Are you really qualified to do my taxes? Our preparers are not only highly experienced, but also have the absolute highest credential awarded by the IRS. Our tax preparers are Enrolled Agents (EA’s). Click on this line to learn more about the requirements to become an Enrolled Agent (EA). But we have gone even a step further. Our preparers have completed the stringent three (3) year program to become Fellows of the National Tax Practice Institute (NTPI). We are qualified to help you with all types of tax problems from tax preparation to audit to appeals at all levels of the IRS.
Why should we consider Heritage Income Tax instead of going to one of the many offices of the national tax preparation companies? Please click on this line to go to a page listing eight (8) reasons why you should consider using Heritage Income Tax Service, Inc.
What type of people use your service? Our clients come from all walks of life from the very poor to the very well off. Our biggest segment of clients, however, consists of middle income America. I think it is also interesting that approximately half of our clients make a considerable drive to get to us and do not live in Portsmouth or even in the adjoining zip codes of Chesapeake. We feel very honored that clients drive past literally dozens of other tax offices in order to get to our office. In addition, we serve a sizable number of clients from all over the USA who mail, e-mail or FAX in their materials so we can provide our services to them. Click on this line to read some of the many comments our clients have made about us.
The IRS is really after me. Can you get them off my back? It is very possible that we can do that. As Enrolled Agents, we are authorized to represent you at all levels of the IRS and, in most cases, can have the IRS call us instead of calling you. To learn more about some of the problems we can assist you with, click on this line to go to our IRS problem solving page.
Do you quote prices? Unfortunately, it is impossible to quote prices without actually seeing what needs to be done. Even then, there are many variables that can crop up in the interview process. As a result, it is our policy to NOT quote fees at all, whether over the phone or even face to face. We do understand, however, that clients want to be sure that they are being charged fairly so we do provide the following information:
- In spite of the facts that all of our preparers have the highest credential the IRS recognizes, they are all Enrolled Agents, and the fact that we provide a superior guarantee to the national chains, our fees still generally run about the same as, a little more than, or a little less than the national chains.
- If, after we are totally finished with preparing your tax return, you are not completely happy, we will return your materials to you so you can go somewhere else. In that case you will not pay anything at all and we will part friends.
Do you offer discounts to Senior Citizens? While we do not offer discounts to Senior Citizens, we do a number of things for Senior Citizens at NO charge to them. Here are some examples:
- Prepare the Schedule R, Credit for the Elderly or the Disabled.
- Prepare the Simplified General Rule worksheet that affect only retired individuals.
- Prepare the Social Security Benefits worksheet that only affects those receiving Social Security.
- Enter the information from the Form SSA-1099, Social Security Benefits reporting form.
- Prepare the worksheet for computing the deduction for the Virginia Senior Citizens.
These items represent a savings to the Senior citizen of up to $44.00 depending upon which forms or services apply to the individual.
Do I need an appointment to come see you? NO, appointments are not required but are strongly encouraged in order to help you to avoid waiting. We do give first priority to those with appointments.
Can I just drop off my information and pick up my completed return later? YES! We welcome drop-offs but do give priority to those we see in person.
What does it mean when you say you are the “Best of Portsmouth”? Every year the Virginian-Pilot newspaper offers its readers the opportunity to select the company they believe offers the best service and value to their city. Each and every year since 2008, our clients have voted Heritage Income Tax Service, Inc. as either the Gold winner in the “tax service” category for “Best of Portsmouth”. Thanks to all our wonderful clients! We owe it all to you!
What are your hours? Our tax season hours (From Mid-January – April 15th) are 9 AM – 7:30 PM on Monday, Tuesday, & Thursday; 9 AM – 6 PM on Wednesday & Friday; and 9 AM – 4:30 PM on Saturday. Later evening and Saturday appointments are available. We are closed on Sundays.
