Announcer:
It’s time now on KROS for Financial Focus, brought to you by NelsonCorp Wealth Management. The opinions voiced in this show are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. Any indices mentioned are unmanaged and cannot be invested into directly. Registered representative securities offered through Cambridge Investment Research Incorporated, a broker dealer, member FINRA, SIPC. Investment advisor representative Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Incorporated, a registered investment advisor. Cambridge and NelsonCorp Wealth Management are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax advice. Now here’s today’s Financial Focus program.
Nate Kreinbrink:
Good morning and welcome to this week’s Financial Focus brought to you each and every Wednesday morning right here on KROS. Well, this is Nate Kreinbrink. I have Andy Fergurson on with me. We were scheduled to do New Year’s Eve, last show of the year.
Andy Fergurson:
Yeah. What happened? I don’t remember.
Nate Kreinbrink:
The Hawkeyes played.
Andy Fergurson:
Oh, the freaking Hawkeyes ruin everything.
Nate Kreinbrink:
I know. They were playing-
Andy Fergurson:
Just kidding, just kidding. Don’t send me any hate mail.
Nate Kreinbrink:
But they won though. They won though. So our show got bumped because of the pregame show leading into it.
Andy Fergurson:
Well, that’s good.
Nate Kreinbrink:
David Nelson was on last week kind of kicking off 2026 with the live 30-minute show. So this is our first one of the new year.
Andy Fergurson:
First 2026 show. Got to give the people what they want, Nate.
Nate Kreinbrink:
We have to. We have to. And as we turn to 2026, second half of the basketball season.
Andy Fergurson:
Second half of the basketball season. Yeah, I think we finished our last game of the first half last night, so yeah, we’re back in business.
Nate Kreinbrink:
So it’s officially second half and then into tournament, so kind of that second-
Andy Fergurson:
That’s awesome. And hey, along those lines, I want to just shout out to Clinton community and ask all those River Queens and Kings out there. Aubrey, my daughter’s up for KWQC’s Athlete of the Week. So if you haven’t gone to their website and voted yet, her name’s Aubrey Fergurson. You should go vote for, help her get through. Voting’s open until noon today.
Nate Kreinbrink:
Awesome. She set the all time rebound record.
Andy Fergurson:
Yeah.
Nate Kreinbrink:
That’s pretty impressive.
Andy Fergurson:
It’s pretty cool. It’s pretty cool for her. You know what was interesting is when she was young playing basketball, she was very discouraged because she couldn’t shoot well. So she kind of was like, “I’m never going to be good. I can’t shoot.” And somebody told her, “Well, if you can’t shoot, go get the ball.” That’s just as helpful, go get the ball for your team. So she kind of locked in on that and if you watch her play, she’s fighting for the ball. She can beat three girls sometimes and get that ball.
Nate Kreinbrink:
There is, there’s a lot of different roles when it comes to a team. And as a coach, I’ll take that one any day of the week.
Andy Fergurson:
I’ve heard a lot of coaches say that. A lot of coaches say there’s a lot of value in that kid that can go get the ball because you can’t score without the ball.
Nate Kreinbrink:
Right.
Andy Fergurson:
And if you have the ball, the other team can’t score.
Andy Fergurson:
It’s a great deal, so we’re really proud of her.
Nate Kreinbrink:
Congratulations to her. If you do have a moment, check out that site and give her-
Andy Fergurson:
KWQC.
Nate Kreinbrink:
Give her a little vote to push her up there. So I know it’s running close, I think.
Andy Fergurson:
Yeah. As far as that voting, she’s actually down right now, so we need everybody in Clinton to go get her some help.
Nate Kreinbrink:
Cool. Well, again, switching on to the show. This time of year also transitions and we’re getting closer to that tax season.
Andy Fergurson:
Yeah.
Nate Kreinbrink:
And I know, like when we get to this time of the year, there’s some excitement for you to get it started, but it also is kind of a concept shift as far as where we’ve been, end of the year planning, Roth conversions, that type of stuff to, okay, now we’re going from more strategy of what we’re going to implement to actually-
Andy Fergurson:
Reporting.
Nate Kreinbrink:
Reporting.
Andy Fergurson:
Yeah, we change from planning to reporting. We change from strategy to now we’re more concerned about accuracy, right? We want to make sure that we’ve got all our documents. We want to make sure that those documents match what the IRS is getting. We’re just in this mode of, did I get everything that I was supposed to get? And did I get the things that I got last year? If there’s something that I got last year that I’m not expecting this year, why is that? Do we know the difference? If you had a sale of a house last year and you got a 1099-S, you’re not going to get one this year because you didn’t sell a house again. So it’s just something to remember.
