Top Accounting Tips for Businesses This Tax Season

Tax season is here and it’s important that you and your business are prepared well before the deadlines. We wrangled the Accounting Troops and asked our small business accountants that they provide us with some useful tax filing tips to ensure you get the best return possible.

General Tips: – Always itemize your deductions if you exceed the standard deduction threshold. – Review the tax documents you gave to your tax preparer last year to ensure nothing is missing from your current year documents. – Inform your tax preparer of major changes from last year that may affect your tax return. Changes include moving, new dependent, marriage/divorce, new job etc.

Refund/Balance Due Advice: – Always remember to e-file and setup direct deposit for a quicker refund. – File early for a quicker refund. – Use Direct Withdrawal if you owe taxes. You can file your return at any time and the funds will not be withdrawn until April 15th.

Penalties: – Always file on time regardless of your ability to pay tax liabilities. This will avoid the automatic failure-to-file penalty. – Be sure to determine your estimated taxes that are due for the current year in order to avoid estimated tax penalties.

Retirement: – Contribute the maximum amount on your 401k to reduce your tax liability. – Make contributions to a regular or Roth IRA by April 15th. The upper limit to put in is $5,000 ($6,000 if you are 50 or older), and you must have earned income at least equal to the contribution. Regular IRA contributions are usually tax-deductible, but withdrawals are taxable. Roth account contributions aren’t deductible, while withdrawals are usually tax-free. Income and other limits apply for both. Taxpayers stymied by the limits can do a -backdoor- Roth IRA: put up to $5,000 ($6,000, 50 or older) in a -nondeductible- regular IRA, and then convert it to a Roth account soon after. Income taxes are due on the conversion, but they will be minimal because the account won’t have earned much. – Filing an extension also provides self-employed taxpayers an extra six-months (until October 15th) to fund a SEP-IRA or SIMPLE IRA.

Medical: – Medical deductions need to exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income to be deductible on Schedule A (if you qualify). – Contribute to health savings accounts. You may deduct up to $6,250 per family ($3,100 single) for a health savings account if you had an approved -high-deductible- health plan linked to the health-savings account. The contributions may be made until April 15th.

Real Estate: – Remember to deduct your personal real estate taxes and mortgage interest on Schedule A. – If you refinanced your mortgage, be sure to properly deduct the points paid if any. – Points paid when you refinance may be able to be amortized and deducted over the life of the loan.

Charitable Gifts: – Employees who donate to charities via payroll deduction often forget to include the donations on their personal tax returns. The number isn’t on the W-2 form, and often there is no letter from the charity. – Donors may not deduct their labor or time, but they may deduct mileage or uniforms. For 2012 the allowance is 14 cents a mile. Board members or certain others may also deduct unreimbursed expenses for attending a conference.

Important Dates: – Feb 28th: File information returns, including Forms 1098, 1099, W-2G and form W-3 with Copy A for payments made during 2012. – March 15th: S Corporation tax returns and tax payments are due. – Remember April 15th is when Individual and Partnership tax returns and tax payments are due. Only tax returns can receive a six-month extension, not tax payments.

If you have any other tax related questions, we at Presti and Naegele are at your disposal.

About the author: Here at Presti and Naegele we offer tax services for both businesses and individuals. Investing in tax preparation services and income tax services in this period of the year can become profitable for both companies and individual taxpayers. If you have any tax accounting related questions, our staff is available on phone or via email (www.prestinaegele.com/contact) and if you decide to visit us in person, you are welcomed in our offices in Manhattan, Long Island and Philadelphia.

Payroll Accounting Professionals – How They Can Be Helpful For Your Business

These days, a number of organizations are switching to Payroll Accounting Professionals. This is no more a new phenomenon at all, as these professionals are very helpful in fostering the net income of the organizations by eradicating all their payroll irregularities and errors. With their expertise, the Payroll Accounting Professionals tactfully manage all the payroll-related tasks salaries, wages, bonuses, deductions, taxes and more in a timely and error-free manner, increasing the morale of the employees.

Payroll Accounting Professionals: To Hire Or Not To Hire
Though several organizations are into the idea that they cant afford them, the truth is they just cant afford not to take their services. No matter if you have your regular staff to keep a track of your accounts, hiring the professionals will simply make your organization more efficient and stable in the long run. At the end, isnt it important that all your profit and loss margins are managed by the professional minds? This is where the Payroll Accounting Professionals become crucial to an organizations sustenance!

The Payroll Accounting Professionals hold discussions with the organizations, understand their business and then utilize the most suitable techniques to uphold their financial base. All the reports regarding revenue and expenditure are maintained in a very strategic manner.

Advantages Related To Payroll Accounting Professionals
The Payroll Accounting Professionals are highly qualified people. They are substantially aware of all the complexities of accounting whether it is regarding tax or payroll. They keep themselves aware of the latest changes in business laws and regulations which might not be possible with the usual staff of the organization. A thorough understanding of tax services is paramount for the organization to function in a well-organized manner. The Accounting Professionals will make your task easier by guiding you how to utilize the tax exemptions for your benefits. All the financial issues regarding salary payments, increments, tax deductions, etc. are efficiently managed by the Payroll Accounting Professionals. Payroll is subjected to laws and regulations and hence, it becomes crucial for the organization to seek the professional assistance.

