Phoenix Arizona CPA | Arizona Tax Accountant | Arizona Income Tax

A large number of workers are no longer provided with a work uniform; therefore, many individuals now have to buy their own work supplies. Work clothing that is required, but not paid for by an employer, can be listed as a tax deduction.

Itemizing individual purchases that are tax deducible may seem to be too complicated or take a long period of time, taking the time to itemize tax deductions, like a Self Employed Tax Deduction,  is worth it for many taxpayers. Read the rest of this entry »

For many people, life’s routines are perceived as a matter of endless work to earn that weekly or bi-weekly pay check to continue paying off monthly debts. At least, that’s how it feels. In reality, though, we work to earn money as a means to an end; basic living. Being able to eat, care for one’s family, maintain a home, and care for the needs of others are some of the most critical concerns of life. Unfortunately, even addressing these basics all require money, so we work long hours. Read the rest of this entry »

It is every company, business and income earning individuals wish to pay lesser tax on the income earned.  However, paying lesser tax and tax evasion is separated by a thin border, which can be costly if not dealt with carefully.

Big organization engaged experienced knowledgeable tax professionals to work out the company tax liability. These professionals take into account all deductible expenses, capital allowances, etc, in a legitimate manner to achieve their objective, pay lesser tax. On top of it, the organization employs accounting professional to maintain the transaction records of the business, detailing every sales, purchases and expenses. These records enable the auditors and tax professionals to accomplish their objective. Read the rest of this entry »

Knowing income tax law is not enough. In order to offer value to taxpayers, tax law knowledge must be combined with effective tax planning strategies in order to yield maximum benefit. What would you do if you owned a landscaping business with the upcoming facts and circumstances? I will tell what I would do.

While having a quiet night out at a local restaurant, listening to music from a local band, I am approached by a friend that has just started a landscaping business. He is married and has one young daughter, age twelve. He will have gross receipts of $48,000 and will receive a 1099 for his efforts. His first question to me is how he should go about making quarterly estimated tax payments to cover both income tax expense and social security tax (SE tax). My response to him was; “hold on there young fellow. Let’s have a discussion of the facts and circumstances before we begin”. Read the rest of this entry »

As the tax filing season draws near tension fills the air and many people tend to get stressed. If you plan your tax filing exercise you can undertake filing of tax returns without getting into a flap.

To ease the process of filing tax returns H & R Block have designed a check list that will not just save time but ensure that you make no mistakes in filling out the tax forms. Keep the list on your PC and use it through the year to stay organized.

To breeze through the tax form filling and filing you need: Read the rest of this entry »

If you sell on eBay, or if you have an online business, listen up.  There are several tax issues in the news right now that could have a huge impact on the way you do business.

The first issue, and the one that is getting the most attention, is Congress’s push to get the IRS to force brokers (companies such as eBay and Amazon) to report personal data on their customers.

In this proposal, brokers (such as Amazon and eBay) would be required to report names, addresses, and gross proceeds of each customer that completes more than 100 separate transactions and generates more than $5,000 in gross proceeds each year. Read the rest of this entry »

I am often asked by clients whether they can designate how they want their payments they are making to the IRS applied.  That is, can I tell the IRS what year to apply my payments to?  The answer is yes.  As long as you are making a voluntary payment, meaning your bank account has not been levied or your wages have not been garnished, you can designate how your payments will be applied to your tax liability. Now, where do you designate the payments? If you do not designate where to the apply the payments, the IRS will apply the payment to the oldest tax due first. This is not always in your best interest. Read the rest of this entry »

If your business has employees, it’s going to have to account for benefits and payroll. Let’s explore the term ‘payroll’ and look at some things that are included in benefits and payroll accounting.

Within payroll accounting there are specific things that must be accounted for. These include such things as salaries, wages, commissions and bonuses paid to employees, overtime pay and various payroll costs and taxes.

Payroll costs and taxes are made up of Medicare, social security, state and federal income tax, unemployment tax and worker compensation insurance. There are also paid benefits extended to employees such as vacations, holidays, sick days, health insurance, profit-sharing plans and retirement plans. Read the rest of this entry »

Wouldn’t it be great if you could deduct some of your home costs as business expenses on your federal income tax return? Along with the regular business deductions you can take, you may be able to deduct part of your home mortgage interest, utilities, and repairs of your current home.

The important thing to know is what a legitimate deduction is and what it is not, since small or home based business owners are three times more likely to be audited than non-small business or home based business owners. Read the rest of this entry »

Learning how to find overlooked tax deductions and credits can reap you a bundle of money at tax time.

Why do some people always seem to get a bigger tax refund than others? What if there was an easy way you could learn to increase your tax refund by 15%, 25% - even 50% or more. How much more money would you get at tax time as a result? Read the rest of this entry »