What are your off-season hours? Our off season hours are in effect from April 16th until mid-January. Although we are here almost all day, every day, our regularly scheduled hours are Monday through Friday from 9 AM until 1 PM. Although we close in the afternoons to spend time on the phone with the IRS, we remain available for appointments, Monday through Saturday, days and evenings, year round.
Are you closed any holidays? YES, we are closed on the following holidays:
- Memorial Day (May 29, 2023)
- Independence Day (July 4, 2023)
- Labor Day (September 4 , 2023)
- Columbus Day (October 9, 2023)
- Veteran’s Day (November 11, 2023)
- Thanksgiving Day (Wednesday, Thursday, & Friday) (November 22, 23, 24, 2023)
- Christmas Holidays and New Year’s Day Holidays – (December 25, 2023 – January 1, 2024)
Do you offer electronic filing? YES! And at NO extra charge when we prepare your tax return. Unfortunately, we do NOT offer electronic filing for returns we do not prepare ourselves.
I don’t trust e-mail. Do you provide a secure method of sending documents to you or getting documents from you? YES! We offer a secure portal for that very purpose. We provide you with a user name and password so that only you can access your documents. All you need is secure internet access from any computer.
Do you offer Refund Anticipation Loans? No. Because refund loans are so expensive, we encourage our clients to consider one of the other less expensive payment alternatives that we do have available.
How do I use your secure portal?
IF YOU WISH TO USE THE SECURE PORTAL, PLEASE FOLLOW THESE INSTRUCTIONS:
- You will receive a separate e-mail from [email protected] that allows you to create your own password to access your files from our secure portal.
- Please note and remember the username and password.
- Both the username and the password ARE case sensitive.
- You only have 48 hours to create the password before that e-mail expires. If that happens, please give us a call and we will resend the e-mail.
- PLEASE closely follow all of the instructions on that e-mail.
- One very important thing to remember: You will create your own password, as mentioned in step #1 above, to access the secure portal. You will use a different password that WE create to open any password protected documents. The password WE create for opening documents will almost always be the first four (4) letters of first taxpayer’s last name followed by the last five (5) digits of the social security number of the taxpayer whose name appeared first on the tax return. For example, if the names on the return were George & Martha Washington and George’s Social security number was 123-45-6789, then your password would be wash56789. The password is all lower case with NO spaces.
- Don’t hesitate to call us for assistance!
TO ACCESS YOUR FILES FROM OUR SECURE PORTAL, PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING INSTRUCTIONS:
- REMEMBER! The password you used to enter the portal is known only to you. If you have forgotten that password, please call us to ask us to send you instructions to reset your password.
- To access the portal, go to HeritageTax.com
- Click on the box in the upper right hand corner that says “Secure Log-In”.
- Enter your username and the password you created and click the Sign In button.
- When the home page displays, notice the My Folder menu to the left.
- Click on “Documents from Preparer”.
- In the right column, your documents should appear. Click the Download link for a document.
- Select to open or save the file. IMPORTANT! A password may have been assigned to one or more of your files that is DIFFERENT from your log-in password. In most cases, this password will be the first four (4) letters of first taxpayer’s last name followed by the last Five (5) digits of the social security number of the taxpayer whose name appeared first on the tax return. For example, if the name was George & Martha Washington and George’s Social security number was 123-45-6789, then your password would be wash56789. The password is all lower case with NO spaces.
- You may need Adobe Reader to open the file. The program is already on most computers. If you do not have this program, you can download it for free at http://get.adobe.com/reader/
- If you select Save, follow the normal procedure you use when saving a file to your computer.
To submit a document to your preparer:
- Follow instructions #1 – #5 above.
- Click the Documents to Preparer link under the My Folder section.
- In the right column, click the Upload
- Click the Browse Files button to search for the file you would like to upload.
- The file should display under the button. Click the Upload
- The file will display in the right column. You have the opportunity at this time to rename or delete the file if necessary.
- Your preparer will be automatically notified that a file is ready for downloading from you.
- If you have any questions, please contact your tax preparer.
