Archive for Tax Advice

Do You Need to Renew Your ITIN?

Do You Need to Renew Your ITIN?

The IRS has announced that more than 2 million Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs) are set to expire at the end of 2018. An ITIN is a nine-digit number issued by the IRS to individuals who are required for U.S. federal tax purposes to have a U.S. taxpayer identification number but who do not have and are not eligible to get a Social Security number (SSN).

Failure to renew an ITIN in a timely manner can delay one’s ability to file a tax return, and with 2.7 million expected ITIN renewals, acting now to renew ITIN numbers will help taxpayers avoid delays that could affect their tax filing and refunds in 2019.

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Written by | Posted in IRS Tips • Tax Advice

How To Become A Millionaire By 65

Money is tied to your dreams and goals, but how to make it all work out in the end? Well, once you have your goals, you make a plan. The plan is all about small steps and incremental, achievable goals. Your dream, for example, could be to have $1,000,000 in the bank by age 40. Let’s break that down:

First of all, what is a million? What does a million even look like? A million dollars is $1,000 times 1,000 – not difficult to do in your lifetime.

So how do you reach your first $1,000,000? Again, start small and start early. You can go to http://www.bankrate.com/calculators/savings/save-million-calculator.aspx, and calculate how to reach your saving goals there are many more online calculators to help you with this goal.

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Written by | Posted in Financial Planning • Tax Advice

2017 Year-End Tax Savings Tips – Do Not Overlook

William Rogers, Tax Advisor

With the possibility that tax law changes could go into effect next year that would significantly reduce income tax rates for many businesses, 2017 may be an especially good year to accelerate deductible expenses. Why? Deductions save more tax when rates are higher.

Timing income and expenses can be a little more challenging for accrual-basis taxpayers than for cash-basis ones. But being an accrual-basis taxpayer also offers valuable year-end tax planning opportunities when it comes to deductions. Read More

Written by | Posted in Tax Advice • Tax Tips

Tax Breaks For College Expenses 2017

If you’re a college student (or the parent of one), you should know about some key tax breaks that are available to you when you do your taxes.

Tax Credits

There are two tax credits for higher education. They’re targeted at different types of students, so it pays to know the differences. Read More

Written by | Posted in Tax Advice

AI, Apps, FinTech, And More

Annette Nellen, tax technology,

You likely have lots of apps on your smartphone such as for shopping, interacting with hotels and airlines, social media, and lots more. You may have seen or heard about H&R Block’s 2017 Super Bowl ad about their artificial intelligence (AI) partnership with IBM (Watson). Per the H&R Block website, they are working with “Watson cognitive computing technology from IBM.”

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Written by | Posted in Tax Advice

Tax Season Is On NOW…Find Yourself An Enrolled Agent!

Manasa Nadig

Tax season officially opened January 23rd and I happened to catch an ad on television of Humpty Dumpty doing his taxes sitting on the wall using an over-the-counter tax software bundle on his phone! Well, no surprise there but yes, Humpty Dumpty did have a great fall and yes, he did crack up! I guess there is a moral to this story…my take on that is NOT to do your taxes on the phone in the first place but then again if you are Humpty, you are not going to listen to me, are you?

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Rainmaking – Indirect Strategies To Grow Your Practice

Monika Miles

Welcome to the “Rainmaker Series” Friday blog. Hopefully you’ve noticed that I’m dedicating Fridays to tips for accounting and financial professionals in the art of rainmaking. We’ve discussed that bringing in revenue (“rainmaking”) is not magic, but is essential to growing your service based consulting practice. Last week, we focused on direct strategies (meeting people in one-on-one networking situations) to begin developing relationships with potential clients and leads.

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Written by | Posted in Tax Advice

Exit Planning Excuses: Part II

Previously, we attempted to take the air out of the most common argument owners make for ignoring the planning necessary to successfully exit their companies: They believe that their businesses aren’t worth enough to meet their financial needs. “When it is,” they claim, “that’s when I’ll think about leaving.”

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Written by | Posted in Small Business • Tax Advice

Exit Planning Excuses: Part I

Ron Oddo

Like every owner, you will one day exit your business—voluntarily or involuntarily. On that day you will want to attain certain business and personal objectives: the first (and usually prerequisite to all others) is financial security.

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Written by | Posted in Small Business • Tax Advice

Children’s Dependency Exemptions

Harold Goedde

This article will discuss the requirements to claim a child as a dependent and the requirements for a non-custodial parent to claim an exemption. It also discusses the ”tie breaker” rule, voluntary release of the exemption by the custodial parent to the non-custodial parent, and a recent Tax Court decision that dealt with this issue.

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Written by | Posted in Family Tax • IRS • Tax Advice
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