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Elk County Tax Preparation, 218 CAROLWOOD Road, Saint Marys, PA (2026)

10/25/2026

𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐭, 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐭?

Here is a picture of someplace near here. Where is it? What was it before it is what it is now?

Make your best guess.

10/24/2026

A client of mine was selected for a full IRS audit of their personal tax return.

There was information that had not been provided to us when we originally prepared the return, and the IRS was now requesting documentation for several items.

One of the things they wanted was documentation for the expenses associated with a rental property.

When I met with the auditor in Altoona, I didn't just hand him a pile of receipts.

I prepared an Excel spreadsheet listing and totaling each expense, and I attached the supporting documentation in the exact same order as the spreadsheet.

The IRS also requested two brokerage statements and documentation for the insurance on the rental property. I had all of that organized and ready for the auditor as well.

After my first meeting with the auditor, I sat down with my client.
I showed him what information had been missing from the original return and explained exactly what the auditor was looking at.

Then I gave him two numbers:

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭-𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐨—𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐨𝐰𝐞.

𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐭-𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐨—𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐨𝐰𝐞 𝐢𝐟 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐦.

I also explained the potential interest and penalties.

When the audit was complete, I went back to Altoona and met with the auditor again.

There were some adjustments he agreed with and others he did not. But because we had the documentation to support the positions we had taken, I was able to successfully defend several of the items.

When everything was finished, 𝐈 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐲 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 $𝟐,𝟎𝟎𝟎.

Just before our meeting ended, the auditor complimented me on my documentation and on how I presented the items where I believed additional tax should not be assessed.

Then he said something I've never forgotten:

“𝐈𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐚𝐱 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐬, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐟𝐞𝐰 𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡.”

That meant a lot to me.

Not because I want my clients to be audited.

𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐲 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝, 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦—𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐝, 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐮𝐩 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐰𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝.

— 𝐉𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐲

𝐸𝑙𝑘 𝐶𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑦 𝑇𝑎𝑥 𝑃𝑟𝑒𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛

Always on your side

10/13/2026

I had a client receive a letter from the IRS indicating there were potential problems with their tax return.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐈𝐑𝐒 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐲 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 $𝟏𝟔,𝟎𝟎𝟎.

The IRS was questioning a tax credit they had claimed for a solar system installed on their home.

The letter explained what had been reported on the original tax return and what adjustments the IRS was proposing.

They were understandably concerned.

We sat down together and went through the letter, point by point.
Once we understood exactly what the IRS was questioning, I went to work gathering the documentation needed to support the return.

We ultimately provided the IRS with more than 50 pages of documentation showing that the equipment met the requirements, that it had been installed on their home, and that the installer met the necessary requirements.

But I didn't just send the IRS a stack of papers.

Each page was clearly identified with the taxpayers' information and page numbers. And for every issue the IRS raised, I pointed them directly to the page in the documentation that supported our position.

It took the IRS more than six months for the IRS to complete its review.

But when it was over, the IRS accepted our position.

𝐈𝐭 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐲 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 $𝟏𝟔,𝟎𝟎𝟎.

That's one of the reasons I tell my clients:

𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐈𝐑𝐒, 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐜.
𝐃𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐭.
𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐞.

Sometimes the most important thing I can do for a client is simply sit down with them, figure out what's happening, and help them through it.

— 𝐉𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐲

𝐸𝑙𝑘 𝐶𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑦 𝑇𝑎𝑥 𝑃𝑟𝑒𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛

10/06/2026

I had a client who was a traveling nurse. He had changed jobs and, when he filled out his W-4, it was set up in a way that resulted in 𝐧𝐨 𝐟𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐱 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐝 from his paychecks.

He didn't realize there was a problem until later.

By then, he was headed toward a fairly large tax bill. Depending on the circumstances, there was also the possibility of interest and penalties.

He called me in late October in a panic.

He wanted to know, “𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐈 𝐝𝐨?”

We sat down and looked at the situation. We talked about what needed to be changed and what he could do before the end of the year to help prevent the problem from getting worse.

We were able to make the necessary changes and fix his W-4 going forward.

When tax time came, instead of facing the large problem he had feared, he owed only a small amount of federal income tax.
He was extremely happy.

