Sports betting gets some Senate support as pro and college football season arrives

Disney asks for, and gets, end to Anaheim tax breaks

Plan Now to Make Tax Season Easier for You and Your Clients

Right now, you have a small window of time between when summer ends and before the holidays begin to grab the attention of your clients and get yourself prepared for what will undoubtedly be a wild tax season.

This upcoming tax season will mark the first year since Congress’s sweeping tax reforms were signed into law. The tax law changes are bound to cause some confusion – which also creates an opportunity for you to attract some new clients. That’s why you want to plan now to make tax season easier for you and your clients.

Act on your marketing plan 

Back in July, I wrote about “5 Summer Tasks to Help You Grow Your Business.” One of those five tasks was to create a marketing plan. Did you do it? If so, great! It’s time to act on it and get people thinking about your services. It takes an average of seven points of contact to get someone to even notice your company or brand. Start contacting them now in order to be on their minds come tax filing season. (Or, if you’re looking for corporate and business clients, you definitely want to encourage them to come see you sooner rather than later.)

If you haven’t created that marketing plan, it’s not too late, but don’t delay any longer. You want to have time to reserve ad space, print fliers or postcards, prepare social media posts, and write emails and blogs ahead of time (because goodness knows you won’t have time to write them later). If you have to rush certain items, particularly anything you have to print and mail, you could end up costing yourself extra in rush set-up fees. Also, some advertising opportunities, such as mail coupon packs, could fill up with your competitors. So, get a plan and put it into motion now.

Send your clients an organizer or checklist so they can start preparing now

By sending out and organizer or checklist of items that clients need to start gathering and thinking about BEFORE the holidays hit, they may actually have time to get some preliminary things organized and ready for filing.

Everyone is so busy in November and December. January and February can catch individual tax filers off guard. And corporations have end-of-year deadlines they need to meet right around the holidays. Sending a friendly checklist and reminder serves two purposes. First, it’s an added point of contact – a way to stay on people’s minds in a helpful, friendly, non-pushy way. Second, if your clients actually follow the checklist, it will serve both you and them and make working together easier. It’s a real win-win!

Train and hire seasonal help

Whether your sweet spot is “soccer moms” who help out with tax season to make extra cash, “empty nesters” with time on their hands, college students or anyone in between, NOW is the time to get their attention.

First, introducing the training materials earlier rather than later means your associates will have that knowledge in the back of their minds. Even if they’re not actively thinking about taxes, having that knowledge and familiarity makes a difference when you come back to training later. Second, it’s so hard to get anyone’s attention about anything in November and December. Start your recruiting and training now during September and October. That way, if you’re forced to pause around December, you can pick back up in January with a talented crew that’s ready, motivated, and has at least a basic familiarity with the training material and subject matter.

Move fast to snag more corporate clients

Businesses have to file quarterly. They also have certain end-of-year deadlines they have to make if their business runs on the calendar year. Make sure you are reaching out to businesses and corporations now in order to help them file by their end-of-year corporate deadlines.

Network as much as you can

Network now while people are still focused on business. That way you can relax and enjoy your holiday parties!

Get your office in order

If you haven’t already started this process, make sure you have what you need in your office or at least have it on order. Need new furniture for more employees? Office supplies? New antivirus software? Just a good cleaning in general? Do all of it now so you feel ready and prepared come January. Having a clean, organized office to walk into after the beginning of the new year will automatically alleviate a lot of stress for you.

source https://www.theincometaxschool.com/blog/plan-now-make-tax-season-easier/

Deeming an exemption amount to determine tax dependents

Private tax debt collectors have netted more than $1 million so far, but privacy and other issues remain worrisome

Today is deadline to beat proposed SALT workaround limits

China considers tax break to encourage larger families

New tax law prompts moves from high- to lower-tax states

Hawaii's hurricane, California's wildfires get added FEMA & tax attention

SALT deduction proposed regulations would make state tax charitable credit workarounds useless

Are You Building a Brand for Your Tax Preparation Business?

How polished is your brand? Do you have a sense of your brand identity? It seems like something only big companies with fun services and products have. But that’s not true. Every company needs a brand identity – it’s how your audience perceives your business. Your brand identity is essentially the “face” of your company. 

Just because you run a “boring” tax business, does not mean you have to be a faceless business in the business ecosystem of your community. H&R Block has a brand identity, so does Jackson Hewitt. All of the national tax firms – your competitors – have spent millions of dollars building their brands. You can do the same without spending big money.

