Tag: Internal Revenue Service

4 Scenarios Where You May Want Assistance with Your Taxes

Let’s face it: taxation laws can be complicated. The average person has limited knowledge of things like mergers & acquisition, San Diego tax laws, management consulting, San Diego business formations and much, much more. Even if you have filed your own taxes before and have never sought assistance, there are some scenarios in life where you may want to find a consultant to help you transition and prepare your taxes accurately.

1) You’ve started your own business.

If you have recently started your own business, congratulations! This is a huge accomplishment that can reap big rewards. However, there are a lot of ins and outs to owning your own company, especially in terms of finances and taxation. In regards to advisory management, San Diego financial and legal firms are ready to assist you in creating a workable business budget, managing your financial assets and finding write-offs for expenditures that you are making for the company. America’s tax codes were originally written in support of small businesses, so a skilled tax and accounting specialist can help you learn how to use laws to your advantage as a new business owner.

2) You’re pressed for time.

Maybe you work for someone else, and your taxes aren’t very complicated. However, you simply don’t have the time to file your own forms and figure everything out. With the go, go, go rush of Southern California and/or the business world, accountants can come in handy. Find a certified accountant with a track record of success (check on the Better Business Bureau website) and a tax preparer identification number to get you started. With your W-2s, records of expenditures and any receipts you may be able to write off, an experienced professional can take much of the tax-filing burden off your back.

3) Frankly, you’re bad at math.

If formulas and equations get your head in a spin, there’s no shame in hiring an accountant. When it comes to the IRS and taxes, it’s better to be safe than sorry—hire someone who can help you understand your return or who can just do it accurately for you the first time.

4) Your finances have significantly changed in the past year.

If you own a company that bought out another in a merger/acquisition, this can change your tax responsibility. Or, if you have purchased new real estate or sold previously owned property, your tax codes may be different than last year. Even in the case of a new addition to the family, or the death of a loved one, you may be surprised to see that your tax liability could have changed significantly from the previous year. If you suspect that a major life change will affect your finances, call a taxation/finance specialist.

Jessica writes about a wide variety of topics.  She especially enjoys writing about taxes. You can learn more about mergers & acquisition san diego at http://www.allenbarron.com/

 

Related articles

IRS Becomes More Lenient in Light of Recession

The IRS typically resorts to a lien system when it has difficulty collecting taxes from individuals for a long period of time. These liens can make it hard for a person to qualify for insurance, housing, or even find a job. In effect, a lien gives the IRS access to a person’s property if the person owes enough in back taxes. This process can destroy a person’s credit rating. Since the country is working to recover from a recession, it is important that individuals have access to these opportunities to create more income. The IRS has agreed to change its lien methods so that there will be less pressure on the already strained economy.

Reducing Number of Liens

The first step in reducing the number of liens that the IRS is using is to change the amount of taxes owed that causes a lien to be placed. Until this year, a lien was put in place if an individual owed $5,000 or more in back taxes. This year, a person must owe at least $10,000 before the IRS will put a lien in place. That change alone will allow thousands of individuals to continue to make payments on their taxes without the additional pressure that a lien can cause. It will also help keep the economy moving forward because more people will be able to find work and purchase large ticket items.

Easier Lien Withdrawal

The IRS is also willing to be more flexible with individuals who are already paying on liens that were imposed previously. It is easier for someone to establish a payment plan so that they can have their lien withdrawn by the IRS. Having a lien withdrawn will immediately begin to repair the person’s credit rating so that he or she can take the necessary steps to begin paying off the tax obligation without suffering from the severe penalties a lien creates.

Delayed Payment Options

There are some ways that individuals can avoid a lien altogether. The IRS is becoming more vocal about payment options that could keep people out of serious trouble. The first step is to file your tax return on time, even if you cannot afford to make your tax payment right away. Once your return is filed, you can begin negotiating with the IRS for different payment options. The IRS will allow most tax payers to delay their payments by 30 or even 60 days in most cases.