On a phone call the next January we adjusted his W-4 to a normal withholding.

But honestly, what I remember most wasn't the tax return.

It was that phone call in October when someone was worried and didn't know what to do.

Sometimes, you just need someone you can call.

— 𝐉𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐲

𝐸𝑙𝑘 𝐶𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑦 𝑇𝑎𝑥 𝑃𝑟𝑒𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛

09/29/2026

Just last month, a client reached out to me. He was filling out his retirement paperwork. His knees were giving him trouble, and after years of working on concrete, he knew it was time to make a change.

He and his wife brought the paperwork with them, and we sat down and went through it together.

We worked through a tax plan to see what their retirement income would look like. They would have a pension, and both would be receiving Social Security.

As we talked, we also discussed Social Security and Medicare. We talked about the difference between Medicare Advantage and Medicare Supplement plans so they would have a better understanding when it came time to make that decision.

Then I asked them about their 401(k).

How much did they have?

What were their plans for that money?

So we went back to the tax planner we had started and looked at what could happen over the next several years.

I was able to show them a strategy that could allow them to take more than $100,000 out of their 401(k) over several years while potentially avoiding federal, state, and local income taxes on that money.

They came in because they needed help with retirement paperwork.

But that's not where our conversation ended.

𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐞 𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐫.

That's one of the things I enjoy most about what I do.

— 𝐉𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐲

𝐸𝑙𝑘 𝐶𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑦 𝑇𝑎𝑥 𝑃𝑟𝑒𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛

09/22/2026

I had a father and son who worked together.

One day, there was an accident at work, and the son was seriously injured.

The father wasn't responsible for the accident, but that didn't make it any easier. He was deeply affected by what had happened to his son.

The next day, he called me.

He told me he didn't know if he could go back to work. He couldn't continue doing the job knowing what had happened to his son there.

He wanted to know if he could retire.

We sat down and talked about it.

We looked at how much income he would need, where that income would come from, and what the tax implications would be. We worked through the numbers and developed a plan that would allow him to retire.

But the conversation didn't end when we finished the retirement plan.

Over the next six months, we talked several more times about how he was doing.

The first few months were difficult. He was trying to deal with what had happened to his son while also adjusting to a completely different life.

But as time passed, things began to get better.

He was able to move forward.

That experience stayed with me.

Yes, we worked on the numbers. Yes, we figured out the tax consequences. Yes, we developed a retirement plan.

But sometimes a client needs more than someone who can work the numbers.

Sometimes they need someone who will sit down with them when life changes unexpectedly and help them figure out what comes next.

That's one of the things I've come to value most about being a tax professional.

𝐓𝐚𝐱 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐝𝐨. 𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐈 𝐝𝐨 𝐢𝐭.

— 𝐉𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐲
𝐸𝑙𝑘 𝐶𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑦 𝑇𝑎𝑥 𝑃𝑟𝑒𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛

09/15/2026

𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐢𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐊𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭

I had a husband and wife as clients for many years. When the husband passed away, his wife called me shortly afterward.

She had found a piece of paper with my name on it related to their taxes.

She didn't know where to start.

She rarely drove. She hadn't done the grocery shopping in years. She didn't even know which bank they used or where the checkbook was.

And she had no family nearby.

I asked her to look through the cupboards and drawers until she found a checkbook. Once she found it, we scheduled an appointment.

She was nervous.

We started with the basics.

We called her bank and arranged for her to meet with a Customer Specialist. They helped her learn how to write a check, balance her checkbook, and understand which accounts needed to be closed or reopened. For quite some time, they even helped her with balancing the checkbook.

Then we turned our attention to her taxes.

We reviewed her prior-year return, and I gave her a list of the tax forms she could expect to receive in the mail. I told her, "If you're not sure what something is, don't throw it away. Keep it, and we'll figure it out together."

We even talked about groceries—what she had at home and what she would need.

Tax season went well, but it was emotional.

Her husband's name was still on so many things. There were reminders of him everywhere.

We talked about him.

We talked about how much she missed him.

Sometimes we cried.

Sometimes we hugged.

Eventually, tax season was over.

