What Do I Need To Bring To My Charlotte Tax Appointment? Experienced Local Tax Preparer Explains…
The cool-natured Tax Preparer from Charlotte, NC, Ms. Jackie Taylor, took some time today to break down to me what folks need to bring to their first appointment at her business of over ten years, Neighborhood Tax Center on Beatties Ford Road.
“They have to bring their Social Security card, their driver’s license (or another form of ID card), their dependent information, and, of course their W-2 form from their job!” she laughed. “Also, if they have a home, they should bring info about their mortgage interest rates, and any other valid real estate or property tax info.”
“What if the person has a business, or maybe a side business in addition to their regular job?” I asked.
“Well, if they have a business, they’ll also need to bring all of the business documentation,” she responded. “Some specific things would be bank statements, receipts, and other forms, such as their 1099’s.”
U.S. News & World Report did a piece on this early last year during tax season, explaining that a self-employed person with a 1099 is someone who was paid more than $600 the previous year from an organization or a business for their freelance work, and that 1099’s can also come from financial institutions (Lankford, U.S. News & World Report, 2023)
If I Went to College Last Year, What Should I Show My Charlotte Tax Professional At Our Appointment?
I myself had this question for Jackie, the owner of Neighborhood Tax Center, a business that has been doing tax returns for locals in the Mecklenburg County area for over a decade. “What do college students need to bring to their first tax appointment?” I asked.
“Well, they need their 1099-T if they went to school,” the super-skillful Tax Preparer told me. “There are lots of colleges in the Charlotte area, so I’m glad you asked me that!”
Jackie wasn’t kidding about the number of colleges and universities here. In fact, according to The Best Schools, there are around a dozen in and around The Queen City (Charlotte, North Carolina’s nickname), in locations such as Concord and Belmont.
As far as what the 1098-T form actually is, it’s described by Federal Student Aid as a “tuition statement” from the school, one that shows education expenses and tuition to the IRS.
The Importance of Due Diligence from Your Charlotte Tax Preparer
Investopedia describes “due diligence” as “an investigation, audit, or review performed to confirm facts or details of a matter under consideration”. It’s something that Jackie and the other Tax Services Experts at Neighborhood Tax Center take very seriously.
“The IRS is getting even stricter now with the EIC (Earned Income Credit) and the due diligence,” the Charlotte Tax Preparer told me. “They want to make sure we’re asking the right questions, that the kids are who they say they are, and that they live where they say that they live.”
“I heard the IRS was getting harder on tax agents,” I responded, “not just here in Charlotte, but all over the United States. So the rumors are true…”
“Yup,” Jackie confirmed. “Mainly, if the parent is the Head of Household, they have to provide all of that documentation, and we have to write out detailed notes for every single tax interview that we have.”
What Should a Single Parent Bring to Their Tax Appointment in Charlotte?
“Specific things for dependents would be their social security cards and their school records,” the seasoned Charlotte Tax Advisor continued. “For example let’s say a single parent walks in and they have two dependents who are school-aged children. Now, let’s say that these two children go to two different schools, for example, one goes to West Charlotte and one goes to Hidden Valley.”
“Okay…” I responded.
“So, whoever the single parent is, he or she comes in and provides that documentation from their childrens’ school. That single mother or father will be filing as the Head of Household in this situation, and that means that the other parent of the children will not be able to.”
For those of you who are new to tax lingo, CNBC did a report a while ago explaining in detail what Head of Household is, and that “Congress recently required taxpayers to get documentation that qualifies someone to be head of household, because legislators believe that many taxpayers are mistakenly claiming it” (Osterland, CNBC 2021).
SmartAsset, an organization dedicated to providing accurate financial advice, also pointed out the rule that Jackie mentioned above, which is that the IRS states that “only one divorced parent will be able to claim Head of Household if they share a single child who lives with one parent the majority of the time (more than half of the year)” (Lake and White, SmartAsset, Dec. 2023).
“Now, let’s take this example a step further,” continued the easy-going Tax Services Professional from Charlotte. “Let’s say that that single parent works full-time at, say, a local department store, and they have recently pulled money out of their 401k. In that situation, they would need their 1099-R form. If by chance they didn’t have it at the first tax appointment, I’d of course give them a chance to retrieve it, then come back later to our location (2017 Beatties Ford Road, Unit F) so that we can finish their tax interview correctly.”
Contact Neighborhood Tax Center in Charlotte, North Carolina Today!
Don’t hesitate to contact Ms. Jackie Taylor and/or any of the other Charlotte Tax Services Professionals at Neighborhood Tax Center today by calling the main office during business hours at (704) 391–3626, or by contacting Jackie directly at (704) 713–4820 or by email to jtaylor6738@yahoo.com.
