Southbay San Diego Accounting

How many of you are receiving your Social Security benefits? Did you know that Social Security benefits can be taxed as income to you? For many years, the Federal Government has had the ability of taxing part of your Social Security income. If you have substantial other income such as wages, self-employment, interest, dividends and other taxable income in addition to your Social Security benefits you could end up paying tax on as much as 85% of your Social Security income. Do...n’t panic, you can alleviate some of this sting by having a little more withheld from your wages or paying estimated taxes or by having the retirement fund withhold Federal income tax from the your distributions. You still pay the tax owed, but having it taken out a little over time, reduces the bite at the end of the year. The good news is that most States do not tax Social Security benefits, at least for now. Ever receive one of those envelopes in your mail box with a return address Internal Revenue Service, AKA the IRS? I have, not only for myself but for clients. My anxiety level soars upon receipt of that envelope. It’s, Oh no! What do they want now? Well don’t panic. The IRS sends millions of such notices every year and yes they do seem to mostly want more of our hard earned dollars. When that happens, sit down, calm down, open the envelope and read what it says. The next thing you should do is call me. Let me know you have received a Notice and need help in responding to it. Send me a copy of the Notice so that I can read it and assist you more effectively in resolving the issue. It could be as simple an issue as the IRS is requesting more information, sometimes, they are informing you that your refund is more than you thought it would be. Those are the easy outcomes. Other Notices announce you owe more money and I can help in dealing with that situation. Remember, when you receive a Notice from either the IRS or the FTB, you are not alone and I am here to help. Finally, if you are one of those clients who had to file an extension this year, don’t wait until the week before October 15th to deal with the problem. Gather the missing information and get it to me as soon as possible. If you have any questions on where we are in the filing process give me a call. As always, if you have any question on these topics or any other tax/financial issue, please call me, I’m here to help.

Well, tax season is over and I for one am glad. I want to thank everyone for allowing me to provide tax preparation services to you. I deeply appreciate the trust you gave me to handle this important aspect of life. There are several of you which required extending the time to file their tax returns. I urge you to gather the missing information needed and get it to me as soon as possible so that we can file your return as soon as possible. There is no need to wait until the l...Continue reading

We are now under a month and a half before April 15th when tax returns are due for individuals and under two weeks for business tax returns which are due March 15th. If you have not provided me with your tax documentation, you need to do so soon. On average a single tax return takes from 3-5 days to prepare depending on the number of questions needing answers, so please plan accordingly if you intend to use my services this year. I ask that you let me know if you do intend to... use my services so I can be prepared. There has been some controversy in the news lately about refunds being less than last year. Most of the news stories have taken a decidedly dark view on why these refunds are less and are blaming the new tax law passed last year. This is not quite the truth of the matter. In February 2018, the IRS published new tax withholding tables to reflect the lower tax rates from the new law. Since most employers utilize an outside payroll service such as ADP, these services updated their payroll software with the new withholding rates. Thus in February, you should have seen an increase in Net Pay and a decrease in the amount of Federal tax being withheld. This process naturally reduces any refund amount simply because you owe less tax and because less tax was withheld from your paychecks. If you expect to have a big refund each year, you can submit a new W-4 showing fewer allowances claimed and/or by having more tax withheld. By doing this, you will increase the amount being withheld from your paycheck and will most likely see a refund the following year. The downside of doing this is you also receive less take home pay, so be cautious if you decide to change your W-4 and make sure you are bringing home enough Net Pay to cover your expenses. For those clients who have sent their tax documents early, you have already filed your tax return electronically or will do so in the next few days. I thank you for your patronage of my services. Have a good March and remember, Spring starts March 20th. Thanks! See more

This month’s subject is Record Keeping. What do you need to do as taxpayers to ensure your tax returns are accurate and timely? As we head into the 2018 Tax Filing Season, all of you will be scrambling around trying to find that one document you need to prove you either purchased an asset or sold one. In many cases, the IRS has required those who sell you assets to provide certain documents for your records. Most of these forms are familiar to you, they are designated as th...e W-2 or the 1099-MISC form. In addition, especially if you have a home mortgage, your mortgage holder will send you a Form 1098 showing how much you paid in mortgage interest, property taxes and insurance. There are many other form variants on those three which cover other aspects of income or expense. These forms are required to be mailed to you no later than January 31st, though you may receive them earlier than that. Of course, now that you have all this paperwork, where do you keep it. If you are like me and live in a small Condo unit, storage space is at a premium and the last thing you want to do is fill up what storage you have with paperwork for taxes. I solve my problem by using a scanner to scan all documents which have some tax implication to them. By creating a PDF file of these documents, you take up very little storage space on your computer’s hard drive (you can also use an offline device like a plug in hard drive or perhaps one of those USB thumb drives) and you can then properly dispose of the paper (i.e., by shredding). If you provide me with hard copy paper documents, I also scan them into a PDF File and then either return them to you or shred them as appropriate. I’ve attached a short brochure of IRS Recordkeeping Requirements for your enlightenment. Of course, if you have any questions about recordkeeping or any other tax issue during this tax season, you are welcome to call me with the question. Of course, if you have any questions about recordkeeping or any other tax issue during this tax season, you are welcome to call me with the question. See more

