Author: Tony Novak

  • Great advice from IRS

    This comes directly from an IRS email: “Offering time-saving alternatives to a telephone call, the Internal Revenue Service reminds taxpayers they can get fast answers to their refund questions by using the “Where’s My Refund?” tool available on IRS.gov and through the IRS2Go app. The IRS issues nine out of 10 refunds in less than…

  • Rest in power @1pissedPolack

    Amy Jean Wojtaszek, age 44, of Aberdeen, Maryland died this past weekend. I knew her only on Twitter as @1pissedPolack where she was a powerful activist with over 44,000 followers. I was just one of them, often amazed by her world view. But I actually cried when I read a eulogy that said “rest in…

  • Employee vs contractor; more misclassification risks

    “Employee misclassification is a major issue. Employers who misclassify employees are failing to provide unemployment insurance and workers’ compensation. Those employers can also leave workers with large employment tax liabilities.“ This new article delivers information on even more risks. Correct handling of worker compensation is not so difficult or expensive. It doesn’t make sense to shortcut this…

  • Getting your taxes filed is as easy as sending a text!

    Clients increasingly prefer to contact me and send tax documents via text message. That’s fine. SMS text messages and attachments are considered secure for most purposes. I just want you to know that there is a more secure delivery method available if you prefer. I offer, at no charge, a secure online portal for transmitting and…

  • Professionalism still counts!

    “Hey online friends I just got this gig to build a house for a client. Does anybody know if I need plans or anything or should I just go out and buy the lumber? By the way what kind of lumber will I need?” Silly and absurd! Yet this week I saw a few posts…

  • Don’t get angry, get tax free

    A wave of recent media reports indicates that a large number of taxpayers are angry this filing season. Some people point out that the public reaction is illogical because the total amount of income taxes actually is actually lower for most people. Yet there may be good underlying reason for that anger. Originally we read…

  • Why are taxpayers so angry this year?

    We are exactly one week into the first tax filing season under the new rules of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and I’ve already heard or read more than a hundred complaints from individual taxpayers about their federal income tax results. All but one of my clients so far are frustrated with the amount…

  • Should I convert from an S Corp to C corp?

    The majority of my business-oriented blog posts here take on a complex topic and re-frame the subject it in more simplistic terms for the purpose of opening a discussion from the perspective of small business management. This is exactly the purpose of this blog post. There is no attempt here to capture or even summarize…

  • How to grow a tax practice

    Today a group of online tax professionals across the country discussed the ways they’ve built their tax practice. I am interested because with two recently added excellent staff members, we could handle several hundred more tax returns. The clear #1 source of business is referrals. I recently published a blog post for clients and friends…

  • Robocall response II

    Last year I appeared on a short segment on the NBC national news and the Today Show about how robocalls have disrupted the traditional role of my business telephone. In the NBC interview I said “I like to talk  to customers, strangers, clients, but it actually made me hesitant to even want to pick up the…