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Peer Review for CPAs
I recently went through my first peer review for my CPA practice. I must confess, the preparation was a lot more stressful than I had anticipated. Not as difficult as preparing for an IRS audit, but...
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Medical Expenses
Taxpayers who itemize their deductions are able to deduct certain medical expenses, to the extent they exceed 10% of their adjusted gross income. Medical expenses are deductible if they are paid for...
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2014 Standard Mileage Rates
Today, the IRS announced the standard mileage rates for 2014. The standard rates are an optional method taxpayers may use to calculate the deductible costs of operating an auto for business, medical,...
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Federal Tax Provisions Set to Expire
The IRS recently announced that the beginning of the tax filing season will be delayed one to two weeks. We are also waiting on Congress to pass “extenders”, laws that will extend the tax provisions...
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Merry Christmas
The Central Texas Chapter of TSCPA’s student auxiliary with our Tarleton State University accounting students decided to adopt a family for their service project for the fall semester. I’m very proud...
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Average Tax Return Preparation Fees
The National Society of Accountants released survey data regarding the average fees charged by tax professionals for tax return preparation services in 2013. The fees vary by geographic region, the...
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New Year’s Resolutions
I joined Weight Watchers on May 4, 2013, exactly 8 months ago. I weigh in every Friday, most of the time I’ve lost some weight, sometimes I’ve gained. Yesterday’s weigh in was phenomenal, lost 2.2...
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Filing Status: Married Filing Jointly and Surviving Spouse
The amount of income tax you owe is partially dependent upon which filing status you qualify for. Of all the filing statuses, married filing jointly is the most taxpayer friendly status. The marginal...
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Filing Status: Head of Household and Single
Head of Household Tax rates for head of household filing status are not as good as married filing jointly but better than single. The standard deduction available for head of household in 2013 is...
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Filing Status: Married Filing Separately
Married individuals may choose to file separately rather than filing one joint return. Married filing separately is the least favorable filing status. The standard deduction for this status in 2013 is...
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Personal and Dependency Exemptions
Each individual taxpayer is entitled to a personal exemption, unless they are claimed as a dependent on another return. For example, my daughter Hannah is a student, age 22, and is claimed as a...
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Q&A: Dependency Exemptions
There are many questions that arise when claiming the dependency exemption. While some dependents are clear cut, such as an 8 year old son or daughter living with both parents while they are married,...
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New Retirement Option?
In his state of the union address on January 29, 2014, President Obama instructed the Treasury Department to create the myRA retirement savings account. These accounts will be available before 2015....
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Individual Tax Provisions in Obama’s 2015 Budget
President Obama released his FY 2015 budget proposals on March 4. I’m not one to analyze the benefit or cost behind proposed tax law, or argue conservative or liberal viewpoints ( I am conservative),...
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Businesss Tax Provisions in FY 2015 Budget Proposal
President Obama released his fiscal year 2015 budget on March 4. I have written about some of the personal tax proposals in a previous post. Now let’s take a look at some of the business tax...
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IRA Contributions: Reducing Your 2013 Tax Bill
If you are looking for a way to reduce your 2013 tax bill, you may want to consider making an IRA contribution. It’s not too late, IRAs may be funded until April 15, 2014 for a deduction on your 2013 …...
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IRA Rollover Distributions Within 60 Days
We had a question come up at work a few weeks ago and I think it’s a good strategy that few people take advantage of. One of our customers, let’s call him Bob, wanted to buy a car for his … Continue...
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Taxpayer Bill of Rights
Earlier this month, the IRS published the Taxpayer Bill of Rights and included the provisions in IRS Publication 1. Publication 1 is a document that is routinely included in IRS correspondence with...
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Certified QuickBooks Pro Advisor
I finally finished all of the continuing education and the final exam to become a certified QuickBooks Pro Advisor. I signed up for the program last summer and thought I would complete it quickly. The...
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Changes in Estate Planning
The IRS recently reported the number of estate tax returns filed declined 87% from about 73,100 filed for decedents dying in 2003 to about 9,400 filed for decedents dying in 2012. This is due to the...
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