Tax Day is today
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By Whitney Wyatt and Bev Odom/The Red River Sun—
CHILDRESS – Today, July 15, is the new Tax Day, and all tax payments must be postmarked by midnight.
“More people have waited longer to file,” said April Foard, CPA at Foster & Lambert LLC. “Some people have been unsure if we’re open. Some are not getting out (because of COVID-19).”
Like a domino effect, Foard said it’s delayed their season. While Foster & Lambert LLC was shut down temporarily, the CPAs were still working from home.
“We’re lucky we can operate remotely,” Foard said. While everything has gone fairly smoothly, she said, there were a few things they had to overcome working from home. “Some clients wanted to come and talk in person, so that’s why they waited.”
The three CPAs at Foster and Lambert worked seven days a week until the April 15 deadline, Foard added. But they haven’t been working too much overtime since. One challenge they have faced is the stimulus checks.
“Some went off without a hitch,” Foard said. “Some still haven’t gotten them.”
Cary Don Neeley, owner of Neeley Income Tax Service in Quail, said the extension until July 15 has been weird.
“Well it’s been difficult because instead of having a steady flow in, we’ve had a few here and a few there over the three months,” Neeley said.
A long-time tax preparer, Neeley has worked in three different locations in Quail since 1979. He added he is still filing extensions for some clients.
“When 40 come in the last couple days, I have no choice,” he said. “I can file an extension in five minutes, but it takes an hour or two depending on the return and some even longer.”
The extension deadline of Oct. 15 has not changed.
“The same people that wait until the end of April 15 waited to the end of July 15, and some are even getting refunds,” Neeley said. “I have a drop box that we’ve used most of time since the COVID-19 deal.”
Less than half of Gordon Maddox’s Memphis clients have waited to file their taxes. But it’s kept him busier than usual. He said he’s been working seven days a week for the past five months.
While he saw some changes and challenges because of COVID-19, Maddox said it’s nothing new. In his 51 years as a CPA, he said “You always face challenges.”
