While most people aren’t likely to associate the warm summer season with taxes, many tax professionals certainly are. The twentieth annual Summer Tax Institute is scheduled for June 14-17, 2010 in California. The institute is an educational program of the Center for State and Local Taxation.
The Summer Tax Institute is an intensive, 4-day educational program for professionals that attracts attorneys, accountants, state tax officials, tax directors, tax managers, and others seeking expertise in the area of state and local taxation. A certificate of completion (for continuing education purposes) is provided at the end of the program.
The program is said to be highly successful. According to the UC Davis Summer Tax website, www.summertax.org, it states that in written evaluations it has been indicated that over 95 percent of the participants would recommend the Institute to others. Also, students come from both the public and private sectors and represent accounting firms, law firms, state agencies, and private industry from throughout the country.
The site also boasts that tuition includes course materials, daily continental breakfast and lunch, a welcome reception on Monday night, and an excursion to the wine country for “dinner amid the vineyards” on Wednesday evening. It looks like the Summer Tax Institute reaches enrollment capacity most years, therefore, early registration is strongly recommended. What are you waiting for tax professionals?!
Showing posts with label tax professional. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tax professional. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 08, 2010
Tuesday, May 04, 2010
Local Law Firm Commits to Goals Presented by Mayor Johnson during his State of the City Address
Last week, my law firm published a new press release regarding Mayor Kevin Johnson's State of the City Address from earlier this year. Roni Deutch, A Professional Tax Corporation sent two representatives to hear the mayor’s goals and consider how the law firm can participate in working towards those goals. Check out a snippet from the release below.
"As part of the Sacramento business community, it's encouraging to see that we have a plan for growth," notes Justin Hein, Managing Attorney for the law firm. "Strengthening the city will benefit our law firm as well as the entire region."
One of Mayor Johnson’s goals for Sacramento in 2010 is to be a national leader in the Green movement. Roni Deutch, A Professional Tax Corporation is doing their part to make this happen. Last year, the law firm transitioned to a paperless client intake system, greatly diminishing the quantity of paper it uses and this year the law firm is taking even more steps to limit the use of paper by enhancing its office technology.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
9 Very Last Minute Tax Preparation Tips
April 15th is just a few hours away, and millions of Americans are rushing to get their tax returns filed on or before this Thursday. To help any of my readers who are trying to beat the deadline, I have put together this list of tips to get your tax returns prepared on time.
1. Use your Tax Return from Last Year as a Guide
Before you start working on your new tax return you should go and find your tax return from last year. Unless your financial situation has changed drastically over the past year you should be able to use your old return as a guide for completing your new return.
2. To Itemize or Not?
Itemizing your return opens up the door for dozens of tax deductions, although taking the standard deduction is easier, itemizing your deductions may be more tax beneficial to you. If you do not know if you would benefit from itemizing or the standard deduction then you might want to speak with a qualified tax professional.
3. Consider an IRA to Lower your Liability
If you are looking for a last minute way to lower your adjusted gross income from last year, then you should consider making a contribution to a traditional IRA. As this article on the RDTC Tax Help Blog explains you can make retroactive contributions to an IRA up until the tax deadline to lower your taxable income for 2009.
4. Making Work Pay Credit
This year there is a new $400 Making Work Pay Credit for most taxpayers who worked during the last year. You will need to complete Schedule M to calculate the value of your credit. For more information checkout this IRS press release from earlier today.
5. Be Honest and Review Everything Twice
One of the most important rules of preparing a tax return is to always be honest. The repercussions you may receive for lying to get a deduction you do not qualify for could be a lot more than you would have saved. You should also give yourself time to thoroughly review your return for errors before filing.
6. E-Filing your Return
You should always try to e-file your tax return, unless you have a legitimate reason not to. E-filing is fast, and can get your return to the IRS in a few minutes. Plus, you can avoid both the drive to the post office and having to pay for shipping.
7. Direct Deposit / Splitting your Refund
When you file your return, even if you do not e-file, you can select to have your tax refund directly deposited into your bank account. You can even have the refund split between multiple different accounts.
8. Consider an Automatic Extension
If you are not quite ready to file – for any reason – you should file for an automatic extension from the IRS. There are numerous reasons you may feel the need to file an extension, but any reason is better than not filing your return at all. However, if you are going to owe the IRS money then you still need to have your payment to them by the 15th.
9. Get Professional Help
If you are confused, or worried about getting your return completed by the deadline then you might want to enlist professional help. However, if you are going to get help from a tax preparer then you will want to make an appointment as soon as possible. Even if you do file an extension, you should make an appointment to get your return completed shortly after the tax deadline as many tax preparation offices close during the off-season.