Your brand identity encompasses the following:

• Visual Brand Identity
• Brand Voice
• Brand Values
• Brand Personality

Visual Brand Identity

Your visual brand identity includes your logo, your color palette, your website, and/or any marks that identify or differentiate you. If you haven’t refreshed your logo in a while, it might be time to rethink it. Is it drab and boring or outdated looking? You might want to start thinking about an update or what marketers call a “brand refresh”.

Brand Voice

Your brand voice is how you speak to your costumers through written communication. It’s the copy on your website, the phrasing on your blog, or the updates on your social media channels.  It is the consistent expression of your brand through words.

Nailing your brand voice is crucial for building a strong brand. Your brand voice needs to be consistent across all communications – from internal emails and memos – to social media posts. How you communicate enhances your overall presence. When that communication is consistent, it reinforces what you’re all about and the service you provide.

Your brand voice also needs to resonate with your ideal client or audience. Remember when you wrote your business plan you defined your target market? You may have even built personas for each of your target demographics. Pull your personas out (or get to work creating them), and compare the ideals and values of those personas to how you communicate with potential clients now. Do they match? Are you speaking to their pain points in a way they understand?

Figure out what your most valued clients and ideal prospects have in common and spend time understanding the language they use and the values they look for in a service provider.

Brand Values

We’re going back to that business plan. In the very beginning of it, you defined your mission, vision, and values. These three very important pieces of content are what will help you define your brand values. Simply put, your brand values are what matter to you both professionally and personally. These values are what you can build strong brands. What gets you out of bed every day? Who do you want to help? What makes your work meaningful? Answering those questions will help you come up with a list qualities that define your brand values. At the end of the day, people want to work with companies they believe in. So be authentic.

Brand Personality

Your brand personality is a human set of characteristics that are tied to your brand. Taco Bell is sassy, Chipotle is bold, Ann Taylor is sophisticated. What are you? What’s your personality? Ask yourself: if your brand was a celebrity, who would be it?

Building a brand is not just for corporations or big names, it’s for every business. The more you work on building and defining your brand, the easier it will be for you connect with potential customers, and potential customers to spot you from the crowd of tax pros who are ready to take their business.

 

 

source https://www.theincometaxschool.com/blog/building-brand-tax-preparation-business/

State tax action against Cohen & Manafort would neuter Trump's pardon power

199A Fiscal Year Clarification In the Prop Regs

On August 8, the IRS released the long-awaited proposed regulations on Section 199A, the 20% qualified business income deduction added by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act last December. The double-spaced version including preamble is 184 pages long! It's only 47 pages in the Federal Register's smaller print.

The proposed regulations answer many questions, but leave several lingering. For example, is QBI reduced by the taxpayer's deduction for half of self-employment tax (I think it is) and retirement plan contributions (not sure). But these are significant questions that affect the vast majority of individuals who will claim this new deduction.

One area clarified, but a bit buried in the regs, is how the new deduction applies to eligible owners of a fiscal  year partnership, such as one with a year ending June 30, 2018. Section 199A is effective for tax years beginning after 12/31/17. So, does the partner consider all of the income for the complete year ended 6/30/18 for the §199A deduction or only six months.  The statute and committee report seem to indicate the entire year (see my 3/15/18 article explaining this).

Well, the proposed regulation confirms that approach. Prop. Reg. §1.199A-6(e)(2)(ii) (pages 180-181 of the proposed regs) and page 81 are the sources. But, this is a proposed regulation which generally is not effective until issued as a final regulation. The preamble states though that "taxpayers may rely on the rules set forth in proposed §§1.199A-1 through 1.199A-6, in their entirety, until the date a Treasury decision adopting these regulations as final regulations is published in the Federal Register" (page 80).

So, some fiscal year partnerships (and any S corps not on a calendar year), likely need to do some additional computations for their year ending in 2018 to get the appropriate information to owners so they can do their §199A computation.

What do you think? What have you found interesting about the §199A regs?

source http://21stcenturytaxation.blogspot.com/2018/08/199a-fiscal-year-clarification-in-prop.html

8 ways the new tax law does — and doesn't — affect paying school costs

Identity and tax thieves don't discriminate by age, targeting both youngsters and the elderly

California's property tax limits benefit real estate heirs

Juuling tempts young e-cig smokers & state tax collectors

A sharing economy earnings checkup now can help gig workers avoid a filing season tax surprise

Family-related tax law changes mean that taxpayers with dependents need to check their withholding

IRS voluntary tax preparer program gets federal court OK

All states now have tax data breach notification laws

Trump signs $717 billion defense spending bill

Amazon's total tax breaks so far are nearly $1.6 billion

Massachusetts finally OKs 2018 tax holiday weekend

Do You Have What it Takes to Own Your Own Tax Business?

