Category: Taxes
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CPA Mobility
This past few weeks I learned more than I care to know about CPA mobility; that is, the ability of a CPA to provide services in a different state than the state where I am licensed. We should hope as professionals and as consumers that this is a clear and easy-to-understand issue. It is not. This…
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The benefits of increasing estimated tax payments
The traditional financial planning and tax management strategy is to minimize tax withholding and estimated tax payments throughout the year. Now with interest rates so low and the economy generally on the rise – meaning that actual taxes are more likely to be higher than estimated – it may make more sense to over withhold…
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When taxes get ugly
Today I had to advise a small business client – in the strongest and clearest words I could summon – that it was important for him to immediately write a $5,000 check to retain a tax lawyer. Yes, it is a lot of money. I agree that it is not fair that you have to do this.…
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Sample professional payroll service agreement
What do you get when you hire a professional accountant to handle your payroll accounting and wage tax issues? This is certainly a fair question since the level of service seems to vary widely between providers. Some payroll service providers, I understand, do not even put the details of their services in writing. The professional…
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Philly wage tax drops
City of Philadelphia wage tax rates drop slightly after June 30. For most people, residents and non-residents, the small increase in net pay will be automatically made. If not, call me because you need a better payroll service. There are too many excellent dirt-cheap payroll companies now to put up with one that is not…
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Tax planning for same sex couples
In 2013 the Supreme Court ruled on a case that effectively put same-sex couples on equal tax and financial footing with other couples. I summarized the financial planning impact in this June 27 2013 blog post. Five significant financial planning effects of the legal change were: 1) transfer of property to a spouse during one’s…
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Small payments by nonprofit LLC for summer events
Community organizations often sponsor seasonal events that require the use of short term labor. When volunteer labor is not available, there may be tax implications of paid services. Even though the dollar amount per worker is small, the total cost can be a significant portion of the organization’s overall budget. A single-member LLC is managed…
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Still waiting for tax refund?
If you are still waiting for a federal tax refund and have not received a CP05 notice from the IRS, it makes sense to check the status of your return. IRS sends notice CP05 when they are reviewing a tax return to verify: The income reported The income tax withholding amounts The claims for tax credits The withholding claimed…
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Trump Accounting: cooking the books at the expense of the rest of us
Details are slowly emerging about Trump’s methods of accounting that place vastly different values on assets depending on the purpose of the report. One example cited by the Washington Post is the Trump National Golf Club in In Ossining, New York: The municipal tax assessor values the golf club at roughly $15 million. Trump’s attorneys…
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The worst mistake a business owner can make
The worst mistake a small business owner can make is to pay employee wage taxes that were withheld from employee salary. The second worst mistake, in my observation, is to try to handle the problem yourself. I see cases where the business owners or managers are damaged for more than a decade as a result of mishandling…