Phoenix Arizona CPA | Arizona Tax Accountant | Arizona Income Tax

When it comes to the stock market, anything can happen. An ever-changing and sometimes volatile world of finance, the stock market offers several choices when it comes to investing within its walls - conservative, long term investing in government or financially consistent companies - or aggressive, taking a calculated risk on an investment that if it plays out will yield you great financial reward.

How you invest your money is up to you; especially when you buy stock online. With a traditional brokerage house you pay sometimes high brokerage fees and commissions for the expertise of the brokers; whose job it is to guide you in a decision that makes the most sense for your financial situation. When you buy stock online, you opt out of that traditional relationship and instead take charge of your portfolio from the comfort of your home. Read the rest of this entry »

If you are over 70 1/2 years old, want to make a gift for a special charitable project, but your only liquid asset is your IRA, I have good news for you.

On August 17, 2006,  the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA 2006) was signed into law. This nearly 1,000 page piece of legislation marked the most sweeping changes to the pension arena in 30 years.

Let me give you two common examples that contain problems faced by seniors solved by PPA 2006… Read the rest of this entry »

Over the years there have been many a “scam” perpetrated upon the innocent, trusting public. The I.R.S. recently released the following:

Beware of Tax Scams! Don’t fall victim to tax scams. These schemes take several shapes, ranging from promises of large tax refunds to illegal ways of “untaxing” yourself.The IRS suggests that you remember three important guidelines:

• You are responsible and liable for the content of your tax return.

• Anyone who promises you a bigger refund without knowing your tax situation could be misleading you, and.. Read the rest of this entry »

April is the month you will find yourself rushing all over to try and meet the deadline for filling your tax return. But why haven’t you been keeping up to date with your tax returns by having all your tax information stored in a safe place, making it very easy to file your taxes and avoid paying any IRS penalties. Many of you are filing taxes yearly, but are paying tax penalties, but have no clue why or are not trying to prevent this from happening. This article will explore 6 tips that will help you avoid paying IRS penalties and show you the IRS interest that you will have to pay. Read the rest of this entry »

There are three vital statements for understanding the condition of a business or entity: (1) the Profit and Loss Statement, (2) the Balance Sheet and (3) the Sources and Uses Statement.  Each of them provides a different perspective of how an entity is operating.  Combined, they show examiners the health of the business.  Each statement reflects a different perspective on the business’ financial operations.

The first statement, the Profit and Loss, can also be called the Income Statement.  It documents the amount of money coming into the entity (the income) and the money going out of the entity (the expenses).  The difference between what comes in and what goes out is the Net Income, if there is more money coming in than going out.  If not, there is a Net Loss.  The statement covers a specific period, which is shown in the heading of the statement.  Note that it tells us nothing about Read the rest of this entry »

Throughout your business lifecycle, your business and management team will face ongoing challenges.  Some of these are within your area of expertise and others force you to learn new skills and achieve new insights as a business leader or owner. How well you respond to these business challenges will dictate how well your business performs.

For every new business hurdle, a professional, independent CFO Advisor can help you. With a CFO Advisor, practical solutions are developed to take you through the most critical analyses of your present and future plans to insure you are making the smart move each step of the way. Read the rest of this entry »

If you are not familiar with them yet, S Corporations are simply companies (corporation or limited liability corporation) which do not pays any taxes on its corporate profits. Under the Internal Revenue Code’s chapter 1 and Subchapter S, only the shareholders would have to pay their income taxes from the earnings they received from the company. In short, an S Corporation is taxed more like a sole proprietorship rather than a C Corporation.

There are many C Corporations who have filed for S Corporation status because of the difference between the two tax structures. Because of this set-up, the S Corporation actually enjoys several tax advantages over C Corporations. They include: Read the rest of this entry »

You have either started a new business, decided to get your financial information in order for your existing business or your tax preparer has announced that he/she won’t do your tax return anymore if you bring in one more year’s receipts in a shoebox or plastic bag. So on the recommendation of friends, business associates, accountant, or other professional in the know you have purchased QuickBooks. And if you are like most people you have installed it on your computer with great expectations. But you don’t have a clue about bookkeeping and so getting started is not so easy. What are items you ask. I am already part through my year – when and how do I start my beginning balances? Do I need inventory? So many questions and so little time. Read the rest of this entry »

In the past, it’s been small business accounting needs that were most drawn to open source business intelligence software because of the cost. Where many small businesses simply can’t afford top of the line proprietary software, open course accounting software has been the way to keep costs down.

Interestingly, more and more small businesses, as well as large ones, are turning to open source accounting software and business intelligence software for many more reasons than cutting operational costs. Read the rest of this entry »

This is March 2007, a month yet before the end of the 2006 tax season, and audit letters from the IRS are already going out, some private tax offices have been closed and some people have been charged with fraud.  All because of abuse of this years one time Federal Excise Tax Credit.

The government is refunding the Excise Tax because federal courts ruled that it is an improper tax.  The IRS in response must refund the tax to all individuals who can prove they paid the tax.  The refund is only for taxes charged as excise tax on long-distance, nothing on local is being refunded.  This tax credit is a one time refund. Read the rest of this entry »