Have you been dreaming of flexibility?

Of being your own boss…

Setting your own hours…

and owning your own business?

It’s true, business ownership is not for everyone. But it’s also not as out of reach as you may think. Everyone is in charge of their own destiny. There are business owners (like me) who have faced extremely difficult upbringings and hardships who are here to tell you that it’s possible despite your situation.

I have built two successful businesses and have mentored others to do the same. In my experience, this is what it takes to own your own business.

Guts 

You have to be a risk taker. You may succeed but you also may fail. What it takes is the courage to put yourself out there, take the first step, and do it.

Diligence

Being a business owner is not for the faint of heart. It takes responsibility and diligence. As a business owner, the onus is on you to drum up business, get the work done, communicate with clients, and do all of the paperwork associated with business ownership. Diligence and hard work are key.

Self Confidence

Being a business owner means having the confidence to put yourself out there. To network, make decisions, and drive your business forward. That takes confidence.

Planning

Failure to prepare is the act of preparing to fail. It takes a lot of planning to run a successful business. First, preparing a business plan, researching your target audience, and putting together your marketing plan. You’re always looking to the future, and planning what’s next.

Resources

As a business owner, you need the proper equipment and software needed to do the job. For tax preparers, that means the necessary software. But you also need startup capital if you want to hire employees and get a brick and mortar location. In addition to physical and financial resources, you’ll need educational resources like best practices and business startup guides for reference. Maybe even a mentor.

Knowledge

Finally, if you’re planning on starting a tax business, you need to know taxes! Getting a tax education is easier than you think. Learn more here.

Think you have what it takes to start your own tax business? You don’t have to do it on your own. We can help! Our Guide to Start and Grow Your Successful Tax Business and Tax Practice Management Manuals will provide you with the knowledge and resources you need to get your business off the ground.

 

 

source https://www.theincometaxschool.com/blog/do-you-have-what-it-takes-to-own-your-own-tax-business/

Millionaires, not smaller business owners, more likely to benefit from new 20 percent tax deduction

California wildfire declared major disaster, opening door for financial and possible tax help

Treasury, IRS issue 199A business tax deduction guidance

Disaster tax relief for California wildfires - links

On 8/6/18, the IRS announced tax relief for victims of the  northern California wildfires (and here). IRS also has information on dealing with due dates and qualifying for tax relief at its disaster relief website.

The IRS posts a lot of information on dealing with disasters, when alternative due dates apply and what they are, and more.

Also see links from my post on 2017 disasters which also includes links on AICPA materials and those from Gerard Schreiber, CPA, an expert on tax rules on disasters.

Form 4684, Csualties and Thefts, and instructions.

Information from the California Franchise Tax Board (FTB).

source http://21stcenturytaxation.blogspot.com/2018/08/disaster-tax-relief-for-california.html

Know what's taxable or not before filing your return

IRS watchdog finds problems with armed tax agent training

8 cool tax moves to make during summer's last blast

The dark side of taxpayer-tax pro trust

Charitable donations above the line?

H.R. 5771 proposes to make the charitable contribution deduction one for AGI rather than an itemized deduction. This is not a new idea, but one that affects more individuals because the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act changes mean that rather than 30% of individuals itemizing, only about 13% will itemize. Of course, among those itemizers are many big donors.

The Tax Policy Center estimates that the change will reduce donations for 2018 by about 5%. The Joint Committee on Taxation estimates that the "cost" of the charitable contribution deduction for 2018, claimed by about 16.4 million individuals is $41 billion (JCX-34-18, page 49). For 2017, the estimate was 35.8 million individuals claiming it at a cost of $58 billion (JCX-3-17, page 45). Part of the drop in "cost" is due to rate reductions, but most is due to more people claiming the standard deduction. This JCT data is not a good indicator of change in donations because many newly claiming the standard deduction may very likely continue to give as much as they did before.

