Tax Services Back Keeping Current with the New Tax Laws  Each year Congress passes new tax laws or we are faced with the implementation and phase in provisions of previously passed tax acts. The result, tax law confusion, which forces the average person to consult with tax professionals to help them understand the law and take advantage of all the advantages or minimize the disadvantages of these new tax laws. It is our job to stay current with these changes so you don't have to pay uncle Sam any more than you have to. Sales Tax Services Many states and municipalities have a sales or use tax. We can review your internal prepared returns or we can file them on your behalf. We may be able to change your frequency of filing from monthly to quarterly or semiannually. We would like to point out one additional point.Many business entities or individuals are leasing personal assets (such as a rental property or office space) to others. Many of these transactions require the collection of sales tax in the State of Florida and you may be inadvertently breaking the law. We will advice you as to your requirements and file any necessary returns. We may be able to abate the penalties that may be assessed for failure to file these returns in a timely manner. Tax Planning Most taxpayers have contact with their tax preparers once a year when they file their taxes. In addition, most of these people wait until the very last minute to assemble the financial records necessary to prepare their taxes. For the do it your selfers, you dread filing your taxes and most wait until the last minute to get tax records organized. Both of these groups are missing potential opportunities to cut their tax liabilities. Oftentimes, these people, scramble to meet the tax deadlines and miss deductions or credits for which they might be entitled. For all taxpayers and business owners who truly want to pay the least amount of taxes to Uncle Sam, two things should be undertaken. First, each taxpayer should have a systematic record keeping routine to keep their records organized to ease the income tax preparation and to reduce the chance of losing or misplacing receipts. Second, most taxpayers should get with their tax preparer, at least once a year to estimate and monitor opportunities to reduce your tax liability. If your tax preparer is not available year round to do this or if it does not offer this service, than you need to switch preparers. We recommend as a minimum, that you undertake this planning in October or November of each year. In any case, we want to help you pay Uncle Sam the least amount of taxes while staying compliant with all the tax laws that affect you. Tax Preparation Almost anyone can prepare his/her own taxes, but do you get the maximum refund or pay the least amount of tax? What potential surprises or audit risks are you subjecting yourself to? Who is going to give you advice for next year? What deductions did you miss? What deductions did you take that you shouldn't have? What may we be able to do that you don't know about? Will your accountant be in business tomorrow? What will it cost you in the future? What about the peace of mind of knowing the returns were prepared accurately in the first place and that we stand behind our work? Our firm provides professional preparation of federal, state and local tax returns at competitive, affordable rates. We will review your return with you and explain to you what we did. We will compare this years return with last year and look from trends, inconsistencies and errors and we will give you advise on what to do in the new year. We offer electronic filing and direct deposit to ensure accuracy and quick refunds. State & Local Municipality Tax Return Preparation In addition to preparing the various Federal income tax returns, we also prepare the necessary state and local municipality tax returns that may be required for individuals and business's alike. There are approximately 39 US states that have a individual state income tax and many more have some sort of corporate income tax requirements. If you have income in more than one state you may have to file a return in more than one state. If you moved to/ from a particular state during the year, you may be required to file a part year income tax return for one or more states. If you have a corporation in the State of Florida or have a corporation that does business in the State of Florida, you may be required to file a state corporate income tax return. In Florida, you may have to file a corporate or partnership Intangible Personal Property tax return or a county Tangible Personal Property tax return if you have physical assets used in your business, whether or not owned by the business or any owner of the business. As an example, if you had an Alabama S Corporation doing business in Florida, you would have to file a Corporate Income Tax Return for both Florida and Alabama and as an S Corporation shareholder, you may have to file a both an IRS Form 1040 and an Alabama Form 40. It is never too late to check on your filing requirements. Amended Income Tax Returns We can amend or revise any federal, state or municipality business or personal income tax return. Amended returns occur whenever there are errors, omissions or missed deductions in previously filed returns. Since there is a statute of limitations for filing amended returns, your accountant should be notified whenever you discover an error or whenever you receive a tax notice or inquiry. We customarily review prior years returns prepared by other accountants to determine if any discrepancies exist that may generate an additional refund on your behalf. If for some reason it is determined that you owe additional money, filing an amended return can reduce or eliminate potential interest and penalties that could result if the authorities catch the error before you do. We can amend any return, even those we did not originally prepare. IRS and State/Local Representation As a point of introduction, generally only CPA's, Enrolled Agents and Tax Attorneys can represent you before the Internal Revenue Service and other tax bodies. Although, you can find hundreds of individuals and firms, that may be able to prepare your tax returns, if you receive a tax notice in the mail or are selected for an audit or have another reason to contact one of the various tax authorities, will the person or firm that prepared your return be able to represent you? Are they available year round to answer your questions and provide assistance? In many cases, the answer may be no. If this were to happen, would you know what to do? Even if you do know how to respond, are you sure you are using all your options in the best way possible or could you make matters worse? If your smart enough to get professional help at this point, who do you choose? How will you determine the firm to represent you? The best thing for you to do,is to hire a qualified professional ( such as a CPA ) to be available, no matter what may happen in the future. No one likes to be audited, but no one can predict if or when you ever get audited or have any other tax issue in the future. Be prepared today, for whatever may happen in the future. In addition, since CPA's are required to take 80 hours of continuing education every two years, we are assured to have in our arsenal of up to date tax knowledge to be used on your behalf.