KSM COVID-19 Update to Clients and Friends

With both the states of Indiana and New York under executive orders to “stay-at-home,” our physical offices in Indianapolis and Fort Wayne are closed, with the exceptions noted below. Our New York City office will be closed until further notice. However, we are fully operational and ready to serve you, thanks to the technology infrastructure KSM has in place.

Tax Return Filing Process

With all our accountants working remotely, we have been able to maintain our workflow and efficiently process our clients’ tax returns in a timely manner. As a reminder, while the federal income tax filing deadline has been extended until July 15, our recommendation is to continue working toward the tax deadline as if it was still April 15. This will enable us to more quickly evaluate your tax position in order to determine what is most beneficial for you. For those who will receive a refund, we can file your return so you receive the payment as soon as possible. For those who will owe tax, you can proactively determine the amount and then plan to delay the payment until closer to the deadline.

Accounting firms are deemed “essential businesses” under Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb’s March 23 order. (This is not the case in New York.) As such, we have a small team of essential employees working at our Indianapolis and Fort Wayne offices to accept deliveries via U.S. mail and other carriers in addition to performing other necessary functions that must be done onsite. We are also offering drop-off services for our clients in these two locations.

However, due to concern for both your health and safety, as well as that of our onsite employees, we encourage you to provide us your organizers and source documents electronically. In most cases, today’s technology makes this easy:

• Many institutions offer 1099s, 1098s, K-1s, and other tax source documents for electronic download. If you have not already done so, you may want to research this online option with your institution and/or employer.
• Electronic downloads of your required tax source documents can be securely uploaded to your client portal. Click here for the instructions, which begin on page 5.
• If you do not have a client portal set up with us, please email your KSM advisor. He or she can provide you a link to securely upload your documents to ShareFile. If you have an email from your advisor already, you can find the upload link in their email signature. Click here to view the instructions to upload documents using the email signature link.
• Once your return is ready for delivery, we’ll provide it to you securely through an online application called SafeSend Returns. You’ll then be able to review, sign, and submit your 8879s electronically. (Note: We will not be offering pickup of returns at our offices this year.)

We’re Here to Help

We continue to closely monitor federal, state, and local legislative changes and market conditions to help our clients navigate this crisis, mitigate the financial effects, and manage day-to-day operations. Please watch for our alerts and analysis, which we are emailing on an ongoing basis and posting to our COVID-19 Resource Center page.

Again, all of us at KSM are available through a variety of means, whether phone, text, email, or video conferencing. Please reach out as you normally would and let us know what questions you might have and how we can help you. We appreciate the opportunity to serve you as we navigate this challenging time together.

Visit the KSM COVID-19 Resource Center