Business & Tech
Office Space: Inside The Tax Man's Place of Business
Martin Sviland of Comprehensive Tax Services in Plymouth reveals the ins and outs of tax season.
“I’ve got to do my taxes.”
Rest assured that, this very second, countless Americans on both sides of the Mississippi are rolling that dreaded phrase around in their heads -- yours truly included.
I mean, sure, there are men and women among us – the non-procrastinators of this great nation – who have already filed and are now enjoying the fruits of their refunds (new flat screen TV, anyone?), and if you subscribe to that group, I say good for you.
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But the rest of us either have to a.) pull out those W-2s and get to work; or b.) pull out those W-2s and get to a tax professional like Martin Sviland. Sviland is the owner of here in Plymouth, and with over 25 years in the business, Sviland has seen and heard it all when it comes to filing other people’s taxes.
Sviland is also an Enrolled Agent (EA), a federally-authorized tax practitioner who has technical expertise in the field of taxation and who is empowered by the U.S. Department of the Treasury to represent taxpayers before all administrative levels of the Internal Revenue Service for audits, collections, and appeals. This basically means that Sviland has the same rights and privileges as an attorney or CPA. Most people have to take a test to become an EA, but not Sviland; he was grandfathered in because he spent more than five years doing tax work for the IRS.
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Not surprisingly, Sviland is a tad bit in demand right now, but he was kind enough to sit down with me for a no-holds-barred Q&A about tax season.
CC: I assume that being a tax man is a tough job; but somebody’s got to do it. How did you get into this business?
MS: I went to grad school at Walsh College – right after undergrad – and got a masters in tax, and from there I worked in several tax departments for large corporations. Then I ended up working as a revenue agent with the IRS – I did that for two years, and then I went over to the Criminal Investigation Division for the IRS, and did that for 21-and-a-half years.
CC: How do you prepare yourself for a job like this?
MS: The best thing I do is try and keep my wits about me. Since I know a lot of my clients, except for the new ones, I pretty much know how to deal with each of them, so that helps. And usually there’s not a lot of stress. For a lot of people, it’s the same information every year, and if they don’t provide it, I have to call them back up and request it. It’s pretty predictable.
CC: Do you work by appointment only, or do you take walk-ins?
MS: By appointment. People generally leave their information with me, and then a week or so later they’ll have it back.
CC: What’s the number one thing your clients ask for – aside from a good tax return?
MS: Everyone wants a refund! Some get it; some don’t.
CC: Why do you think most people procrastinate when it comes to filing their taxes?
MS: Probably because they have to come to grips with what the truth is – or isn’t – about their tax return: If you’re going to get a refund – big or small, or if you’re going to have to pay Uncle Sam. We try to minimize the impact as much as we can – within the parameters of the law.
CC: Would you say the majority of your clients procrastinate?
MS: Probably about five percent, or less, procrastinate. Most people just want to bite the bullet and get it over with. But with the procrastinators, you have to keep calling, and calling, and calling…
CC: What’s the soonest someone has come to you to have their taxes filed? What’s the latest?
MS: I have some people that have them done by early February; they are ready to go and want theirs done ASAP. The latest? Well, April is pretty busy the first couple of weeks…but [sometimes] I’ll put them on extension. You can get a six month extension. The taxes are due by April 18 this year, but if you put in for the extension, the return is due no later than October 15. October 15 is the drop-dead date. That’s it.
CC: What’s the primary rule of thumb people should remember when setting out to do their taxes?
MS: Get a tax organizer! Mine is online. It helps you pull the items together for a tax return. It’s about four to six pages long; there are items to fill out, like background information. It helps cut down on the time.
CC: And probably the anxiety.
MS: Right. It does. I send them [tax organizers] to my clients.
CC: Who does your taxes?
MS: My son, who has now taken up accounting at Walsh. He helps pull my stuff together because I don’t have the time to do my own.
CC: What’s the worst thing about tax season?
MS: Probably the time constraints; there are only so many hours in a day. That’s the problem.
CC: And the best?
MS: The cash flow.