Personal Property Taxes

wittenbergcpa — Wed, 16 May 2012 18:06:18 +0000

What exactly are they? This may be one of the most confusing names for a type of business tax, but if you were to substitute the word “tangible” for “personal” property, most business owners would understand exactly what is meant. Personal (tangible) property taxes are taxes assessed on the tangible or movable property (e.g. equipment and furniture) of the business. Most businesses are subject to this type of tax, with a few exceptions, and the mechanism for the tax assessment is for the counties of Washington State to send out “personal property tax affidavits”, which essentially request that the business owner/manager list the personal (tangible) property of the business, from which the county then assesses a tax, at the local county’s real property tax rate, on an annual basis. If you are a business owner/manager and haven’t heard of this type of tax yet, you can go to the following link to read more about the rules, and/or you can also contact us, and we’ll help you to understand them, and to get into compliance with them.

Social Security Benefits

wittenbergcpa — Wed, 02 May 2012 21:02:38 +0000

If you are at, or nearing, retirement age, and considering when to start drawing your social security benefits, consider that usually it’s best to wait until “full” retirement age, which is typically between 65 and 67, depending on your birth date, rather than beginning to draw your benefits early, which is typically between 62 and 65 years of age – read more. There are a couple of reasons to hold off on receiving your benefits, but the primary reason is that you will likely end up receiving more in total benefits, if you wait until full retirement age, since you are paid considerably more per month under this scenario. Additionally, due to the fact that any earned income that you currently receive, from wages or a self employment activity, may restrict the amount of social security benefits you are eligible to receive, prior to full retirement age. Finally, since social security may be taxable income to you, depending on your overall taxable income, you may have less of an associated tax burden if you wait until later in life to receive your benefits, considering that most taxpayers receive less overall income later in life. Of course the good news, if you are at or near retirement age, is that you will be receiving your social security benefits, however in order to optimize your benefits, and minimize the associated tax cost, please contact us to discuss your specific circumstances!

Business Accounting Services

wittenbergcpa — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 21:49:02 +0000

As a CPA firm, providing accounting services to small to mid-sized companies in varying fields, we offer everything from one time consulting engagements, in support of our client’s accountant or bookkeeper, to full charge accounting services, where we maintain our client’s accounting, prepare payroll, as well as all of the required excise and payroll tax reports. But why hire a CPA firm like ours, when a company owner is doing his/her best to manage limited funds? It’s because our firm can give an owner confidence that the accounting and compliance aspects of their company are in good order, by either acting in a consulting role to assist the company’s accountant or bookkeeper, or by actually providing the accounting, payroll, and reporting services for the company, so that the owner can focus on the business operations of the company, instead of worrying about whether the company is in compliance with the myriad of reporting responsibilities, which can bog a company down, or worse, if not done properly. Additionally, when we review a company’s accounting, we make sure that the company’s accounting system is adjusted properly, so it reflects the company’s current financial position and operations. With access to the company’s fully adjusted and current financial information, the owner can adequately evaluate the company’s performance, and it can also be accessed by a potential third party user, such as a bank, for loan qualification. Please refer to our client’s testimonials to review what some of our business clients are saying about us.

CPA Firms versus the Alternatives

wittenbergcpa — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 20:44:36 +0000

We often have the opportunity to explain to potential clients what it means to hire a CPA firm like ours, versus hiring a bookkeeping or a tax preparation only office, especially since our fees can be higher on average, relative to these other services. Probably the most significant benefit of hiring a firm like ours is the education and experience levels that we can offer you and your company, inherent in the services we provide. Whereas anyone can put out their “shingle” advertising bookkeeping and/or income tax preparation services, CPA firms are held to a much higher standard of education, knowledge and ethics. As a CPA, I am required to have a college degree in accounting, and I’m also required to update my education, for a minimum of 40 hours of continuing education on an annual basis, in the fields of accounting, tax law, business and personal financial planning, and other related studies. Unfortunately the nationally syndicated companies advertise their income tax preparation services, as offered by “professionals”, when in reality the returns are prepared by individuals with minimal training and experience, in a mass production type of atmosphere, without requiring these same standards or ethics, and potentially at your peril. Please contact us if we can assist you, and/or your company with accounting, business start up, income or business tax preparation, or any of the other services we provide.

Tax Return Extension Requests

wittenbergcpa — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 00:50:31 +0000

With the month of March winding down, and the individual tax filing deadline of 4/17/12 rapidly approaching, it may be time for you to consider an extension request, to allow you some additional time to file your individual income tax return. The request for additional time is made with a Form 4868 filing, Application for Automatic Extension of Time, which must be completed and remitted to the IRS by the initial filing deadline of 4/17/12. The process is fairly straightforward, and will allow you up to 6 months of additional time to file your individual tax return, up to 10/15/12. The most important step in preparing an extension request is to make sure you won’t owe any income taxes when you do file your return later on. However, if you are projecting that you will likely owe taxes when you file, you can make an extension payment, either by check, which should be mailed along with your extension request, or by direct debit from your bank account, if you provide the IRS with your banking information and the amount you would like to be paid in on 4/17/12. Not only will the extension request provide you with additional time to complete and remit your tax return, it will allow you peace of mind, so you aren’t later subjected to a late filing penalty. Please contact our office if we can help you with an extension request.

