Dear Valued Clients,

Late last week, the US Treasury has officially postponed the filing date for 2019 federal income tax returns and 2020 federal income tax estimates that would otherwise be due on April 15, 2020 until July 15, 2020. Taxpayers who have a balance due with their return have until July 15, 2020 to make the payments that would otherwise be due on April 15. The IRS has published a thorough Q&A list that you may find useful. It can be found on the IRS website here.

Many state tax authorities are also extending filing and payment deadlines to conform with the federal dates above. While Massachusetts has not finalized its filing dates, we are closely monitoring their announcements and will coordinate tax filings accordingly.

As you likely know, Massachusetts is under an emergency order requiring all businesses and organizations that do not provide “COVID-19 Essential Services” to close their physical workplaces and facilities to workers and the public until April 7. For the safety of all and to do our part in regards to flattening the curve, we have made the decision to close the Scheid Deignan Brown PC office to our employees and the public until April 7. As detailed below, we will continue to work remotely and receive mail and packages daily.

What does this mean for you?

  • Clients who have already filed their tax returns and scheduled a payment for April 15, it is possible to cancel your previously scheduled payment. Please contact our office for details.
  • Clients who have received their returns, but have not returned e-file authorization forms to us, you may want to review your returns. If you have a balance due and the payments were set up to be electronically withdrawn on April 15, you can tell us if you would prefer us to change the withdrawal date to July 15. Let us know of any changes you wish to make to your withdrawal date, prior to sending back the e-file authorization forms.
  • Clients who have sent us their tax documents, but have not received completed tax returns back from us, we will continue to prepare your tax returns. It is possible that your returns will not be filed by April 15, but remember the new due date is now July 15.
  • Clients who still have not sent us their tax documents, please send them to us as soon as possible. Even through the filing deadline is now July 15, we want to avoid a last-minute rush before the new deadline.

As stated in last week’s update, the health and well-being of our clients, and our staff and their families, remain our highest priority. Staff members will continue to work remotely during the two-week closure of the office. Please use the following methods to send us information securely.

  • Electronically
    • Secure online portal, accessible here.
    • Secure email. Please email one of our staff members to receive a link to upload files.
  • Hard copies
    • Mail to the office. We will continue to receive mail and packages daily.
    • Secure Drop Box at 101 Commonwealth Ave. There is a black secure drop box on the front of our building (to the left of the front door) that we will be checking daily.

We will be in touch with further updates as they become available. We remain committed to maintaining operations and supporting your tax filing needs. Please take care of yourselves, your families, and your neighbors during this challenging time. Do not hesitate to contact anyone at Scheid Deignan Brown PC with questions or concerns.

Best wishes,

David Deignan, CPA
Richard Brown, CPA
Managing Principals