Author: Leon Clinton

Tax

June Tax Calendar

June 1: Hurricane season starts today. After the devastating tornadoes so far this year, residents in potential hurricane paths know they need to be prepared, both for the potential storms and the subsequent financial chaos they can cause. And if you do suffer storm losses, the IRS might be able to help you recover.

June 6: Welcome to summer.  Get your home in energy efficient shape and save some tax dollars, too. And don’t forget about possible state-level tax benefits. They could help you get a double helping of energy tax savings.

June 10: Does your job include tips? If so and you received $20 in tips in May, use Form 4070 to report them today to your employer. 

June 14: Happy Flag Day. If you need to buy a banner to fly today, you might also get a tax break. Several states exempt the Stars and Stripes from sales tax. Check with your state’s tax department to see if you can save on your patriotic display. 

June 15: If you’re not paying your 2011 income tax through withholding, or will not pay enough tax during the year that way, your second installment of this year’s estimated tax payment is due today.

Also on June 15, if you’re a U.S. citizen or resident alien living and working outside the country or Puerto Rico or are on military duty abroad, today is your deadline to file Form 1040 and pay any tax, interest and penalties due. You can file for an extension, Form 4868, to give you until Oct. 17.

June 19: Happy Father’s Day!
Dad might not say so, but he appreciates being recognized, so take time today to let him know you care. If you also show your affection by providing for the bulk of dad’s living expenses (or mom’s, too, for that matter), be sure you claim him, her or both of them as dependents on your tax return.

June 25: Are you a June bride or bridegroom? Since the withholding rates are different for couples, both newlywed wives and husbands should file new W-4 forms at work to reflect their now-married tax status. Also, if the new missus changed her name, she needs to contact the Social Security Administration to make sure her tax ID number matches her new moniker. These tasks are just a couple of ways that marriage affects your taxes.

June 30: The year’s half over. 
It’s time to get rid of stuff you don’t need and give still usable items to your favorite charity.

Accounting Tax Technology

Paperless Tax Workpapers

Today I attended a webinar hosted by Sureprep – the developer of a fantastic paperless tax workpaper software. The software is available in various versions, including 1040SCAN PRO, 1040SCAN ORGANIZE, 1040SCAN TRADES & SPBINDER (with 1040SCAN PRO being the most featured packed).

From their website (www.sureprep.com):

1040SCAN PRO is the most advanced OCR solution in the tax and accounting industry. 1040SCAN PRO automatically recognizes and transfers data from W-2s, 1099s, 1098s, K-1s, Organizer Pages, hundreds of Brokerage Statements and thousands of other document types into your tax software, significantly reducing the time spent preparing and reviewing 1040 and 1041 tax returns.

The version that I found to be the most applicable and have decided to be the focus of this post is SPbinder.

SPbinder is an electronic binder and workflow system that will drastically reduce the time you spend organizing your workpapers and the reduce the time you spend reviewing tax returns; making your tax season more profitable and less hectic than ever before.

SPbinder is a web based system that allows you to add your scanned tax workpapers (W2s, 1099s, organizer pages, etc.) to a client specific electronic binder then simply drag and drop them into an appropriate bookmarked section, making navigation and standardization a breeze. While working on your clients tax return you can utilize a comprehensive list of stamps, tick marks, sticky notes, communication notes, preparer and reviewer sign-offs and many other annotation tools. Once the tax return is finalized, the completely bookmarked and annotated electronic tax binder can be printed to PDF for document storage purposes.

SPbinder, as well as the 1040SCAN products are compatible with the following tax programs: GoSystem RS, ProSystem fx, Global fx, Lacerte and UltraTax.

Seeing this product in action (via the webinar) was very impressive. One of the features that I was most impressed by was the integration of MS Excel. The program allows you to add an excel worksheet (yes, the actual individual sheet and not an entire Excel workbook) to a clients electronic folder. Not only that but Sureprep adds full markup and cross-reference functionality to the documents in the electronic binder.

The focus of the webinar was the ease of use and time saving benefit of using the Sureprep software when compared to Adobe Acrobat. Sureprep makes the addition and organization of documents to your electronic file seamless and easy via familiar functionality like drag n drop. The user interface appears intuitive, making the learning curve minimal.

Currently, I am awaiting a call back from Sureprep to discuss their pricing structure.

For more information go to http://sureprep.com

Tax

Finding a Tax Consultant for Small Businesses

Finding a tax consultant can sometimes be a difficult process if you have not had to engage an tax consultant previously. Many small and new businesses make the mistake of completing their own tax returns in the early years. Often a Tax consultant can save tax in areas that individuals would not be aware of — this is money well spent.

There are few things more stressful than not having a good grasp on your finances and feeling unable to approach your tax consultant. So its important to get a good one; here are some tips on choosing an tax consultant for your business:

1) Try and choose a tax consultant before you start your business as they will be able to add value at the early stage.

2) Don’t accept a bad service from your tax consultant. You deserve better. If you change tax consultants your new tax consultant will deal with the handover so if you are getting bad advice or service then change.

3) Ensure your tax consultant works with small business clients and has experience in various sectors.

4) Ask what other services the tax consultant provide – do they provide business advice, can they do accountancy or have they contacts to help grow your business? 

5) Get a fixed fee, paid monthly with unlimited telephone support so you won’t be afraid to call them when you need to them. 

6) Go with your gut feeling, if you don’t think you will be able to get on with the tax consultant after the initial meeting then you probably won’t.

7) Ask for testimonials. A good tax consultant won’t mind if you talk to other clients. 

8)  Make sure your tax consultant keeps in regular contact with your business – not just at year end! They can hep and advise on capital purchases throughout the year.

9) Sometimes its best to have an tax consultant who has a smaller practice as they understand what it’s like running a small business also they won’t be tempted to pass your work onto the junior staff. 

10) Make sure your tax consultant is fully qualified, for example as a Certified Public Accountant (i.e. CPA). Ask them what qualification they hold and check with the qualifying body.

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