The "cost" of an above-the-line deduction would be significant as many people donate to charity including those who always itemize. Should the deduction be available to everyone? Would a credit be better? A credit would be worth the same to all taxpayers. A deduction is worth a lot more to those in higher tax brackets. For example, someone donating $1,000 who is in the 37% bracket is only out of pocket $630 after taxes. In contrast someone in the 12% bracket is out of pocket $880.  Or put another way, all taxpayers are providing a greater subsidy to higher bracket donors.

A challenge with the charitable contribution is that the benefit not only goes to the donor, but to the charities they chose to support. Do people at all income levels support the same charities? Probably not (a good area for some study - let me know if you've seen such a study).

What about modifying H.R. 5771 to only allow a deduction to the extent it exceeds 3% (or some other percentage) of your modified AGI where that term is defined as AGI before the donation and with tax-exempt interest and various exclusions such as for foreign-earned income added back?  This won't cost as much (meaning we might not have to have a rate increase to pay for the change) and recognizes that giving some percentage of your before-tax income is expected, but if you give above that amount, you'll get a tax break.

Not perfect because not everyone can estimate their income well enough to know if they should be keeping records of donations because they might exceed the threshold, but certainly not as complex as many other tax rules that exist.

What do you think?

source http://21stcenturytaxation.blogspot.com/2018/08/charitable-donations-above-line.html

How to help a young worker open a Roth IRA

Millions could face withholding-related tax bills next year

How to Pass the CPA Exam

We’re excited to announce a new partnership with Exam Matrix that gives us the opportunity to help students further their careers by preparing them for the CPA Exam! A CPA is different from an EA or tax preparer. CPAs are accountants, they have the knowledge to do business accounting, a service that is complimentary to tax preparation.

Why Become A CPA? 

Offering an array of services is a great way to grow your business and increase revenues during the off season. If you’re going to offer accounting services, you may as well earn your CPA. This designation will increase your credibility as an accountant, allow you to represent clients before the IRS, and could even increase your tax preparation revenue.

*Please note, becoming a CPA does not qualify you to prepare tax returns for the public. For tax preparation expertise, we recommend taking our Comprehensive Course.

About the CPA Exam

This exam is no joke! It’s a 16 hour examination that tests your knowledge across four main categories:

1. Auditing (AUD)
2. Business Environment & Concepts (BEC)
3. Financial Accounting & Reporting (FAR)
4. Regulation (REG)

Auditing covers auditing and assurance services provided by an accountant. Question topics in this section include: Professional Responsibilities, Ethics and General Principles; Assessing Risk and Developing a Planned Response; Performing Further Procedures and Obtaining Evidence; Forming Conclusions and Reporting.

Business Environment & Concepts covers the environment a business operates in. Question topics in this section include: Corporate Governance, Economic Concepts and Analysis, Financial Management, Information Technology, and Operations Management.

The Financial Accounting & Reporting section is the largest section of the exam. Questions in this section include: Standard-Setting, Conceptual Framework, and Financial Reporting; Financial Statement Accounts; Transactions; Local and State Governments.

Finally, the Regulation portion covers business and individual taxation, business law, and ethics. Specific question topics include: Professional Responsibilities, Ethics, and Federal Tax Procedures; Business Law; Property Transaction Federal Taxation; Individual Federal Taxation; Entity Federal Taxation.

As you can see, there’s a lot to this exam! That’s why it’s important to have a solid study plan.

Why Study with The Income Tax School?

Our partnership with Exam Matrix allows us to offer their amazing, adaptive learning platform at a discounted rate. Their exam preparation software will reduce your study time and boost your scores by creating a study path customized specifically for you. The ExamMatrix CPA Exam Review’s proprietary Adaptive-Learning technology will define what YOUR needs are and then tailor your CPA study sessions to optimize your study time. They choose which questions to study next, which portions of the textbook to study, and make you focus your study. The result is a proven, 100% personalized study method that will quickly boost your CPA exam scores and reduce your study time!

Benefits to using this awesome technology include:

• The flexibility to study any time.
• A choice between 6 or 12 month subscription.
• A 100% personalized study plan through adaptive learning technology.
• Over 6,400 Multiple-Choice CPA Practice Questions and over 250 Simulation Problems.
• Targeted reading assignments (instead of having to read through material you already know).
• Over 250 Task-Based Simulations.
• Reference books that are integrated directly into the CPA study course.
• A custom study mode option.
• Practice exam mode.
• If you don’t pass, you get your money back!

Convinced? Read more about our CPA Exam Review below.

source https://www.theincometaxschool.com/blog/how-to-pass-the-cpa-exam/

Paul Manafort's legal lessons in tax responsibility