Dear clients and friends,
In an announcement yesterday the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service have expanded initiatives to include providing special payment and filing relief to taxpayers in response to the COVID-19 Outbreak. The April 15, 2020 tax deadline for filings has been extended until July 15, 2020. In addition, balances due with your 2019 returns and 2020 estimated tax payments due April 15, 2020 have been automatically extended and are now due July 15, 2020. Penalty and interest will begin to accrue on any unpaid balances as of July 16, 2020. Additional extensions may be forthcoming as the situation continues to evolve.
As our nation enhances preventative measures to slow the potential spread of COVID-19 in the US, we are closely monitoring the situation and taking precautions to help minimize the exposure to our team and clients. We continue to see required closures in our communities as businesses are challenged to come up with new ways of providing products and services.
At HSC we have been striving to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to providing the latest and most secure methods for managing your financial information electronically. Particularly this tax season, we had announced new programs to deliver tax returns and documents electronically which, in many instances, provides the ability to sign your return and pay your taxes directly from your device.
While we have a plan that allows us to continue to serve our clients remotely if a required closure impacts our community, we have taken immediate actions to incorporate CDC guidelines in our business interactions. We will be shifting operations to limit in-office schedules and have temporarily suspended in-person meetings to do what we can to help protect our team and clients.
With the July 15th deadline on the horizon, we have many ways for you to provide us with your tax information and deliver your return. We encourage you to mail in your documents or upload documents using our secure electronic system. We also have a mail slot at our office where you can stop by and drop off information to us. Even in the event of required closure, information received via our mail slot will be monitored daily.
Although we have a new easy to use electronic delivery system, we also have plans that will allow for us to continue to deliver paper returns. The partner and/or team members you work with will help make arrangements that best suit your needs.
We know that these are uncertain times for everyone and want you to know that the HSC team is here to help. Your safety and the safety of our team is our upmost priority as we all face these new challenges together.
Sincerely,
Sharon M. Thompson, CPA
Leading Shareholder