Installment Payments

If a short delay in payments is not enough to help you pay the amount that you owe, you can establish an installment plan with the IRS. You will need to talk with an IRS agent about your options for the plan, and you will have to pay additional fees if you must create an installment plan. Keeping an open line of communication with the IRS and cooperating as much as possible will reduce your odds of being actively pursued for the taxes that you owe. The IRS has created many ways for individuals to pay their taxes so that they do not have to resort to liens.

 

Jessica Bosari writes about personal finance for Billeater.com, a site that offers money-saving tips, advice and information. Visit Billeater for more ways to save.

Related articles

Tax Deductibles for Internet Marketers

Just like any group of freelancers or workers who run their own businesses, one of the advantages of being an internet marketer is that there are quite a number of expenses and deductions that you can claim when it comes to filling in your tax return. There are of course a number of items specific to your particular business that you will be able to claim and these should be discussed with your accountant. But there are certain areas that every one who works freelance and online will equally be able to claim as a legitimate part of their business expense and some of the more common areas will be outlined here in this article.

The first and most important thing to note is that no matter what it is you are going to claim for you will need to keep records of each and every transaction and keep hold of all your receipts. If it is for a piece of online software or a hosting account, print it off and file it for later. This will save you a massive effort and printing session when it comes time to do your taxes!

Secondly, no matter if your entire business is online, the first place to look for expenses is the physical space of your home or office.  If you work from home, add up what percentage of your home is dedicated to conducting your business. You will then be able to claim this back as a percentage of your rental or mortgage payments. In addition, any expense related to the running of that premises for the purposes of business will also be deductible This includes the cost of utilities such as electricity and phone, as well as anything to do with the maintenance of the property for business purposes. Your computer is essential business equipment so this should be deducted too. This also applies to the furniture surrounding that computer, so keep receipts for the desk, chair, monitors and printers and anything else you use in the office.

Once you have taken care of the physical space of your business, you should look at deductions for the virtual space. Obviously, just like electricity and phone, you can claim for your broadband service. Your website (or for most internet marketers your multiple websites) are also rented space so you can claim for their domain name purchase, their hosting accounts and any maintenance or site add-on’s you might get from your hosting provider. Any support calls will also be deductible. After that, think about any plugins or scripts, software or ebooks you might have purchased for the business – most of them will be deductible. Most importantly, think about any outsourcing you might have done, from backlinks to paid articles, design work to a virtual assistant. All of these expenses can be reclaimed.

Lastly, think about your advertising. Did you spend any money on adwords or Facebook ads, or even put an advert in a trade publication or website? All of these can be fully reclaimed.

Remember, there’s no point in not claiming. Through use of a good accountant and a bit of discipline each time you make a payment through the year, you could find that when it comes time to pay your taxes, you have significantly reduced your arrears.

Alex Simmonds is a journalist and blogger. He currently writes a blog about the contracting sector covering everything from contractor mortgages to payday loans.

Related articles

Finding A Quality CPA In Ohio

Looking For an Ohio CPA?

When looking for a CPA in Ohio there are many things that you will want to consider before making your final decision.

The first thing to consider in your CPA is word of mouth advertising. If there is a CPA that someone you know is currently recommending you will want to discuss what type of work that they had done and how satisfied they were with the work that the CPA did for them.  That way, you can be confident that will do a good job for you too.

Also, you should check the Ohio AICPA to be sure they have current registration and really are a CPA.

If you have no friends, co-workers or family that has used a CPA in the past you may turn to the telephone book to see what one of the ads looks like for one there.

