Author: Tony Novak
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Don’t replace common sense with technology
Tax filing is like grocery shopping Technology has transformed the annual tax filing ritual but far too many people are replacing good judgement with purely online mechanical tools. The result is a recent spike in errors leading to costly tax penalties and higher tax payments over the long-term. The most important part of the tax…
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One door closes, another opens
“When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us”. – Alexander Graham Bell A poorly matched tax engagement ended early yesterday on the same day as I brought in a record amount of new business. I hardly have time…
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Impact of Tax Reform on the Finances of Seniors
Most of the changes included in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act are already effective for 2018. These are mostly good news for seniors. Retirees will be less affected by the tax law changes than other Americans since the changes do not affect the way Social Security and investment income are taxed.However, changes that become effective…
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Quickbooks pricing revisited
The pricing information in this post is now of of date. I can save businesses $500+. But should I? Quickbooks remains by far the most popular small business accounting platform capturing about 4 in 5 businesses in this market. The services I most commonly work with – accounting, taxes, banking services, financial planning, payroll and…
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Tax transcripts
I recommend, but do not require, that tax clients allow me to get a tax transcript from IRS to check the data that IRS has reported to them vs. the data that we have available from our own sources. This procedure adds to the cost of service but catches many errors and avoids IRS trouble…
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Payroll taxes unresolved?
Do you have payroll reporting requirements for the first time in 2018? Or do you have existing payroll but are not happy with the reporting services? Good news: We can offer payroll takeover retroactive to 1/1/2018 with no setup fees and no takeover fees. That’s the best payroll service deal that you will see all…
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New IRS tax calculator and W-4 form is available for 2018
The new federal income tax law called the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act”, effective for 2018, has caused the wage tax withholding for most W-2 income employees to be inaccurate. The IRS and tax advisers encourage everyone who receives wages to recalculate the withholding amount, complete a new W-4, and use this to new W-4…
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More Q&As on the Qualified Small Employer Health Reimbursement Arrangement (QSERHA)
(This inform is not updated to reflect 2019 proposed regulations so should be presumed to be partially obsolete). I normally offer a free mini-consultation by telephone for prospective clients1. This allows us to get to know each other, prove that value provided will exceed the costs incurred, and lower risks of misunderstanding and miscommunication. But…
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Sample deferred compensation plan
Following is an annotated copy of the model truck language for a deferred compensation plan under Rev. Proc. 92-64. TRUST UNDER ____ PLAN OPTIONAL (a) THIS AGREEMENT MADE THIS ___ DAY OF ___, BY AND BETWEEN ____ (COMPANY) AND ____ (TRUSTEE); OPTIONAL (b) WHEREAS, COMPANY HAS ADOPTED THE NONQUALIFIED DEFERRED COMPENSATION PLAN(S) AS LISTED IN…
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2018: The year for a Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA)
(This inform is not updated to reflect 2019 proposed regulations so should be presumed to be partially obsolete). Summary: Small businesses with middle-income employees may use a Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA) to help cover out-of-pocket medical costs or individual insurance premiums as one of the easiest ways to cut 2018 taxes at minimal administrative and setup…