Taxes. Business. Finances.
Let's Make Sense of What's Next.

Receiving a letter from the IRS can leave you with questions.

Why was it sent? Do you need to respond? Does it mean something is wrong with your return? Is there a deadline you need to know about?

The answer depends on the notice.

The IRS sends notices for many different reasons. A notice may involve information reported on your tax return, a balance due, a return the IRS has not received, a change to your refund, a request for additional information, or another matter involving your tax account.

That's why the first step is understanding what the IRS is communicating and whether any action is being requested.

Start With the Notice

Look at the tax year referenced, the reason the notice was sent, what the IRS is requesting or reporting, and any response date provided.

Those details help determine whether additional information is needed and what the appropriate next step may be.

The IRS recommends reviewing the notice carefully and taking action by the due date when a response is required.

And that's important because not every IRS notice leads to the same next step.

When You're Not Sure What the Notice Means

You don't have to decide what the solution is before you understand the issue.

An IRS Account, Notice & Compliance Review can provide a starting point.

At JTPS Advisory Co., we review the notice and the information related to it to help identify the issue and determine what may need to happen next.

Sometimes the review itself provides the clarity needed. Other times, it may identify an issue that requires additional tax work or another appropriate next step.

The goal is to understand what you're dealing with before deciding how to address it.

Need help understanding an IRS notice?

Request IRS Assistance →

Tax preparation and tax planning sound like they might be the same thing.

They're not.

And understanding the difference can help you know what kind of tax help you actually need.

Tax preparation looks at what already happened

When you have your tax return prepared, we're generally working with a year that has already ended.

• You earned income.
• Taxes may have been withheld.
• You may have had business income and expenses.
• You may have purchased a home, had a child, gone to school, changed jobs, started a business, or experienced other changes during the year.

By the time your return is being prepared, most of those things have already happened.

Tax preparation takes that information and uses it to prepare an accurate return based on the tax rules that apply to your situation.

Tax planning looks ahead

Tax planning happens before the year is over—when there's still time to understand how certain decisions may affect your taxes.

For example, maybe:

• your income increased,
• you started earning money from self-employment,
• your business is growing,
• you're wondering whether enough tax is being withheld,
• you're making estimated tax payments,
• or something significant changed in your financial situation.

Instead of waiting until it's time to prepare the return, tax planning gives you an opportunity to look at what's happening while it's happening.

Here's a simple way to think about it

Tax preparation asks:

What happened last year, and how does it need to be reported?

Tax planning asks:

What's happening this year, and is there anything we need to pay attention to before the year ends?

That's the difference.

Why does that matter?

Because once the year is over, some opportunities to make changes during that tax year may have already passed.

If you discover at tax time that you didn't have enough withheld from your paycheck, for example, we can explain what happened and prepare the return correctly.

But we can't go back into the previous year and change those paycheck withholdings.

If you're self-employed and haven't been setting money aside for taxes, filing season may be the first time you see the full tax impact of the income you earned.

Again, we can prepare the return.

But the income has already been earned.

That's why some tax conversations are more useful during the year instead of after it.

Does everyone need tax planning?

Not necessarily.

Some people's tax situations stay fairly consistent from year to year.

Others experience changes that make a conversation during the year worth considering.

The important thing is knowing that having someone prepare your tax return doesn't automatically mean tax planning happened.

They're two different services with two different purposes.

So which one do you need?

If the year has ended and you need your return prepared, you're looking for tax preparation.

If you're still in the tax year and want to understand how what's happening now may affect your taxes later, you may be looking for tax planning.

And sometimes you need both.

You don't have to know all the tax rules. But knowing the kind of help you're looking for can make it much easier to ask the right questions before tax season arrives.

Need help with tax preparation or planning?

Book an Appointment →

A change in income doesn't happen in isolation.

Sometimes income changes because something in life changed. Sometimes the change was expected. Sometimes it wasn't. And sometimes your income may be the same, but your responsibilities, priorities, or circumstances are different.

That's why looking at your finances isn't only about looking at what's coming in and what's going out.

It's also about understanding what's happening in your life right now.

What are you responsible for? What are you working toward? Has something changed that is affecting how you use your money? Are there decisions you're trying to make? And what does your current financial situation realistically give you room to do?

Those answers will look different for everybody.

You may be thinking about traveling, moving, helping family, making a large purchase, paying down debt, building savings, or simply trying to understand why your money doesn't feel the way you expected it to.

Financial clarity starts with seeing the whole picture.

That means understanding your income and expenses, but also understanding how your current circumstances, responsibilities, and goals fit into that picture.

From there, you can begin to see what may need attention, what options you have, and what decisions make sense for your situation.

Sometimes you may discover that you have more flexibility than you thought. Sometimes something may need to change. And sometimes simply understanding what's happening can make the next decision clearer.

Financial clarity isn't about cutting everything. It's about understanding what your money can support now—and making your decisions from there.

Want help understanding your personal finances?

Ask About Coaching Availability →

Starting a business can feel exciting. You have the idea, the name, maybe even your first customer.

But starting the business is one thing. Putting the foundation in place is another.

Depending on your situation, that may include things like registering a DBA or forming an LLC, getting an EIN, opening a separate business bank account, setting up a way to track income and expenses, and understanding what you may need to do for taxes.

Getting these pieces in place can help you understand how your business is set up, what still needs to be put in place, and what comes next.

Not every business needs exactly the same things. What your business needs can depend on how it's structured, what it does, and where it operates. That's why business setup isn't necessarily a one-size-fits-all checklist.

And getting organized isn't only something to think about when you're first starting.

As the business changes, you may need to look again at how you're tracking money, keeping records, handling taxes, or managing the administrative side of the business.

The goal isn't to make running a business complicated.

It's to understand what you've built, what needs attention, and what comes next.

Ready for guidance with your business?

Request Business Guidance →