Monday, November 09, 2009
President Obama Signs Worker, Homeownership, and Business Act
Last Friday, President Obama yesterday signed the Worker, Homeownership, and Business Act of 2009 (H.R. 3548) into law. According to the Tax Professor, this new law has seven major tax provisions, in addition to extending the homebuyers credit. All of the tax changes are listed below.
1. Extension and Modification of First-Time Homebuyer Credit
2. Five-Year Carryback of NOLs
3. Exclusion from Income of Qualified Military Base Realignment and Closure
4. Delay in Application of Worldwide Allocation of Interest
5. Modification of Penalty for Failure to File Partnership or S Corporation Returns
6. Expansion of Electronic Filing by Return Preparers
7. Time for Payment of Corporate Estimated Taxes
Thursday, November 05, 2009
Monday, August 17, 2009
Tax Professionals Active on Twitter
While I was looking around for other people working in the tax industry on Twitter I came across this list on Tax Girl of “Twittering Tax Pros.” However, I noticed that some of the people I follow were missing from her list, and some had not updated in months. Therefore I have put together the following updated list of tax professionals who are active on Twitter.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Tax Season -- Great Reminder to Consult with Professionals.
After sending out a few copies of my new book to fellow bloggers and tax professionals, Jennifer Sawday, of California Estate Planning Blog, posted an entry on her blog about the book and about seeking professional help with taxes. Thanks, Jennifer!
Tax season has fully descended upon all Americans. (Also, Girl Scout cookies as well. Girl Scout cookies are much more palatable!)
I received a complimentary copy of Roni Lynn Deutch's book, The Tax Lady's Guide to Beating the IRS and Saving Big Bucks on Your Taxes… It's a great book and very easy to read. Reading books like Roni's makes you aware of the value of hiring a tax professional to assist you with your taxes, tax planning and representation in case of an audit or other issues involving the IRS or local tax authorities. It also brings home the point that you should consider consulting with and later hiring a professional to assist you with other endeavors as well.
Be sure to do your homework on any important issue facing your family whether it be taxes, estate planning, financial advice and other such matters. Do your reading, Internet research and then consult with professionals as well to make sure you are taking the right steps to protect yourself and your loved ones.
When you decide to consult with a professional, ask at the outset if there will be a consultation fee and how much so you can be prepared. Some professionals do not charge a fee, will waive the fee or have reasonable fee depending on the nature of the consultation. Professionals have nothing to give you other than their time and with their time comes their knowledge, insight and wisdom that is often invaluable.
Monday, December 08, 2008
Latest Good Reads
6 Reasons to hire a tax lawyer to resolve your IRS tax debt.
The world history of taxation.
Ask the tax professional – points.
Leaders as teachers: fixing the financial fiasco.
Investor confidence more optimistic than consumers.
9 hot franchise trends in 2009.
How to give and receive at the same time.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Obama's Planned Increase in Top Tax Rate Contrary to International Trend
From Tax Prof:
As the United States awaits to see how President-elect Obama implements his campaign promise to increase the tax burden on those earning more than $250,000 per year, KPMG has released a new study (Individual Income Tax Rate Survey 2008) documenting a downward trend in the highest tax rates in 87 countries over the past six years, from 31.3% in 2003 to 28.8% in 2008:
We have concentrated on the highest rates of tax payable to central government in each country, and for ease of comparison we have, where possible, excluded other taxes like social security contributions, municipal taxes and employment taxes.
The picture that emerges is of a slow global decline in top rate personal income taxes, from an average of 31.3% in 2003 to 28.8% in 2008. But this conceals some very different tax histories at a regional and country level.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Congress Blaming IRS for Foreclosure Problems
The issue of tax liabilities resulting from a home foreclosure has really been getting a lot of attention. Just a few hours after I posted my latest featured blog, the tax consequences of foreclosures, I came across another blog entry on TaxProf Blog discussing who is to blame for the problem. On Friday, Congress sent a letter to the IRS asking them to provide relief for people with tax liabilities resulting from foreclosures, but even in the letter Congress admitted it would be easier to fix with new legislation. However, providing relief to taxpayers affected does not really solve the problem it merely provides a way for taxpayers to resolve their debt. What Congress needs to do is properly fix the tax code with new legislation so that the problem can be fixed before it starts.
Friday, June 29, 2007
Advice On Being Audited
CNN Money has an article from Gerri Willis on what to do if you get an audit notice from the IRS. In October the IRS will begin reviewing over 13,000 tax returns form 2006 and will continue with similar audits throughout the next few years. The article give more details on what do if you are audited, but the main points are to hire a professional, get organized, and stay calm.
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