a live consultation with your Tax Preparer
- Approve and file your tax return
By April 1st, 2025
Complete your Personal Tax Checklist Form 1040 (estimated time is 30 minutes):
- Confirm your personal and financial information, fill us in on any significant changes in 2024, answer a few questions about your personal expenses, and upload relevant tax forms based on the information you provided.
- Connect with your Tax Preparer to review and file your tax return
Avoiding or reducing penalties
It’s important to note that if you did not file an extension, you are accruing both failure to file and failure to pay penalties and interest.
The Failure to File Penalty applies if you don’t file your tax return or extension request by the due date. The IRS calculates the Failure to File penalty based on how late you file your tax return and the amount of unpaid tax as of the original payment due date (not the extension due date). In addition, interest is due as it accrues. This is why we recommend filing your taxes as soon as possible.