Category: Taxes
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Gas tax in New Jersey
I feel like I am perhaps the only person in New Jersey OK with paying higher gasoline taxes in exchange for the environmental benefits, progress on national energy independence promised infrastructure improvements and other trade-offs. I fundamentally believe that artificially low carbon energy pricing of the past few years is not in our best interest from…
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New tax scam with CP2000 notice
Apparently a new scam aimed at taxpayers involves and email with a fake IRS notice called a CP2000. This is the notice that the IRS sends in the mail when your tax return filed does not match the amounts received from other sources. The way to avoid this scam is simple: do not open email…
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Selling a rental property?
If you are planning to sell a rental property then it is likely important to estimate the taxes that will be due on the transaction. The calculation can be complicated but fortunately we have software available to help with the number-crunching. Just give a call and we can schedule time to run through the possible scenarios.…
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Why people prepare their own tax returns
Most Americans have the capacity to prepare their own tax returns. But should they? In cases where self preparation is not logical and is not cost-effective, what is the underlying reason driving the decision to self-prepare tax returns? This blog post explores some observations, Self-prepared tax returns About half of all individual tax payers can and should submit their own…
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Church and taxes
Congress gives at least four special tax considerations to churches*: First, churches are generally not required to pay income tax based on the result of their normal operations. This is the same as other tax-exempt organizations. Second, unlike other tax exempt organizations, churches are generally not required to file an annual informational filing with IRS.…
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Professional tax preparation fees for 2016
Average tax return preparation rates are published by the National Association of Accountants in the national and regional average tax preparer fee survey for 2016. The fee for my online remote tax services is typically about 1/3 lower than typical walk-in tax preparers. However, late season returns or services that do not use online cost savings are…
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No pity for another tax scam victim
A peer accountant reports today that he had a client fall for a tax collection scheme and paid the scammers $5,700 in Apple Itunes gift cards. I have been posting consumer warnings about tax scams for decades and am normally empathetic to victims. But I have a hard time feeling much pity for any person who:…
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Trends in individual health insurance, 2016
In the 19 states that have not expanded eligibility to Medicaid to lower-income individuals, the results of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) are minimal, at least as observed from ‘street level’ among those who are not covered by group or government-sponsored health plans. In Florida, for example, more than half a million remain without health insurance.…
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Is it smart to pay no taxes?
Donald Trump brings fresh attention to the possibility that affluent individuals and businesses can pay no federal income taxes. Last night, at Hofstra University, Trump said “That makes me smart”. Is he right? Is it smart to pay no income taxes? The first point we should reach is that it is possible for an affluent…
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Tax filing deadline and penalties
With less than three weeks until late tax filing deadline for 2015, I have only one signed engagement to complete a tax return and many clients who still haven’t filed. I need to emphasize that unless they actually hire me, and not just presume that I’ll take care of their tax filing requirements by the…