An example engagement for accounting firms in Houston.
Example engagement01
This is an example engagement, not a client story. It shows how we would run an audit and build for a typical firm of this kind. The research figures come from the public sources cited, and nothing here reports a specific client's results.
A Houston CPA firm with several preparers that files a large share of individual and business returns on extension each year.
In April, extensions are filed in a rush and tracked in a spreadsheet. Over the summer, nobody follows up with clients for the missing pieces, so September and October become a second tax season.
Some clients assume an extension also delays their payment and are surprised by interest. When the IRS postpones deadlines after a Gulf Coast storm, the firm has to work out by hand which clients the relief covers.
What the research says02
An individual filing extension moves the filing deadline to October 15, but it is not an extension of time to pay. Tax owed is still due by the April deadline, and interest runs on any unpaid balance.
After Hurricane Beryl in July 2024, the IRS postponed various deadlines to February 3, 2025 for taxpayers in 67 Texas counties, including Harris County. That covered individual returns on extension originally due October 15, 2024, and estimated tax payments due September 16, 2024 and January 15, 2025.