Category: Home Business

How to Find A Good Tax Guy

Finding a Quality Tax Expert in Canton South Ohio

Canton South, located just a short drive from downtown was established in 1805 near the Nimishillen Creek. Over its long history it has seen changes from a thriving manufacturing area into a diverse economy that includes retail businesses, finance, educational and healthcare services. With all of these different business needs, it is vital to have access to a quality, experienced Certified Public Accountant, or CPA, to help you with your taxes.Business taxes can quickly become complicated and detailed, making it a must to have an experienced professional who is certified and knows the tax laws thoroughly. A professional tax preparation service such as this can help you to ensure that all legal requirements are met, deductions are properly documented and you receive sound advice. These services are also affordable to take advantage of. 

A CPA can also provide you with one-on-one expert service any time of year, not just in the short spurt of tax season. This is beneficial when having to deal with state tax payments, how to track expenses and to know what deductions you can count. This level of service is only available from a preparer with a background of extended education, years of experience and working with you personally.

This relationship will give you better peace of mind when it comes to tax season and will help you to be prepared well in advance. Locating and keeping a quality tax preparer service that has a solid background, the necessary training and experience is one of the best moves you can make.

One good local Canton South CPA Firm is JM STROUD CPA LLC.  They offer affordable tax returns for you and your family. Go ahead and get in touch with them today. You will not be disappointed in the quality of service you will get from this CPA.
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Which Is Best for My Small Business? a SEP IRA or SEP 401k?

A retirement plan for a small business can be tricky to find. You would want a plan that has low contribution minimums and affordable administration fees without sacrificing the benefits that your employees may receive. Of all retirement plans available for small business proprietors and self-employed individuals, the SEP IRA and SEP 401k plans are the top choices. What is a SEP IRA and what are the SEP IRA rules? A SEP 401k? What are their similarities and differences? Which is better for my business?

A SEP IRA is a retirement plan that allows the employer an easy method of contribution to the employee’s IRA. When to make contributions and how much will be contributed is all up to the employer. The limits of contribution are generous: $49,000 or 25% of the worker’s annual salary. The contribution to be made will be the lesser of the 2. An advantage of this plan is that it can include a big number of employees under the SEP.

Similar to a SEP IRA, the SEP 401k contributions are also employer discretionary. Contribution limits for this plan are: $15,500 maximum from employee’s salaries plus an additional 25% of the employee’s compensation as employer contributions. The catch is that this plan is only for the account older and his or her spouse, any employee cannot be part of the plan.

Of the two, the SEP 401k can potentially have a bigger contribution allowance. Say for example, an employee is receiving $100,000 a year. In a SEP IRA, maximum contribution possible would be 25% or $25,000. For a SEP 401k, that would be $15,500 taken from the salary, plus an employer contribution of 25% or $25,000. That would amount to a maximum possible contribution of $40,000fot the SEP 401k. The only drawback of the SEP 401k is that employees are not catered in the plan, so if you plan to expand your business and hire more to work from you, then the SEP IRA is the obvious choice.

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Tips for Tax Lien Investing

When it comes to tax lien investing, there are several tips you need to keep in mind. First of, it would be better to buy liens at smaller countries. The individuals who are bidding for large companies to invest their money in tax lien certificates are institutional bidders. Since there will be less liens to go around, it’s possible they won’t bother to attend tax lien sales at smaller countries. Besides, the liens may also be smaller.

If you buy smaller liens, then you may get higher interest rate because there will be less competition. It would also be advisable to stay during the off times of a sale. Prime examples of these are lunch breaks, end of the day, and last day of a sale. When you catch the people asleep, then you can get the good liens.

Also, try to go up to the clerk and ask if there are any more liens for sale. This is very important because there are investors who will purchase too many liens and at the end of the day, they’ll realize that they can’t afford to purchase all of them. These will not be re-auctioned by the county. For this reason, most will sell them to you over the counter at the maximum percentage interest.

Setting max bid amounts is another thing you should do. Don’t hesitate and wait until the bidding has settled and the bidders have dropped off. Afterwards, you can go for the decent sized increase but don’t forget your limits. It would also be a good idea to buy from company names that you recognize. Buying from commercial properties would mean that the liens will definitely redeem.

Remember that in tax lien investing, you put your money into tax liens that are created by county governments. Large sums can be provided but you may also face risks. A great tip would be to understand the risks before getting involved in this market.

Investing in tax liens is lucrative. That’s because you can get higher returns unlike in traditional forms of investment. If you foreclose on the property and sell the house, then the returns can be amplified. But as mentioned earlier, this isn’t a foolproof investment and it could be difficult to get your money back if the IRS has a lien on the property or if the homeowner files for bankruptcy.

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Tax Deductions Can Help To Improve Your Bottom Line

Small Business Often Overlooks Tax Deductions

You can have a successful tax season in your small business if you plan all round the year so that the deductions are maximized. This requires that tax matters should be kept in mind at all times, and you must constantly look for methods of reducing your bottom line, while continuing the profitability of the company.

Expenses for Start-Up

The expense of starting a business is quite often overlooked by small businesses and this can give one quite an advantage when the tax season is being considered. It is possible to deduct the expenses incurred for overhead,marketing and other expenses that are related and this can be done for a period of five years after starting the business. However the deduction of such expenses is only allowed after you have actually started the business and cash flows have commenced.

