Please Note: This only applies to therapists who joined Heard after April 1st, 2024, have filed an extension, or are filing late.
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 essential tasks you’ll need to complete to ensure an accurate filing with Heard. From onboarding to filing, our dedicated team is here to support you every step of the way.
Important Filing Timeline:
Please 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 can no longer file your 2023 taxes.
By August 15th, 2024
Gather and submit your bookkeeping documents (estimated 30-60 minutes).
For a comprehensive overview of the required documents, please see the article Completing your 2023 Bookkeeping for On-Time Tax Filing:
- Connect your bank account designated for your business to Heard.
- Please upload bank statements for all business bank accounts from January 1st, 2023, to December 31st, 2023, or for all months the account was open.
- Upload your Income or Deposit Reports from your EHR/EMR/Credit Card processor.
- If you use a payroll provider, upload your 2023 Form W3 and Contractor Payment Report.
- During this step, you can recategorize any transactions or leave notes for your bookkeeper to categorize them for you.
- 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 2023 books to consider them closed.
September 15th, 2024
Close out your 2023 bookkeeping (estimated time is 30-60 minutes):
- 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.
By October 1st, 2024
You complete your Personal Tax Checklist (estimated time is 30 minutes):
- Confirm your business, financial, and personal information, fill us in on any significant changes in 2023, and answer a few questions about your personal expenses.
- Upload relevant tax forms. Based on your answers, you will be asked to upload relevant tax documents.
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, April 15th. 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.