As the end of the year approaches it's time to start thinking about our next Tax Season which begins January 1st. You should use a checklist as you gather the tax documents you need. Contact me at [email protected] for a free checklist. One thing to keep in mind from last year are the changes in your tax situation which have occurred. Did you get married? Divorced? Birth of a child? Death in the family? Have you changed jobs? Have you moved? Did you sell the house? Di...d you purchase a house? Did you start or stop a business? The following lists are those items which you need to provide to prepare your tax returns: Personal 1. W-2's 2. 1099's (These will be received from various sources like banks, governments, investment companies, etc.) 3. 1095's (These are the forms showing you had health insurance during the year) 4. Receipts from Charitable organizations you donated cash, goods, services to 5. Documentation of Sales Taxes paid, especially if you purchased a new vehicle 6. Copy of property tax bill 7. Copy of vehicle registration bill or registration showing the amount of the fee 8. Child Care receipts 9. Copies of medical bills 10. Any other documentation which has a bearing on taxes Business If you own a business, such as a sole proprietorship, LLC, C Corp, Non-Profit, you should prepare and provide the following: 1. Balance Sheet 2. Profit & Loss Statement (P&L) 3. Listing of all fixed assets to include: date of purchase, total amount of purchase, date of sale/disposal, total amount of sales price 4. Detailed listing of all business expense categories 5. Shares authorized; shares outstanding; number of shareholders 6. Mileage record 7. Vehicle usage: Total miles driven; total miles business; total miles personal 8. Home office expenses: a. Total square footage of house b. Total square footage of space used for business c. Copies of all utility bills d. Copy of the home insurance premium page e. Copies of any repair bill 9. Any other documentation which has a bearing on taxes Most of the documentation is due to you no later than January 31st, so you should provide to your tax preparer when you receive them. Business tax returns are due March 15, 2019. This includes LLC, S-Corps, C-Corps, Partnerships. It is vital that you get your tax preparer the business's documentation as soon as possible after January 1st as you can put it together. Personal tax returns are due April 15, 2019. Please have all the documentation to your tax preparer no later than February 15, 2019. If you have any questions concerning the upcoming tax season, please contact me via my email [email protected]. Please include a phone number to call and set up an appointment.

Here we are at the end of October with just two months left in the year. Before we know it Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s will be over and the new year begins with worrying about taxes. 2018 has seen a lot of changes occur, one of the biggest was the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act which has greatly affected everyone. In the next two months you can do some things which can ease the anxiety over the forthcoming tax season. If you are operating a business, you shou...ld have been keeping track of your business revenues & expenses throughout the year, but if you haven’t the next two months is a good time to put those documents together. This one act will save business owners a lot of time and effort come the time to prepare your 2018 tax returns. Others may be looking to reduce their personal taxes and the next two months present a good opportunity to do so. If you have received your assessed property tax bills, you can prepay the 2019 installment and claim that deduction for 2018. Be careful here as the cap of $10,000 is in effect and you want to stay below that cap if possible. Another way to reduce your taxes is by making charitable contributions to qualified charities. Contact me if you have any tax questions or need tax issues resolved.

April 17th is fast approaching. If you have not filed your tax return for 2017 yet, you need to get started. If you need assistance in filing, please contact me.

Individual Shared Responsibility Provision In 2017, each individual taxpayer must still carry the required "minimum essential coverage" each month, qualify for an exemption, or pay mandatory taxes. The minimum amount of insurance coverage you must carry is calculated per family member and then added together. The fee for not having health insurance is the higher between 2.5% of household income or $695 per adult... ($347.50 per child under 18, with a maximum of $2085 per family). See more

Question: Can I receive a tax refund if I am currently making payments under an installment agreement or payment plan for another federal tax period? Answer: No, one of the conditions of your installment agreement is that any refund due to you, the IRS will automatically apply against taxes you owe. Because your refund isn't applied toward your regular monthly payment, continue making your installment agreement payments as scheduled. If your refund exceeds your total balance... due on all outstanding liabilities including accruals, and you don't owe certain past-due amounts, such as federal tax, state tax, a student loan, or child support, you'll receive a refund of the amount over and above what you owe. If you have not filed your tax returns for 2017 yet, call for an appointment @ 619-341-9254.

In the next few days, everyone should be getting their W-2's, 1099's and other government tax forms. Now is the time to start putting together the information needed to prepare those tax returns. If you feel a bit lost in navigating the twisting road of tax law, call me. I'm here to help you get the best tax deal possible. Call me for an appointment.

National Small Business Week is April 30th thru May 6th. It's a great time to support your local small businesses. For all your accounting and tax needs contact me at the Southbay San Diego Accounting Service, phone number 619-341-9254 or by email at [email protected].

Now that Tax Day has passed, if you still haven't filed your 2016 Tax Returns, it's not too late. You can still file, although with a penalty imposed. The good thing is the sooner you file, the lower the penalty. If you find yourself in this situation, call me at 619-341-9254 and we'll get you right with the IRS.

This year April 15th falls on a Saturday, that gives everyone two whole days to put off filing their tax returns. But why wait for the last minute? If you think you have a tax refund coming, it's better to file now than wait two more weeks. Call me to schedule an appointment at 619-341-9254.