Once you have found a couple ads that look appealing in the phone book you will want to make a call to the CPA office and have a chat with them over the phone. Some questions that you may want to ask include the following:

1. What they offer?
2. How busy are they, is it going to take a long time to get an appointment there?
3. How much they will be charging you for their service?
4. What kind of tax returns do they do?
5. How long have they been in business?
Overall the process shouldn’t take long to find a qualified CPA that will assist you with your Federal and State tax returns. There are many quality CPA’s in Ohio that will be able to do your return. From Cleveland to Cincinnati, if you do proper research you should not have to pay an arm and a leg for a good accountant that will do a great job.
Related articles

Reducing your IRS tax debt – A step towards fiscal freedom

Knowing as well as learning the ways of reducing your IRS tax debts is the only possible solution to the nerve-wracking problem. According to resent studies, it has been seen that the huge number of IRS tax defaults is due to lack of awareness than the negligence on the part of the actual tax-payers. Most people in the US do not have any inkling ways to seek IRS tax debt relief and this ignorance builds up their fearfulness that leads them into incurring more and more debt. If you too have missed your payments on your taxes and you’re not aware of the ways in which you can pay them off, here’s help for you. Have a look at the ways in which you can tackle your IRS tax debts.

Guaranteed installment agreement: If you want to make sure that you’re soon free of IRS tax debts, you can negotiate a guaranteed installment agreement with the IRS. However, you can only seek help of this option if you have dues that range above $10,000 or less. You also need to meet some more criteria like all your tax returns must be filed and the monthly installments will pay off your balance within 36 months. You also need to agree that you will pay your tax debts regularly in the near future. The biggest benefit that you can reap off the guaranteed installment agreement, you will not require filing federal tax lien. Tax liens can easily hurt your credit score, if reported.

Streamlined installment agreements: You can talk to the IRS about your financial hardship and then you may negotiate a streamlined installment agreement if the balance that you owe amounts to $25,000 or less. You need to agree that you will repay the balance within a span of 60 months. The minimum balance that the IRS will accept is the total amount owed (including the penalties and fees) divided by fifty. All your tax returns must be filed and you must agree to file your tax debts on time.

Offer-in-compromise: If you think that your present monthly income is not enough to suffice the huge amount of tax debt that you own, you can go for offer-in-compromise option. If you file an offer-in-compromise, you can offer to pay an amount that is lesser than what you actually owe your creditors. As you file your request with the IRS, they will check whether or not you are actually liable to pay off your tax debt. By opting for this debt repayment method, you can save your dollars and use it in paying off your other obligations.

Nothing can be worse than getting drowned in an ocean of tax debt. If you’re up to your eyeballs in IRS tax debt and you are looking for tax debt relief options, you can follow the points mentioned above. Pay off your taxes and lead a free of all debt obligations.

Jenney Roberts is a contributory writer of Debt Consolidation Care. She is a financial writer and has specialization in financial problems and its solutions. She holds her expertise in the Finance industry and has made significant contributions on debt consolidation, savings, planning, frugality, debt settlement etc.

Related articles

Common Tax Deductions That Are Overlooked For Small Businesses

Having a successful tax season involves proper planning throughout the year to maximize on the deductions that relate directly to your business and its income level.

Starting up Expenses

Capital expenses are one of the expenses that are constantly overlooked when looking for ways to reduce your tax expenses. They usually include marketing, overheads and other related expenses needed to start off your business. You can only deduct them for the first five years after your business opens and cash starts flowing into the business.

Education and training expenses

These are some of the other expenses that most businesses tend to overlook as deductions. Any training and education carried out to improve the skills of your workers and the business in general can be used to reduce the tax liability. However the training and education needs to be related to the business and this rule has to be strictly followed for the expenses to qualify as deductions.

Fees for Professional Services

Some of the professional services sought by the business such as accounting and architect fees qualify as deductible expenses. The only rule that one has to consider is that the services need to relate to the current year. If they relate to the future, the expenses then need to be distributed over the years.

Bad Debts Expense

Debts that you never recover from your customers qualify as deductible expenses. However this only applies to businesses that sell goods and not those that provide services.

Other Expenses that Qualify

Businesses differ and hence there may be other expenses that may qualify as deductibles in your business. IRC and 162 can help you identify some of the unique expenses to your business. In case you find them too confusing, refer the matter to your tax accountant with some of the codes that you think fit in with your business. He or she will be in a position to guide you to identify the respective expenses.

This is one thing that you should be very sure about in your small business. Your tax accountant can help you ensure that you take advantage of the tax deductible expenses.

Related articles