by Leif Jensen | Nov 29, 2011 | General |
As the first weekend comes to a close I am finding the good and bad with my new Kindle Fire. First the good. It is definitely working for the main purpose I purchased it for, Social Media. Since I joined Socially Promoted I have been working towards meeting the...
by Leif Jensen | Nov 28, 2011 | General |
The IRS has announced that it is finally moving into the next phase of its effort to improve the tax preparation industry by launching the new Registered Tax Return Preparer competency test (minimum competency exam). The new competency test is part of a larger...
by Leif Jensen | Nov 27, 2011 | General |
Illinois finally gets into the 21st Century! Effective for tax years ending on or after December 31, 2011, corporations, including S corporations, that are required to file their federal Forms U.S. 1120 and U.S. 1120S income tax returns by electronic means, are now...
by Leif Jensen | Nov 20, 2011 | General |
Well after months and months of debating and hemming and hawing, I have finally taken the plunge. I have ordered a tablet. I was planning to wait for the iPad 3, in spite of the extended delays from Apple, but a client who is an early adapter of the iPad suggested...
by Leif Jensen | Nov 16, 2011 | General |
The IRS has classified iPads and tables that are employer issued to be a tax free benefit for the personal use. These now fall into the same arena as cell phones and those antiques, that some still use called laptops. So Uncle will not be looking for some cash for...
by Leif Jensen | Nov 16, 2011 | General |
Where do you want the income, 2011 or 2012? You have the capability to delay year end billings or speed them up to assist in moving receivables to your year of choice. Cash basis accounting assists with allowing this flexibility in determining your income as well as...
by Leif Jensen | Nov 15, 2011 | General |
I was just hired to to what appeared to be a simple audit. The prior year had under $200,000 in income and expenses. But, the management was a bit hands off and the bookkeeping/accounting firm who had been doing the books for many years had grown fat, dumb and sloppy...
by Leif Jensen | Nov 14, 2011 | General |
Paid tax preparers, those that don’t have the CPA credential, lawyers or an unrolled agent, now can schedule their minimum competency exam. This exam will be an open book, it will consist of 120 multiple choice and true false questions. Test takers will have two and...
by Leif Jensen | Nov 13, 2011 | General |
The AICPA trumpets its acceptance of CPA mobility which has been signed by 39 states as a great triumph. I believe it to be a false promise boarding on farce. The only things that CPA’s seem to be getting a free ride on are the things that they cannot license. ...
by Leif Jensen | Nov 7, 2011 | General |
In the current environment I am finding out that there are more and more people who are out and out dishonest tax preparers out there. Now, there are several levels of criminals preparing taxes out there. Some aspect are as follows: Buy a single copy of Turbo Tax and...
by Leif Jensen | Nov 6, 2011 | General |
It seems that our underground economy is growing. What is the underground economy? Remember all of those people yourself included that do business for cash. Cash that does not get reported to the government and no taxes are paid on. I have been aware of tax...
by Leif Jensen | Nov 3, 2011 | General |
Does your bookkeeper write your checks, sign your checks and reconcile your bank accounts? This office setup is the most effective for allowing employee embezzlement. Congratulations and good luck if this is the case for your business, because you need good luck to...
by Leif Jensen | Oct 31, 2011 | General |
I have just read a story that a CPA threatening to kill an IRS employee over the phone. Now I may have been angry on certain issues while on the phone, especially to a certain horrible utility shall we say. But I never lost it to the point of threatening mortality....
by Leif Jensen | Oct 30, 2011 | General |
Have an embezzlement case of a 42-year-old from Timonium, MD pleaded guilty earlier this month to filing false tax returns in 2007 and 2008 after she neglected to claim over $382,000 embezzled from her former employer, Towson, MD-based employer. All Chicagoans know...
by Leif Jensen | Oct 30, 2011 | General |
The Tax Court has ruled in favor of a landlords who due to a lack of tenants wanted a write-off of rental losses. The details: After buying a home, the owner moved away and rented the property out for years. After her last tenant moved out, she was unable to rent it...
by Leif Jensen | Oct 29, 2011 | General |
IRS will now need a warrant to get taxpayer e-mails from an Internet provider, the agency’s lawyers say in a memo to the field. Agents must now go to court and get a judge’s approval. Before this ruling the IRS just needed an administrative summons to do the trick. ...
by Leif Jensen | Oct 29, 2011 | General |
Apparently the U.S. isn’t the only country interested in tax avoidance by high-incomers. The United Kingdom is planning a crackdown, advertising for 1,000 agents to closely check the tax compliance of the country’s 350,000 wealthiest taxpayers. IRS already has a squad...
by Leif Jensen | Oct 29, 2011 | General |
The Social Security wage base level for 2012 will increase to $110,100. This is a $3,300 increase over this year’s figure and the first increase since 2009. The wage base did not go up in 2010 and 2011 because the law bars any increase in the cap in years when...
by Leif Jensen | Oct 29, 2011 | General |
Apparently Treasury inspectors are estimating that tax filers erroneously (criminally) filed returns claiming educational credits and received $3.2 billion (yes billion with a “B”) in credits for 2009 and 2010. It appears that in many of these cases, IRS didn’t have a...
by Leif Jensen | Oct 28, 2011 | General |
For those who are able to good news in on the horizon. The maximum 401(k) contribution rises to $17,000 in 2012, up $500 over this year. Individuals born before 1963 can put in as much as $22,500. Theses contribution limits also apply to 403(b) and 457 plans as...
