FAQ

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Where's my tax refund?

E-file refunds usually take up to 2 weeks, and paper takes up to 4 weeks. If this amount of time has passed, click below for the Federal and State refund lookup services.

You will need the following information in most cases:

  • Social Security number or ITIN
  • ZIP Code
  • Your exact refund amount
  • Numbers in your mailing address
  • Your filing status

Internal Revenue Service

California

Other states available here

How do I set up an account for the IRS or California FTB?

We recommend online accounts with the IRS and California FTB to help save time on hold waiting to speak to the taxing authorities for information you can obtain yourself once you have an account. With your account, you can view payment history and any scheduled or pending payments for each tax year. You can also get information about economic impact payments, digital copies of letters and notices, and much more.

Please note that the IRS and FTB may update their webpage from time to time, and these instructions could vary slightly. If you file tax returns in other states, most state websites have online accounts similar to California.

For the IRS:

  • Go to www.irs.gov/payments/your-online-account and select “Sign in to your Online Account”.
  • Click “Create Account”.
  • Pass “Secure Access” authentication. Individuals must be able to authenticate their identity to continue to set up an account. See IRS.gov/secureaccess for details.
  • Create a profile.

For the FTB:

I don’t remember the website for the client portal. Where do I go to access my online documents?

Here is the link to visit our client portal: https://theaccountancy.clientportal.com

Have your username and password ready.

I received the portal invitation email. What should I do next?

Click the activation link in the invitation email. This link will take you to the site in order to setup your account. Your username is the email address we used to send you the invite.

Next, you must enter a password of your choosing. Passwords should be at least 12 characters with a combination of upper/lowercase letters, numbers and symbols. This account will contain documents with sensitive financial information including your social security number, so we highly recommend the use of strong passwords to protect your information.

I have an account for the client portal but I forgot my password. What should I do?

Click on this link to be taken to the password reset page. We cannot reset this password for you, nor do we have access to your current password.

Can you guide me through navigating the client portal, and tell me how to upload or download documents?

We’re always happy to help you by phone if you would like. Please call us at 818-547-5701. If you would like a very helpful and quick orientation for common questions about setting up your account and navigating the website, just click here to view it.

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I no longer have access to my old email address that is used for the client portal. How do I change it?

If you no longer have access to your old email, please let us know so we can update your portal account. For security reasons, we are the only ones who can update your email for login.

Can I add another user to the client portal?

Yes, please tell us the name and email address of the user you would like to add so we can send an invitation to the new user.

Do you have any alternative to using the client portal for sending documents?

Yes! Standard email attachments are not a secure way to send sensitive financial documents, so we also have a service from Citrix called ShareFile. This allows you to send your documents via email, but with enhanced encryption. While this service will not serve as long-term storage of your documents like our client portal, it is convenient because no account setup is needed.

All of our staff’s email signatures include a link to send them documents via ShareFile. If you do not have an email from the person you would like to send to, simply email them and request the link. Or, you may call our front desk at 818-547-5701 and we will be happy to send it to you.

In California, who is required to pay taxes by Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT)?

You are required to make payments by Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) if:

  • Your average monthly sales and use tax liability equals or exceeds $10,000 over a 12 month period;
  • Your average monthly Prepaid Mobile Telephony Services (MTS) Surcharge liability equals or exceeds $20,000; or
  • If your sales and use tax account is required to make EFT payments, your prepaid MTS account should also remit payments by EFT.
  • Your average monthly special taxes and fees liability equals or exceeds $20,000 over a 12 month period.

If I pay the California FTB with a check when I was supposed to pay via EFT, will I be assessed a penalty?

If you are required to remit payments through EFT and you use another means (check, cash, money order, credit card, etc.), you will be subject to a penalty.

Monthly and quarterly tax or fee returns will be assessed a 10 percent penalty on the taxes or fees due.

Sales and use tax prepayments will be subject to a six percent penalty. Special taxes programs will be assessed a prepayment penalty based on the law governing your specific special taxes program.

If you have other questions about EFT, visit this page for more information.

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I have Qbox for syncing my QuickBooks Desktop file to The Accountancy. The file is locked and I am not given the option to lock it myself so my changes will be incorporated. How do I fix this?

There are two things that could be happening:

  1. The file is on custom sync and we need to buy 30 days of access. Please contact us to help you with this.
  2. The file is on regular sync, but someone is currently using it. If this is the case, your changes will not be saved. Under settings, make sure you are on  auto-sync. This will remove the extra step and assures that the file will sync when closed. If you have any trouble, please contact us for support.

Qbox indicates that the file is locked by The Accountancy, but that's not the case. How do we fix this?

There are a few things that could be happening:

  1. If there was any interruption of internet service at the time of syncing, it can create this issue. Try restarting the sync.
  2. If this doesn’t help, please contact our office. We will also trying opening and closing the file from our end to restart the sync.

My QuickBooks file shows a red symbol under Qbox sync. What is happening?

An error occurred during the last sync. Hit the refresh button located in the upper right corner of Qbox. If you have a concern that changes you made have not synced with us, please contact us so we can compare recent changes.