I have a lot of people who will come in and say things like, “Well, I didn’t get this statement.” Well, something like a W-2 or a 1099 from their Social Security, they’ll say, “I didn’t get it.” Well, that doesn’t mean you don’t have to report it, right? Because you got paid and if you got paid, you got to go find that statement. And if it doesn’t come to your mail because of some inconsistency in your mail system or some other inconsistency in the provider that’s sending you that 1099 or that W-2, it doesn’t matter whether or not you got the form. You got to report the number, so we got to find that number.
And we can’t do things like say, “Well, it’s the same as last year,” because what’s happening at the IRS is when there’s a 1099 or W-2 or any kind of information report that comes to you, the IRS is matching those numbers. So if you report 5,225 and the IRS reports 5,224, that’s not a match. And once you hit a couple of mismatches, the IRS sends you a letter and says, “We need more information,” and nobody likes to get those letters.
So it’s much better to just make the effort, go get the document. For like Social Security documents, if you haven’t gotten your Social Security 1099 by, I’d say middle to third week of February, you may want to go call somebody-
Nate Kreinbrink:
Go look for it.
Andy Fergurson:
… and look for it. If you haven’t gotten your W-2 by the middle to the third week of February, you’re going to want to go looking for it. Or if you’re expecting a 1099 from another provider, look for those things.
Now, there’s some things that traditionally come later. If you have investments and stuff like that, sometimes those things are well into March before you get the last statement. So don’t set your appointment just saying, “Oh, it’s past the 31st of January. I’m supposed to have everything that I’m supposed to get.” That’s not how it works. Just make sure you had what you had last year or there’s a reason for not having what you had last year.
Nate Kreinbrink:
Well, and I think one of the things you always say is if you’re in doubt, if you should bring it, bring it.
Andy Fergurson:
Absolutely.
Nate Kreinbrink:
And let you be the one to say, “No, we don’t need this,” but don’t you make that decision. Let your tax preparer make that for you and they can decide if they need that document.
Andy Fergurson:
Absolutely. I got a great big old shred bin that I can throw it in for you.
I will add one thing to that. Open your mail.
Nate Kreinbrink:
Yes, that makes-
Andy Fergurson:
All right?
Nate Kreinbrink:
Yeah.
Andy Fergurson:
I’ve had returns come to me and it’s a bunch of unopened letters and I’ll go through it and I’ll find a check that a bank or somebody sent to somebody, but they thought it was a tax document. They just never opened it. So open your mail, see what’s there. But if you’re not sure if it’s an important document, put it in there. I’m sure your provider will throw it away for you. But bring everything, but don’t pay your provider to open it for you, right? You’re paying us a lot of money to give you an accurate tax return. You don’t want to add cost to that by having us sit there and spend 10 minutes opening your mail.
Nate Kreinbrink:
Well, and you always say it’s not just you that it takes the time, but when you think of the number of returns that you go through and have to process and everything, that’s a lot of documents to open.
Andy Fergurson:
And I’ll even give you a letter opener. We got letter openers that have our names on them. So yeah, open your mail and it’ll allow you to see what’s there, first of all, make sure you have everything, and it will help us keep things in better order.
Nate Kreinbrink:
And I think when you look at this too, it’s obviously mid-January now, we’re getting closer, understanding what those deadlines are. The April 15th deadline is not necessarily a deadline to file. You technically, if you would file an extension, have up until October 15th.
Andy Fergurson:
Right.
Nate Kreinbrink:
But that is only to file, that is not to pay.
Andy Fergurson:
Correct.
Nate Kreinbrink:
That to pay deadline is always April 15th.
Andy Fergurson:
Hard and fast April 15th or the first business day after April 15th. So yeah, that’s the time that you have to pay. You want to make sure that you’ve got all your tax that you need to pay and by that time to avoid penalties and interest.
But you can file much later than that. I file returns all the way up until … I file them after 10/15 actually. So you can absolutely file later. Just if you’re not going to be able to file by 4/15, make sure you call your provider and get an extension. Don’t ever assume that they’re just going to put an extension in for you because when that gets missed, you pay the penalty for it.
Nate Kreinbrink:
Not filing on time. And then when you look at that too, again, tax documents will start coming in. Some people want to hit it, be the very first one to file. But more often than not, there’s a lot of people that want to wait until that last minute.
Andy Fergurson:
Yeah.
Nate Kreinbrink:
And again, that’s tough on the preparer because again, if they do it, is one thing. But if 100 other people want to do that same concept, well, that’s a log jam for you.
Andy Fergurson:
Yeah, and I think people get a little gun shy because I say all year long, “Don’t rush, don’t rush, don’t rush,” and then people are like, “Oh, well, I’ve got time.” They’ll tell me things like, “Well, my return doesn’t take very long. There’s not very much detail to it.”
