MyFTB Corner June 2020 Tax News

Good time to have your clients sign up for a MyFTB account

We know you are busy and that your clients may be asking you about all of the new law changes resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. However, this may also be an opportunity for you to suggest to your clients that they create a MyFTB account and take advantage of the many benefits and features.

First, many of us don’t think of this often enough, but security of our financial information is so very important. And, MyFTB offers us security of our tax information. Once your client creates a MyFTB account, it prevents anyone else from attempting to use their information to do so. As a tax professional, you recognize our standard letters and notices. If your clients receive something from us, they can easily go to their MyFTB account and confirm its legitimacy; and, rather than sending sensitive information to us through the mail, they can quickly and securely upload any required documents.

Benefits to your clients beyond security include, online access to their tax returns, correspondence and account information. “Did I make that fourth quarter estimate payment?” “What about my refund?” Your clients can log in to MyFTB and quickly see all payments and credits, including California wage withholding. They can also see if their returns were processed and whether or not refunds were issued.

If your clients have a question about their returns or refunds, they can securely chat with our helpful customer service representatives rather than calling and waiting. Social distancing has affected our call centers staffing, but with MyFTB chats are answered sooner than a phone call. These benefits can also extend to you. When your clients self-serve, it frees up your valuable time.

There is another benefit to tax professionals when their clients have MyFTB accounts. When you submit a Power of Attorney (POA) form with us, the relationship verification step is much easier and the POA can be processed faster. Visit MyFTB Features for more information about MyFTB.