Frequently Asked Questions


What are your office hours?
Do I need a tax appointment?
What should I bring to my tax appointment?
Can I drop off my tax information or missing information when your office is closed?
How long should tax records be kept?
What if I want someone else to pick up my tax return?
What do I do if a financial institution requests my tax information?
What are your fees/payment policies?
What do I do if there is bad weather or I want to change my appointment?
Moving? What you need to do?
What if I receive a letter from the government?
What should I do if I receive a call or email from the federal, state or local governments?
How do I Report Suspected Tax Fraud Activity or Scams?

 

What are your office hours?

 

Our Tax Professionals work year-round, and are available Monday thru Saturday by appointment only.

In 2023 someone will normally be in our office: (Unforeseen situations occasionally arise, so feel free to call first before stopping in)

  • January 1st to January 31st – Monday thru Friday 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
  • February 1st to April 14th – Monday thru Friday 9:00AM to 7:00 PM.
  • April 15th – 9:00AM to 4:30PM.
  • April 19th to December 31st – Tuesday thru Thursday 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

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Do I need a tax appointment?

If you are one of our current clients you do not need a tax appointment and you qualify to drop off your tax information. Please go to our website, go to Worksheets & Forms. Under Client Worksheets & Organizers you will find the Drop Off Instruction Sheet. Follow the instruction sheet and drop off your tax information at your convenience.

If you are a new client we would like to sit down and talk with you. The interview process will take 1 to 2 hours depending on your sources of income and deductions. Please call our office at 610-488-0295 to schedule your tax appointment today.

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What should I bring to my tax appointment?

Please reference Worksheets & Forms (Checklist Income & Expense, Income Tax Data Itemizer) on our website for a more detailed list of items.  If you are a new client we will also need the prior two (2) years of income tax returns.

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Can I drop off my tax information or missing information when your office is closed?

Yes, we have a secure mail slot in our storm door at the office door. Your information can be dropped off 24/7 in a secured area. During tax season the drop-off area is checked multiple times each day. Please follow our Drop Off Instruction Sheet under the Worksheets & Forms section of our website.

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How long should tax records be kept?

Main Street stores your income tax return records for 7 years. After the 7th year, unless you request us to return your documents to you, we use a certified shredding company to discard your confidential records. You want to save your records for 7-10 years unless you have an investment(s) i.e. home, business, stocks, etc., then you must save the documents, related to the investment for 7-10 years after you sell or discard your investment(s). 401k statements should be kept a few years after the account is closed.

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What if I want someone else to pick up my tax return?

If someone else is picking up your income tax return this year, please remember we need you to complete the Release for Pickup form. You will find the release form on our web site under Miscellaneous Forms. We always appreciate when you call in advance advising us someone else is picking up your return(s).

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What do I do if a financial institution requests my tax information?

If you need us to send your W-2 forms or tax return(s) to someone else, i.e. a bank, financial advisors, etc., please complete the disclosure/consent form. This applies to any type of communication with anyone other than you. You can find the Disclosure/Consent form on our website under Miscellaneous Forms.

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What are your fees/payment policies?

Tax preparation is billed by the forms that are needed to complete your income tax returns. Our minimum fee starts at $140.00 for the basic Form 1040, PA-40 and one (1) local return; this includes electronic filing of your federal and PA return. There is an additional fee if you have multiple W-2 or 1099 forms, if you need more than one state or local return, or need additional forms filed. If you need an extra copy of your income tax return there will be an additional fee of $30.00 minimum/$60.00 maximum. Consultation and Accounting and Bookkeeping Services are billed on an hourly basis.

Our service for the preparation of your income tax return must be paid when the return is completed. Returns will not be allowed to leave our office unless they are paid in full or other arrangements are made in advance and approved by Denise

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What do I do if there is bad weather or I want to change my appointment?

Please call our office so we can either reschedule your appointment or come up with a different arrangement that will serve your needs. If you are concerned you may not be able to keep your tax appointment due to bad weather or sickness (or you just want to be in the comfort of your home), please call our office and drop off all your tax information before the day and time of your appointment. If you drop off your tax information before your appointment, we will be able to work on your tax return during the originally scheduled time. You can also reference the Instructions for Drop Offs checklist which you will find under Client Worksheets and Organizers on our website. As long as you dropped off your information before your scheduled appointment Denise will call you within an hour after your appointment would have started to review your tax scenario with you over the phone. It is handled the same way as if you were in our office.