But I want you to think about it in terms of a roadway or a pipe. Only so much water or traffic can go through that roadway or pipe at a time, right? So it may only take you 10 seconds to go through an intersection, but if there’s 250 cars in front of you, it’s going to take you longer than 10 seconds, right? And that’s what happens when we get to the end of the season is we have this bottleneck because everybody waits until the end of the season.
So what we prefer is get your documents, get them in, let’s get going earlier rather than later. There’s always the option to drop material off. That’s another thing that causes a bottleneck. People want to wait and talk to me. They’re like, “Oh, I feel like I need to explain this, or that or the other thing.” Most cases, that’s not necessary. I look at those documents. I do 700 returns a year, so we look at a lot of documents. We can probably tell exactly what’s going on by looking at the documents. But if we have a question or if we’re not sure, we’re going to call you. We’re going to ask questions because we want to be accurate more than anything because there’s not anything that makes us madder than doing it over.
Nate Kreinbrink:
Right.
Andy Fergurson:
So don’t be afraid to drop it off, it’ll save you time. If you get your documents the same time as everybody else and you call on March 5th, or let’s say you call on March 1st and you say, “I want an appointment.” They’re like, “Well, the appointments are four weeks out.” Well, don’t wait for that appointment, drop your stuff off. And you may get it within a couple of days if you drop it off because I only take appointments from 8:00 to 5:00 or 8:00 to 7:00 during the tax year, but I’m working a lot of other hours.
Nate Kreinbrink:
Outside of those hours. Yes.
Andy Fergurson:
Right. So what I do during those other hours is drop-offs. Right? So when somebody drops something off, I’m doing it on a Saturday, I’m doing it on a Sunday, I’m doing it at eight o’clock at night, I’m doing it whenever I’m not taking appointments.
Nate Kreinbrink:
Or in between appointments that maybe.
Andy Fergurson:
In between appointments that are fast.
Nate Kreinbrink:
… that you know you can get one done.
Andy Fergurson:
Yep, absolutely. So that drop off tends to slide in a little bit faster than the appointments.
Nate Kreinbrink:
And I think when you’re looking at it, there’s a lot of other things. One big thing with that is that if you always get a refund from your tax return and it comes to you by a check, that is no longer an option going forward for the IRS for refunds.
Andy Fergurson:
Yep.
Nate Kreinbrink:
They’re going to want your bank account or some way to deposit your refund into, which again, if you have not done it that way, that’s a change. A lot of people have already transitioned to that, so not a big deal with that one, but for the ones that are, that will be a change going forward.
Andy Fergurson:
Yeah, and it’s a great opportunity. You get your money faster. The process is better when you use that direct deposit.
But along those lines, just make sure that the information’s accurate. I have people, every year I have a handful of people who come in and say, “Everything’s the same as last year.” And then they call me two weeks after their return’s been filed and they’re like, “Oh, I changed bank accounts.” So everything’s not the same as last year, right? Double check that stuff. Don’t shortcut it. But yes, you will have to get direct deposit.
Along those lines, you’re going to have to pay electronically as well. The IRS is cutting the checks out. So be prepared for that and don’t scream at the staff that’s telling you you got to-
Nate Kreinbrink:
You got to have it.
Andy Fergurson:
It’s not their law. They’re not in Congress. They didn’t pass it. They don’t work for the IRS. That came from the IRS that says we’re getting rid of checks. Apparently checks cost a lot of money to the federal government. So you got to get it direct deposit and you got to pay direct deposit or direct debit.
Nate Kreinbrink:
All changes, I think if schedules continue to be as is, we are going to continue this conversation next Wednesday.
Andy Fergurson:
I think I’ll have one more Wednesday where we can talk. After that, the tax season opens, it’s going to get a little bit more hairy for me. Unless you want to record like at 10:30 at night or-
Nate Kreinbrink:
I’m open.
Andy Fergurson:
… 4:00 in the morning, we could do that. But other than that, it’s going to get a little bit more dicey for a couple weeks.
Nate Kreinbrink:
All great stuff. Again, Andy, thanks for joining me. This is Nate Kreinbrink, Andy Fergurson with NelsonCorp Wealth Management, bringing you this week’s Financial Focus. Thanks for tuning in and have a great rest of your week.
Announcer:
Financial Focus is a production of NelsonCorp Wealth Management in Clinton and Davenport. The opinions voiced in the show are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. Any indices mentioned are unmanaged and cannot be invested into directly. Registered representative securities offered through Cambridge Investment Research Incorporated, a broker dealer, member FINRA, SIPC. Investment advisor representative Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Incorporated, a registered investment advisor. Cambridge and NelsonCorp Wealth Management are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax advice. For more information, visit our website at www.nelsoncorp.com.