Author: Tony Novak
-
Simple tip: keep electronic bank statements
This might be the simplest tax tip I ever offer: Download and securely store copies of all your bank statements for all your accounts. Very few individuals and businesses actually do this but in the event of a tax audit, it will save a lot of time and worry. A few other tips along the…
-
Abusive tax shelter still alive for the ultra-rich
This past week an interesting Appeals decision from a Tax Court case in the 9th Circuit was published in an older tax matter of Altera Corporation and Subsidiaries vs. IRS. I must immediately qualify the use of the word “interesting”. By any common usage this is not an interesting topic. This is a tax shelter…
-
Accountant’s letter
Please read this if you are required to provide a letter from a Certified Public Accountant. I am pleased to provide accountant’s letters for various purposes. It may be a verification for litigation support or another type of legal proceeding, a letter for a mortgage lender, a bank loan or an employment issue. The American Institute…
-
Are you hurt by the Trump tax hike?
Are you paying more in federal income taxes this year despite a promised tax cut? Across the nation over 8 million people fall into this category critically referred to in the news as the “Trump tax hike”. Here in New Jersey the situation is worse. By the next tax filing time in the spring of…
-
Legal impact of residency and domicile
Taxes and a wide range of other legal and business issues are affected by the legal concepts of residency and domicile. Individuals who have physical connections to more than one state should carefully consider the implications of the laws in each state that may claim jurisdiction of any legal or business issue. In some cases it…
-
Tax review for single retired woman in Florida
A friend asked me to review the tax return of a single retired relative living in Florida. The simple question was why were here taxes so much more in 2017 than in 2016? She offered to pay for the review but I insisted on doing it as a no fee/no obligation courtesy. I might have…
-
Sample accounting services engagement agreement
This page is outdated. A more recent version is available: Sample accounting services engagement agreement 2021 Contents: A) Communications B) Work Process C) Fees D) After End of Agreement E) Miscellaneous Provisions Thank you for choosing me to help you with your accounting. My goal is to minimize the time, stress and cost of the accounting…
-
Sample tax preparation and filing services engagement agreement
This page is outdated. A more recent version is available: Sample accounting services engagement agreement 2021
-
Good news for high income savers
IRS added support for the popular tax shelter strategy known as “back door IRA” this week. The explanation is contained in this Forbes article. https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffreylevine/2018/07/13/irs-unlocks-the-door-for-high-income-savers/amp/
-
How to cope with the tax travel ban
The IRS is rapidly expanding one of the largest federal tax crackdowns of our lifetime. The tax travel ban program intends to deny or revoke the passports of more than half million people who, the IRS claims, owe more than $50,000 taxes. The strategy is allowed by law and the intent is apparently to prevent…