There are many methods of communication that could be used to notify your clients of the changes
to the tax code that would affect them. c Being creative would help including mailings, email, social
media post, blogs, or token gifts (Caplan, 2014). c You would need to know your clients and their
effective way of communicating with them. c Some clients are very tech savvy which would respond
to email or blogs and clients that are less tech savvy would not respond to emails and blogs but
would like communication in newsletters, mailings and phone calls are still warranted. c
Circumstances that warrant a communication with clients would be
If there is a new law that can affect the company’s bottom line, this would be a will needed time to
contact you client to inform them about this law that could affect them.
Another circumstance that I would have communicated to my clients is the individual income tax
bracket and rates were reduced with the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA). c
Also, with the TCJA the affordable care act penalty tax if my client did not have qualifying health
insurance, they were required to pay a penalty. c This mandate penalty tax was reduced to zero.
A circumstance that I want to warrant my client that if they installed alternative energy system in
your home that relies on renewable energy such as wind, solar, fuel cell technology. c For 2023 the
credit is 30%of the cost of the equipment and installation for renewable energy systems.
A tax change that is not worthy of notifying a business would be the annual exclusion for gifts. c The
limit on how much a taxpayer can give an individual without filing a gift tax return on gift has
increased to $17,000 per person in 2023 up a $1000 from 2022. c This would have a significant
impact on a business (Orem & Parys, 2022).
The tax code changes very often so it is important for tax professionals to keep their clients
informed about recent changes. Clients will want to be sure they are kept up to date with the
current tax code to ensure they are following the proper rules that apply to them. There are a few
different ways tax professionals can communicate this information to their clients. Using social
media marketing, emailing, and website updates can have the most immediate impact to clients for
them to see when an update has occurred. Tax professionals may also decide to use newsletters,
webinars, and phone calls to notify their clients of changes, but these options would take more time
and money.
One thing tax professional can do to help determine if a certain client needs this information is to
have a detailed and accurate profile of all their clients. If new rules come out that will affect certain
clients more than others, the tax professional can alert those clients that a change has occurred that
may impact their business. By doing this, the clients would not be overwhelmed with notifications of
tax changes every time one occurs and start ignoring them. c
There was a tax rule change in 2022 regarding income of over $600 in different apps and digital
platforms. This tax rule has been delayed for a year, but it expected to take place for 2023. If I know
my clients do not sell anything on these platforms, or their income on these platforms is already
over the old threshold of $20,000, I would not notify them of this update as it would not impact
their business operations.
Reference:
Caplan, CPA, R. M. (2014, June 1). Staying in touch: A year of client communications. The Tax
Adviser. https://www.thetaxadviser.com/issues/2014/jun/tpm-june2014.html
Orem, T., & Parys, S. (2022, October 19). 2023 tax changes: IRS issues inflation adjustments.
NerdWallet. https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/taxes/tax-
changes#:~:text=The%20annual%20exclusion%20for%20gifts,upon%20a%20wealthy%20person%27s
%20death.
1099-K Form: everything you need to know. H&R Block. (2023, April 3).
https://www.hrblock.com/tax-center/irs/forms/what-is-form-1099-k/
Alarie, B. (2021, August 24). How-to Step-Up Client Communications Ahead of New Tax Changes.
The Daily CPA. https://thedailycpa.com/how-to-step-up-client-communications-ahead-of-new-tax-
changes/
