Heard provides complete bookkeeping and tax preparation services for therapists, ensuring we capture your information for a seamless annual tax filing experience. On a high level, here is what you need to know and what you can expect during the annual tax season with Heard.
Contents
- Tax Season Kickoff Survey
- Close your 2024 books
- Bookkeeper review
- Tax Checklist
- Tax Preparation
- Return Draft
- Filing your return
Tax Season Kickoff Survey
At Heard, we begin with the Tax Season Kickoff survey to gather information about your unique tax filing needs. In this survey, we'll ask you a few questions to confirm your tax entity type, your 1099-NEC filing requirements, and your specific filing needs for the 2024 tax year.
Complete Year End Bookkeeping
By working through your bookkeeping records on a monthly basis, we're able to provide a seamless tax process for you during tax season. Bookkeeping is the foundation of a seamless and accurate tax preparation experience.
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To close your books, please review income and expenses and clarify any outstanding transactions. You can add notes to transactions, and your Bookkeeper will review them and make adjustments as needed.
- To perform year-end adjustments to your books, Heard will request that you provide specific year-end documents. Based on transactions on your books, you'll need to upload the requested documents.
If you are unsure of where to locate these documents, please see how to obtain and upload year-end documents. - Please review your answers, as you can't make any changes or add more transactions to your 2024 books after you submit them. If all looks good, click submit for your bookkeeper to finalize your books.
Bookkeeper Review and close your books
Before you can approve and submit your tax checklist, your Bookkeeper will review and finalize your year-end documents and let you know if we need any follow-ups from you.
Once they've completed their review, you will receive a notification that you are ready to proceed with submitting your filings to your tax preparer. Your Bookkeeper may have made changes; be sure to verify that your income and expenses are correct.
Tax Questionnaire
In this checklist, you will enter and update key information needed to begin drafting your tax return and to ensure we're capturing the full scope of your year.
- Confirm Details: We'll start by confirming your personal and business information.
- Life Changes: This is where we will capture any important changes that may have happened to you in 2024 for tax purposes, like if you got married or purchased a home.
- Deductions and Credits: You will clarify information regarding your deductions and credits to ensure it is all captured for your return. This includes deductions like home office and qualified business income.
- Income and Liabilities: Please review your income and expenses. This is where we will capture non-therapy income and liabilities outside your practice—for example, contractor work, investments, or rental property.
- Upload Documents: Depending on your answers, we'll ask you to upload relevant documents and let your Tax Preparer know of your specific scenario. If a document is not applicable to you, you can skip uploading. Your Tax Preparer will verify and ask for any required documents if they still need to be included during this step.
Note: If you have yet to receive all the required documents, we recommend waiting until you receive them before proceeding with your tax filing. You can elect to apply for an extension if you need more time to prepare all necessary items to complete your Tax Checklist.
Tax Preparation
Once your tax checklist is submitted, we'll work behind the scenes to pair you with the right Tax Preparer for your specific needs.
We'll email you to connect you with your Tax Preparer, who will review your information as soon as possible. If information or documents still need to be included after the Tax Preparer reviews the submission, they'll notify you. We ask that you be available for the next seven business days to ensure the return is completed in a timely fashion. You can connect with your Tax Preparer through the chat portal in the Annual Tax Center.
Review Drafted Return
Carefully review your draft return and accept or reject the changes needed. If you reject your return, your tax preparer will contact you via the Chat Portal to answer any outstanding questions.
Filing your return
If all looks good, the Tax Preparer will ask for your signature to e-file your return. Requests for signature and authorization will be sent from your tax preparer. If your return results in a balance due, your Tax Preparer will inform you of the amount owed, discuss payment plan options, and guide you on how to make the payment. If you are due a refund, your preparer will inform you and explain how you will receive it.
For more information, please see Annual Tax FAQs.