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Moving? What you need to do?

When you move, you will need to change your address, phone, and email with several entities. Below is a comprehensive list (in no specific order) of some of the entities you need to contact to inform them of these changes.

  • Healthcare.gov. In addition to an address change, you also need to notify them if you got married, divorced or have a new child.
  • United States Post Office
  • Tax Preparer
  • Accountant
  • Tax assessors
  • IRS
  • Social Security Administration
  • Voter registration
  • Attorney
  • Banks, mortgage/loan companies and credit unions
  • Credit card companies
  • Financial aid offices
  • Investment and insurance companies
  • Utilities: telephone company, answering service, trash collector, cable company, electric company, water/sewer company, oil/gas company
  • Home security company
  • Employers
  •  Doctors, dentist, and healthcare providers
  • Veterinarians, microchip company
  • Schools
  • Church
  • Magazine subscription
  • AAA or other emergency road service
  • Department of Motor Vehicles
  • Family and friends

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What if I receive a letter from the government?

We need to see the letter(s). Sometimes the government’s correspondence is written on both sides of the paper. Please do not forget to fax or copy the back side of the pages if applicable.  Upon receipt of a notice from the government please mail, email, fax, or drop off the correspondence you received. We need to review the correspondence before we can answer the letter or your questions.

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What should I do if I receive a call or email from the federal, state or local governments?

*Please reference “Security Awareness” on our website for more information.

Please remember the IRS, PA Department of Revenue or Local government initially will not call you on the phone or send you an email if there is an issue on your filed income tax return. The only way the IRS or any other government agency will call you is if you received numerous certified letters from them in the past and totally ignored the certified letters.

If you do receive a call feel free to “hang-up” or please ask the caller for their name, employee badge number, phone number and let them know you will call them back. DO NOT give them any information, no matter what they say to you. Call our office with the individual’s information, we will return their call. If you receive an email, do not open the email. Send the email to phishing@irs.gov.

Scammers may demand money or may say you have a refund due and try to trick you into sharing private information. These con artists can sound convincing when they call. They may know a lot about you, and they usually alter the caller ID to make it look like the IRS is calling. They use fake names and bogus IRS identification badge numbers. If you don’t answer, they often leave an “urgent” callback request. Please do not call them back.

The IRS reminds people, one can know pretty easily when a supposed IRS caller is a fake. Here are five things the scammers often do but the IRS will not do. Any one of these items is a tell-tale sign of a scam. The IRS will never:

  • Call to demand immediate payment, nor will the agency call about taxes owed without first     having mailed you a bill.
  • Demand you to pay taxes without giving you the opportunity to question or appeal the amount they say you owe.
  • Require you to use a specific payment method for your taxes, such as a prepaid debit card.
  • Ask for credit or debit card numbers over the phone.
  • Threaten to bring in local police or other law-enforcement groups to have you arrested for not paying.

If you get a phone call from someone claiming to be from the IRS and asking for money, here’s what you should do:

  • If Main Street prepared your return please call our office.
  • If you know you owe taxes or think you might owe, call the IRS at 1.800.829.1040. The IRS assisters can help you with a payment issue.
  • If you know you don’t owe taxes or have no reason to believe that you do, report the incident to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) at 1.800.366.4484 or at www.tigta.gov.
  • If you’ve been targeted by this scam, also contact the Federal Trade Commission and use their “FTC Complaint Assistant” at FTC.gov. Please add “IRS Telephone Scam” to the comments of your complaint.

Remember, the IRS does not use email, text messages or any social media to discuss your personal tax issue. For more information on reporting tax scams, go to www.irs.gov and type “scam” in the search box.

Additional information about tax scams is available on IRS social media sites, including YouTube http://www.youtube.com/user/irsvideos, where people can search “scam” to find all the scam-related posts.

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How do I Report Suspected Tax Fraud Activity or Scams?

*Please reference “Security Awareness” for more information.  If you go to the main page of our web site, take your mouse over “Security Awareness” and you will find “Identity Theft” and “Scams & Security”.

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