Not long afterward, she sent me a very nice thank-you card. Then one day she stopped in with some cookies.

We sat and talked again.

But this time, something was different.

She was telling me stories about her husband—and she was actually smiling.

I still remember that.

Over the years, I've learned that people don't always come to me because they need a tax return.

Sometimes they come because life has changed, and they don't know what to do next.

Sometimes they need someone to help them find the first step.

And sometimes, they just need someone to walk beside them for a little while.

𝐓𝐚𝐱 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐝𝐨.
𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐈 𝐝𝐨 𝐢𝐭.

— 𝐉𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐲

𝐸𝑙𝑘 𝐶𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑦 𝑇𝑎𝑥 𝑃𝑟𝑒𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛

09/09/2026

𝐀 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐖𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐆𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐎𝐟𝐟 𝐭𝐨 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐞

Years ago, I was preparing taxes for a family when one of the family members was getting ready to go off to college.

She had been a good student at a local high school, typically earning B and B+ grades. When she came in to pick up her taxes, we started talking about what she was going to major in and what she hoped to do after college.

I gave her a piece of advice that she probably wasn't expecting from her tax preparer.

I told her to think of college as the beginning of her career—not simply four more years of school.

I suggested that she treat her education like a job.

Get up every morning. Have a schedule. Put in your hours. Read material related to her coursework. Work on upcoming papers. Study. Prepare. And when she wasn't in class, she should still be working toward becoming the professional she wanted to be.

In other words, 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐣𝐨𝐛.

Four years later, she came back to see me.

She thanked me and told me that she had followed my advice. She had treated her education as her job.

The result?

She made the Dean's List every year and graduated with Honors.

That story has stayed with me over the years.

I've come to realize that people don't always come to me because they need a tax return.

Sometimes they need someone to look at a situation from a different perspective.

Sometimes they need someone to listen.

And sometimes, they just need someone to say, "𝐇𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐲?"

That's what I've always believed being a professional is about.

It's not just about preparing a tax return.

It's about helping people when life gets real.

— 𝐉𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐲
𝐸𝑙𝑘 𝐶𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑦 𝑇𝑎𝑥 𝑃𝑟𝑒𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛

𝐴𝑓𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑑𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒. 𝐴𝑐𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒. 𝐸𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙. 𝐴𝑙𝑤𝑎𝑦𝑠 𝑜𝑛 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒.

09/04/2026

Over the years, I've realized that people don't just come to me because they need a tax return or have a tax question.

Sometimes, they come because 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝.

A client came to me today after receiving a letter offering to purchase shares of a stock that her deceased husband had owned.

The offer sounded convenient—but there was a problem.

They were offering her roughly 𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐟 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐜𝐤'𝐬 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞. Of course, the letter didn't exactly spell that out.

After a quick look at the current market value, she decided it made more sense to transfer the shares into her name and then take some time to decide whether she wanted to sell them, keep them, or explore other options.

We completed the necessary paperwork, I gave her an addressed envelope to mail everything in, and she just needs to stop at the bank to complete the process.

But that wasn't all we talked about.

We discussed a 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐄𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞. I don't prepare Life Estate documents—that's something an attorney should handle. But I can help her understand what a Life Estate is, why she might want one, and what steps she can take to have one properly prepared.

Then we talked about the money she has in an IRA and in savings.
What are her options?

How can she manage those funds in a way that may help limit unnecessary taxes?

And how can she make sure those assets are transferred to her beneficiaries as smoothly and tax-efficiently as possible?

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐈 𝐝𝐨 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐝𝐨.

If you're going through something complicated, you don't always have to figure it out alone.

𝐓𝐚𝐱 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐝𝐨.
𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐈 𝐝𝐨 𝐢𝐭.

Jerry

08/31/2026

Some new rules that may impact you if you have Rental Units:

Managing long-term rentals comes with distinct tax treatments under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). Because long-term residential real estate follows a standard 27.5-year straight-line depreciation schedule, maximizing these updated rules requires understanding how they interact with passive activity limits.

Reach out to me if you have questions on Long Term Rentals (Houses and Apartments, not Airbnb) and would like to know how these may impact you.

Jerry

Elk County Tax Preparation

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08/31/2026

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