Category: Taxes
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The IRS requirement for personal auto mileage records
You drove your car on business trips. You made a report of how many miles you drove for business, the dates, the specific destination and the purpose of the trips. You have all the expense receipts for gas and other out-of-pocket expenses. You submitted the expense documentation to your employer who reimbursed you. This is a…
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The myth of the ‘correct’ tax return
I occasionally have a conversation with a client, a potential client or another accountant on the topic of the accuracy of a tax return and IRS action. The comments might sound something like one of these: “The last two accountants messed this up and it needs to be made right.” “I am very particular about my…
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IRS catches nonprofit accounting cover-up
This week the Washington Post reported that Donald Trump was fined $2,500 by the IRS for filing a false report to the IRS about the activities of his nonprofit foundation. Nonprofit organizations are not supposed to give money to political campaigns. He did, and then covered up the political donation by reporting it to the…
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Higher state taxes for 225,000 in our region
One hundred thousand South Jersey residents working in Philadelphia and 125,000 Pennsylvania residents working in New Jersey will pay higher state wage taxes in 2017. The tax hike is a result of Governor Christie’s election to cancel the PA/NJ state tax reciprocity arrangement. The change was announced yesterday. The cost to the average South Jersey resident taxpayer…
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Contemporaneous travel log required
Accountants have generally not done a good job communicating the legal concept of “contemporaneous log”; a term legally required under tax law to take a mileage reimbursement or deduction for business travel on a personally owned automobile. Programs like MileIQ do a great job but I still think that a taxpayer needs to understand the underlying…
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Simple advice to avoid IRS scams
Hardly a week goes by when I don’t read about people falling victim of a new tax scam. Scammers are growing more numerous, more aggressive and more sophisticated. Most of these scams involve telephone calls or emails pretending to be from the IRS. Ordinary business and individual taxpayers should be aware of the following: IRS…
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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…