Payroll Service

wittenbergcpa — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 00:49:31 +0000

If you are a business owner and have employees, there are a myriad of options for payroll service nowadays, the only problem is that many of the options are substandard. Certainly one option is to prepare your own payroll, by purchasing Intuit’s payroll service, or something similar, however not only will it cost you around $300 for their ‘basic” service on an annual basis, you are still left to prepare your company’s payroll, which not only takes time, it requires an understanding of the payroll rules and laws. Another option is to contract with a payroll service provider, such as Paychex or ADP, to prepare your company’s payroll, but not only is this type of service expensive, these larger payroll providers are lacking in customer service, so you’ll feel like you are on your own if a question or need arises, which often is the case. Of course, our biased opinion is that our firm can provide your company with the quality payroll service that your company deserves, and at reasonable rates. Please contact us and we’ll explain how, and give you a quote for payroll, and any other accounting service that your company needs.

Refinancing your Residential or Commercial Loan

wittenbergcpa — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 00:33:38 +0000

If you haven’t recently considered a refinance of the loan on your home, 2^nd home or commercial property, now is still a good time. Rates and loan fees are historically still quite low, and banks at least say they have money to lend, so maybe it’s a good time to find out! Generally speaking if you can save at least one point (percent), relative to your existing loan rate, then the cost and hassle factor of refinancing are probably worth it. Probably the best approach is to go to your existing lender and ask them what they are currently offering, since not only do they currently have your loan, you can often avoid an appraisal, and save on some of the other fees as well. Of course even if your existing lender offers to refinance or restructure your existing loan, you should find out in advance what other lenders are offering, so you know exactly what kind of deal you can make in advance. Use of a loan calculator is a great tool for helping you compare the loan terms of your current loan, with that of a proposed new loan. As always, please contact us if there is anything we can do to assist you in the process.

Education Costs – Income Tax Benefits

wittenbergcpa — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 23:48:55 +0000

Generally speaking, “qualifying education costs” are eligible for either a credit or a deduction on the tax return that the student is claimed on. So whether the student is claiming his or her self, or is being claimed on a parent’s tax return, which is allowable until the student reaches the age of 24, the student can claim either the American Opportunity credit, or the Lifetime Learning credit. If the parent claiming the dependent student has too high of income to be eligible for one of these credits, then a deduction may be allowed instead. Qualifying education costs consist primarily of tuition and fees, however it also includes other specific education related expenses as well – read more. The main thing is that the student and his or her parents take the time to consider which return the student, and associated credit or deduction, should be claimed on, in order to optimize the overall tax benefit. Far too often the student, or sometimes the parent, is in such a rush to obtain a refund of taxes that they file their tax return without considering the significant tax benefits that can be obtained from reporting the student’s education costs properly. Please contact us if you have any questions!

Reminders and Updates

wittenbergcpa — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 02:18:18 +0000

Reminders – if you are a business owner that pays service providers, a landlord and certain professionals, remember to review the requirements for Form 1099 reporting, to see if they apply to you or your company – the filing deadline is today, 2/29/12. Of course the best way to stay in compliance is to require those you do business with during the year to complete a Form W-9, so you are ready to issue your Form 1099’s when next year rolls around. Updates – the local City of Shelton and Mason County sales tax rates are increasing by one tenth of one percent on April 1, 2012, so the combined sales tax rate will be 8.6 % in the city, whereas the county’s combined sales tax rate will be 8.5%. Also, for those using their vehicles in their business, the 2012 IRS business mileage rate is 55.5 cents per mile, so if you are a business owner and use the mileage rate method to account for your vehicle use, or if you are an employee and are eligible to be reimbursed for mileage at the IRS sanctioned rate of reimbursement, this is the current mileage rate cap.

Payroll Tax and Unemployment Benefit Extensions

wittenbergcpa — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 02:01:55 +0000

Good news for those who are employed, as well as for those who are unemployed. Those who are employed will see a continuation of the payroll tax “holiday”, so that through the end of 2012 the FICA rate will remain 4.2% on wages earned, as compared to the typical rate of 6.2%. For those who are unemployed the Federal government will fund unemployment benefits for those states that can’t pay for a continuation of unemployment benefits, so that states can continue to provide benefits for the long term unemployed – read more. Of course the best news of all is that more jobs are being added to our national economy, and according to most economists the trend, albeit at a slow pace, should continue as we move through the year – read more.