Education and Training Has To Be Continuous

A continuity in training and education, makes you eligible to deduct the expenses incurred for this. Attending a conference on new trends for treatment of cancer in horses allows a veterinarian who specializes in treating horses to deduct the expenses of attending that conference. As the conference is related to the field in which the veterinarian is practicing this seminar can be a part of the deduction form the yearly tax. However if he is not practicing in that field and only treats smaller animals, he would not be eligible for any deduction. The rules for the classes that qualify the deduction are quite strict.

Fees for Professional Services

Any professional fees that you pay to your accountant can be deducted from taxes.If however the work is for future years, the benefit has to be spread out over the term envisaged. If you have hired an architect for designing a building that may take two years to construct,the architects fees have to be spread over the period during which the building construction takes place.

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Advantages of Incorporating in Nevada

Nevada has spent the last several years revising its corporate code to become more suitable to small, privately held companies to incorporate in.

Nevada boasts no corporate taxes, maximum privacy and protection of private assets.  Other benefits include; many tax advantages, total privacy of shareholders, nominal annual fees, and no minimum initial capital requirements to incorporate.

Some of the tax benefits include no state corporate taxes, no franchise tax, no tax on corporate shares, and no personal income tax.

Probably the most appealing advantage is the protecting to your personal assets when you incorporate your business in Nevada.  The way a corporation is set up completely separates your assets from that of the business.  The business becomes its own entity even if you are the only owner.  In the case of a sole proprietorship, if a lawsuit is filed against your business your personal assets may be seized also.  Incorporating in Nevada provides you with a corporate veil that is almost iron-clad.  In the last 30 years the corporate veil has only been pierced twice.

The law that Nevada has established to protect personal assets from individual business owners also protects corporate officers and directors from any person liability.  As long as the company acts in a lawful manor Nevada offers unbeatable corporate protection.

State residency or the need to hold meetings in the state of Nevada is not necessary.  Stockholders, directors and officers do not need to be residents of Nevada.  They don’t even need to be U.S. citizens.

Nevada is the one of the best states to do business in. If you set up your business and incorporate it in the state of Nevada you will be able to take advantage of all the tax benefits and be protected in every way possible, there is no better way to run your business.

By: Shannon John

Marketing Manger, Laughlin Associates, Inc.

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Tax Audit Help

The Internal Revenue System (IRS) fortifies its efforts in discovering and collecting tax returns and frauds. “The IRS aims to detect tax return differences which can eventually result to an audit,” said David Gannaway, tax litigation consultant of Marks Paneth and Shron, a New York accounting firm.

According to a recent survey conducted by the Oversight Board of the IRS, the concerted efforts to rectify tax return inaccuracies are prompted by a volatile and weak economic conditions. It is roughly estimated that thirteen percent of the tax payers say yes to tax cheating which is significantly higher than nine percent in 2008. The White House appoints the Oversight Board to monitor and supervise the IRS.

Tax analysts infer that taxpayers who are in deep financial struggles are more likely to indulge in fraudulent tax returns. The IRS is now looking into major search engines like Goggle and other social networking websites like Facebook in order to catch those people who are guilty of tax frauds. The IRS is also on the lookout for those who are into business and self-employment. They hope that they can elicit more information and eventually get bugger sums of money from the hidden stash of certain individuals. This is what they do to catch those people who engage in fraudulent tax returns.

For those who are consistently honest in filing their tax returns, they need not worry. But they also said that being scrutinized by the IRS is like being studied under a microscope. It is a very stressful and draining experience for many people. They also do not want to undergo through all the hassles and emotional stress during an audit. That is why it is always a good practice to declare honestly all your income in order to avoid this kind of issue. Be transparent and responsible when you present your tax returns.

Here are some useful tips on how to avoid the audit this year.

• Include all your income. Bear in mind that the IRS will always make a comparison between the 1099 and W-2s forms you received. Deductions which are not legal is seen as a simple mistake. But when you hide an income which you are fully aware of will always be considered illegal or fraudulent.

• Unusual deductions must be well documented. Gannaway said that it is the usual practice of the IRS to tweak certain tax returns once they notice that there are specific deductions which are not consistent with the income level. According to CCH, cited an example to illustrate this situation. CCH is a tax research institution. For instance, a taxpayer who earns between $50,000 to $100,00 deducts $6,690 in their medical expenses, $5,822 for interests, and $2,612 in some charitable donations in the year 2007. In circumstances when a taxpayer encounters a serious medical injury or lives in a place where there is a high tax rate, he or she can always claim legitimate deductions even way above the usual average. If this is the case, it should always be recorded and documented.

• Keep records of deductions if you are self-employed. During the global economic recession, a lot of individuals resort to self-employment. Some have set up their own business while the others choose to have their own consultancy firm. But the IRS is quite smart because they audit small businesses with a higher rate. When you are running a sideline business, you have the legal right to make deductions from all the expenses incurred from your business. These include lunch with clients, postage, printing, furniture, and office equipments. Gather and keep all the pertinent records and receipts. Then make some preparations should you need to defend each of those expenses.

• Take one step at a time during audit. The auditing process starts with a letter which focus on one aspect of a tax return. If you keep copies of all related information, then procure your own version and then also give IRS their own copy. When they request for a review or even a meeting in order to asks more questions about your overall tax return, then you can ask professional help to represent you. You can hire a tax lawyer, a CPA or certified public accountant, or even an agent. These people are all experts and competent to defend you and they will present your issues to your advantage. So do not hesitate to seek professional assistance if this happens.