Category: Taxes
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CPA communication with a prior tax preparer
Is it ever appropriate for a CPA tax preparer to communicate with the prior CPA tax preparer in order to gain an understanding of a proposed tax engagement? Consider this situation: Prospective tax client presents his prior tax returns with a request to prepare the current tax return and all appears to be in order except…
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The brave new world of personal income tax services
This message posted on an online tax forum this week just about says it all: “I normally prepare my own taxes through Turbo Tax; however this year it is telling me I owe an outrageous amount of money and I’ve never owed in previous years. I need someone else to take a look at it for…
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Misunderstandings of tax treatment of health insurance
An article in Forbes earlier this month was apparently misunderstood by some readers. PPACA is certainly difficult and some issues are not yet resolved. But we should not let that confusion undermine our understanding of basis tax principles governing the treatment of health insurance premiums paid by an employer. I suggest that it would be good…
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Form 1095A will arrive in early February
Q: Do you know how I can get a 1095A form for taxes to declare the amount of health insurance paid for 2014? A: The 1095A comes from the health insurance company or the insurance exchange in early February. If you don’t receive it by February 15 contact the member services number on your insurance ID card.…
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How to use your mobile phone to file income taxes
If you have a simple tax return it is possible to complete the entire filing entire on your mobile phone. 1. Snap and send a photo of your Form W2 and 1099s. 2. Upload last year’s tax return from a cloud drive to the tax preparer. 3. Ask questions via text or email 4. Electronically sign…
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The latest financial planning twist for same-sex couples
I try to follow developing news for my same-sex couple clients (some now married, some not) and occasionally post something that attempts to summarize or help with planning like this “Financial Planning Checklist for Unmarried Couples” that has turned out to be quite popular. Recall that in 2013 the Supreme Court ruled on a case…
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When QuickBooks is a no-brainer
I ran into an old friend by chance on a Philadelphia sidewalk today. We used to see each other often but now he lives more than an hour away with his three dogs at a rural country place in beautiful upper Bucks Country. He knows that I am an accountant but we’ve never “talked business”…
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Filing requirement for self-employment income
Suppose your only income comes from a work-from-home part-time project and it only amounted to a few thousand dollars last year. Do you need to file an income tax return? Yes, says the IRS: “You must file Form 1040 if you owe any self-employment tax.” Confusion comes from the fact that low-income earners may be…
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What’s new in income tax software about the Affordable Care Act
Tax return preparation software must be redesigned this year in response to implementation of the Affordable Care Act’s provisions that took effect in 2014. This is what’s new in most tax preparation software packages about Affordable Care Act: 1) a new Health Care tab to the Data Entry Menu with additional screens or tabs to help complete the…