Category: Taxes
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How to deal with an IRS penalty
The IRS issues about 50 million taxpayer penalties each year to the pool of about 100 million taxpayers who file returns. That would 1 out of every 2 filers if the penalties were evenly distributed! In reality, multiple penalties are bundled together and assessed against fewer taxpayers. Yet the number of automated tax penalty assessments for…
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“Watcha gonna do?” – Tax professionals look at ACA compliance
How should a tax preparer handle suspected ACA penalties for small businesses? This post is inspired by the recent frustration expressed by an accountant who is a Facebook friend. My friend commented on one of my posts that even after a substantial investment of his time to learn and apply provisions of the Affordable Care act,…
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Self-filing software leads to increase in audit representations
As the popularity of online self-prepared income tax filing grows – now approaching 50% of all tax filers – so does the incidence of tax evasion. Some of it is intentional effort to avoid paying taxes, other times just misunderstanding of complex tax laws. Tax practitioners like me are gradually seeing a shift of our work from income…
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Request a free 2015 tax organizer
Use the form below to request a free 2015 tax organizer designed to ensure that you don’t miss any deductions and that your tax refund processing is not delayed. A free telephone tax planning consult is available but not required.
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Plan now to avoid a delay in your tax refund
Use a personalized 2015 tax organizer to ensure your maximum tax refund without unnecessary delay. We are only a week away from the start of the federal income tax filing system on January 19. For many, the tax refund check represents a substantial “payday” and so naturally there is some rush to get the filing…
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Early tax filing: what you need to know
For millions of Americans, the individual income tax refund is the largest payday that they have all year. So it is understandable that many are eager to be the first in line to file for their federal income tax refund. If you are among them, here is what you need to know: The first day…
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Is my small business required to file Form 1095?
Form 1095 is a new informational tax return that is a requirement incorporated into of the Affordable Care Act. Some small businesses are required to file it for the first time this season. There are three types of Form 1095: 1095A from a Health Insurance Marketplace 1095B usually from an employer (the form discussed below…
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Changing opinions on small business health plan penalty taxes
Section 4980D small business excise taxes on Form 8928: which penalty applies? My article about Section 4980D excise tax penalties (NJ CPA magazine article on 4980D penalties) was written late last summer summer (in 2015) but published last week (in 2016). The risk of print media in a fast-paced topic like tax procedure is that it can…
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Three tips for wage tax do-it-yourselfers
Here are three tips if you prepare your own W2 and 1099 forms for your small business: The first tip is that there is no need to purchase the stock forms from an office supply store. The forms are available for free from IRS at https://www.irs.gov/Businesses/Online-Ordering-for-Information-Returns-and-Employer-Returns . The second tip is don’t do this again! If you…
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My two rules about tax preparation fees
My tax return preparation fees are bench-marked with published industry averages to ensure that I won’t be the least expensive and won’t be the most expensive. But my practice is based on adding substantial financial value through long term relationships, not competing on price with an average tax preparation service. Two specific rules that I…