by Leif Jensen | Mar 17, 2012 | General |
Have you ever wondered what happens to an owner who has less the 51% and is kicked out of the business? You were right it can be your worst nightmare. There has been a recent court case on this matter. A locked-out partner still has to report his share of partnership...
by Leif Jensen | Mar 17, 2012 | General |
Those of us who are unemployed and who are unable to pay their 2011 taxes on time get a break. The IRS will allow them six extra months to pay the taxes due without penalty. Those who qualify are wage earners who were jobless at least 30 consecutive days in 2011 or...
by Leif Jensen | Mar 17, 2012 | General |
It seems the IRS keeps issuing refunds to those who should never have them, and holding up those who should. They made improper payments of refundable tax credits. In 2011, the agency figures that it wrongly refunded up to $17 billion in earned income credits. Many...
by Leif Jensen | Mar 17, 2012 | General |
Apparently the first group of unenrolled preparers have passed the minimum competency test, scoring 70% or better on the test. This test is 120 multiple choice/true false open book exam on the 1040 only, that allows three hours to complete. Those who pass a tax...
by Leif Jensen | Mar 17, 2012 | General |
Winning the lottery can be a huge once in a life time event. Unfortunately many have little to no plan on how to properly deal this event. Here there was some planning but not nearly enough. In a recent court case a lotto winner who generously gave part of her prize...
by Leif Jensen | Mar 6, 2012 | General |
Have you purchase an e-book form Amazon? Do you know that you don’t own that book? This is a surprise to most when they find out. An e-book is definitely different from a real physical book. Most people believe that they do own it, even if there is nothing to...
by Leif Jensen | Mar 3, 2012 | General |
Good news for the those that sign the checks. Having the authority to write checks won’t always make you liable for back payroll taxes, as this case shows. A high-paid employee (non-officer) who signed more than 1,700 checks for a firm, including paychecks. During...
by Leif Jensen | Mar 3, 2012 | General |
IRS continues to go after S corporations (they do hate these entities) that pay low salaries to owners. Many owners of S companies take too low a salary and pass the bulk of the profits through to their own returns free of Social Security and Medicare taxes (see...
by Leif Jensen | Mar 3, 2012 | General |
Illinois is an unusual place. Yes, yes we all know that 4 of our last 9 governors ended up in prison, our credit rating and schools are in the toilet and the politicians only seem to know how to tax and spend and increase taxes and spend more… But also in Illinois is...
by Leif Jensen | Mar 3, 2012 | General |
I was having a discussion with a client that I took over a couple of years ago, he utilizes QuickBooks for his accounting. His taxes were recorded on a cash basis, and I agreed with this methodology. But QuickBooks is factory set to Accrual Basis, so wen we were...
by Leif Jensen | Mar 3, 2012 | General |
Now is a good time if you owe the IRS for back taxes. At least from an interest rate standpoint. The current IRS interest rates will remain the same for the second quarter of 2012 at 3% for individuals and corporations under $100,000. The rate will be 5% on...
by Leif Jensen | Mar 3, 2012 | General |
Expect even more government scrutiny of prepares of tax returns. We don’t have nearly enough as it is already… But volunteer tax return preparers are the next immediate targets, in light of a recent incident involving a false return prepared at a volunteer site. A...
by Leif Jensen | Feb 26, 2012 | General |
Ok,, so I’m in a restaurant on Friday. It’s in a neighborhood known for its high percentage of Hispanic residents. As I’m paying the bill, I noticed a couple of tables taped behind the register. Being the nosy individual that I am I read the not so small print. I...
by Leif Jensen | Feb 26, 2012 | General |
It’s has been a long while since I took some hacking classes for CPE. It was interesting to crack passwords by throwing the dictionary at it. But times have changed and symbols are now in play. Because it is now more important than ever to come up with intricate...
by Leif Jensen | Feb 25, 2012 | General |
Electronic pickpocketing, this is a concern of bankers. Or at least one that I had lunch with a few months ago. Banks typically the issuer of credit cards have more at risk than the consumers. A quarter of us now carry at least one credit card that transmits data...
by Leif Jensen | Feb 19, 2012 | General |
I found this again and thought I would put it somewhere I can find it. You Might Be From Chicago If: The ‘living room’ is called the ‘front room’. 2. You don’t pronounce the ‘s’ at the end of Illinois . And, you become irate at people who do. 3. You measure distance...
by Leif Jensen | Feb 19, 2012 | General |
Who pays taxes in the United States? Individual Returns Stats • Top 1-percent adjusted gross income (AGI) break (TY 2009) $343,927 and above with 36.73% of the total taxes paid • Top 5-percent AGI break (TY 2009) $154,643 and above with 58.66% of the total taxes paid...
by Leif Jensen | Feb 18, 2012 | General |
The President will be looking to passing some significant tax increases this year, for a 2013 start. I expect these to actually go into effect if not this time, it will happen sooner or later. Taking the current top two brackets 33% and 35% tax brackets and raising...
by Leif Jensen | Feb 18, 2012 | General |
Apparently a client who relied upon an attorney to file an estate tax return won’t avoid a penalty, according to a district court. An executor hired a lawyer to do the estate’s return, but the attorney had a mental illness and the 706 was filed over three years late. ...
by Leif Jensen | Feb 18, 2012 | General |
If you one of the people who purchased a home in 2008 and received the first-time home buyer credit, beware the IRS is no longer mailing letters to remind you about the recapture of the credit. For home buyers in 2008, the credit was in reality an interest-free loan...