Given all the above mentioned aspects, no doubt the organizations are outsourcing the Payroll Management Services along with other Accounting Services. This has earned fruitful results too as the organizations can better utilize their time in elsewhere rather than spending it on bookkeeping. There are a number of Independent Accounting Firms whom you can contact to get the most effective professional assistance for your organization. You are only required to make a one-time online research and then see your business reaching the horizons of success.

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Choosing a competitive Naperville accounting firm!

The services of the Naperville accounting firm will include a lot of things. This means bookkeeping, taxation and also the auditing work. But while you are choosing one such for your business you need to be careful.

The accounting concepts are very difficult to understand by most of the people and therefore you have to see that you choose a professional for the same. Only when you choose an accounting professional you will be assured of the rightly maintained books of accounts. There are many other concepts too which you will always have to pay attention to. This is because just when you do so you will be able to get the right companies who can help you out with the same. Companies who are a pro in this they will be able to handle all these different aspects for your company also. They will carry out all these functions properly and they will also help in computing the right taxation amount also.

The first thing which you will notice is that they will perform all the many financial roles of the business. If you are a business man then it is recommended that you choose these accounting professionals because they possess all the necessary skills for performing all the work. With this you will see that they will also help you in planning the finances of the business too. Planning makes things easier and therefore you will see that choosing one such professional will also help you.

Though tax returns will not be their responsibility always but then there are a few such Naperville accounting firm who will also help you in this too. It is a known fact that paying taxes is very important for every business. Hence you will also have to see that you come across a professional who computes this for you. Hiring the Naperville accounting firm will also help you in this as they have skilled experts who can help you in this. Therefore see to it that what you get along with such firms so that they can be helpful for you.

There are many different resources which will help you in this but then you have to see that you choose to get along with only those which are reliable. This is because only those who are good enough and have been in the market for over long time can tell you what exactly you need to look at. With this you may get the right results.

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Identify the Right Small Business Accounting Agency by Answering These Queries

Any small business owner in Miami knows it’s hard to overcome the hurdle of running a company’s finances. Is there any hope for a small business to stay afloat, what with all the intense record-keeping and heaps of paperwork that need to be done daily? Fortunately, there are a variety of Miami accounting agencies that can aid a small venture ride the tide of paperwork and sail on to success.

As your company grows, the necessity for an accountant becomes unavoidable. Computing that was once effortless with a calculator and filling out columns in spread sheets that had been so straightforward will become more complex as you begin to employ staff, increase expenses, and gain more customers. A first-rate accountant can help you thresh out every aspect of your money, and balance your books. Here are some queries you need to think about before you hire the assistance of an accounting firm.

Does the Accounting Firm Have Extensive Experience?

Experience doesn’t essentially point to the number of years the firm has been operating but to their understanding and knowledge of your specific field. The agency should know your office thoroughly and present you with appropriate monetary advice. They also need to have considerable knowledge of federal finance regulations and government taxes to successfully handle your accounting books.

Can They Help You Save Money?

When you hire the services of an accounting agency, they should be able to advise you on your monetary choices to help your company maximize resources and reduce expenses. In Addition, an accounting company does away the need for a dedicated accounting staff and costly accounting software. This gives you big savings in the long run.

Are They Uncomplicated to Work With?

The business affiliation between your accountant and you is upheld byconfidence and trust. Seek out bookkeeping services in Miami to whom you can entrust with managing your financial records, can take note of your issues and supply solutions to your problems. The agency must be your ally on monetary matters.

Do They Have Client Feedback?

If a Florida accounting firm has reviews from other clients on its website, it’ll help to speak to these offices to inquire about the professionalism of the company.Knowing their experiences will help you come with more well-versed decisions and pick the accounting firm that can best handle your record keeping necessities.

Hiring an external accounting Miami company should result to improved in-house efficiency since time spent on managing your books can be used on other crucial business matters. Read more about small business accounting from sbinformation.about.com.

Accounting Clerk Job And Training Overview

Accounting clerks are also known as bookkeeper, finance clerks or accounting technicians and they exist in almost all types of organizations (some very small businesses tends to do the job on their own). They are in charge of the financial records, statements, tracking assets and liabilities, and overlook financial transactions of the company and as most businesses are already computerized nowadays, they make use of tools such as accounting software, databases and spreadsheets for performing their tasks. But of course traditional accounting skills will still be necessary as they cant just rely on technology.

Their duty includes:
Arrange payments, receive invoices and record transactions (cash, check or vouchers)
Prepare invoice reports and communicate with representatives (such as debtors)
Confirm and approve loans (by the employees or by the company)
Take charge of wages and salaries
Provides financial reports and accounting summaries (balance sheets, income statements, etc.)
Oversee expenditures and earnings
oArrange purchases

Aside from working for a business, some accounting clerks may also work for accounting firms and may have to do some client visits to get the job done. In May 2012, the median pay for accounting clerks were about $35k per annum or $16 per hour. According to the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, “Employment of bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks is projected to grow 11 percent from 2012 to 2022, about as fast as the average for all occupations. As the number of organizations increases and financial regulations become stricter, there will be greater demand for these workers to maintain books and provide accounting services.”

Some accounting clerks have learned their skills while on the job and only having a high school diploma but most employers nowadays prefer applicants with post secondary education relevant to the field (such as accounting). They have the option to attend classroom training or online training programs to be able to work in this field (may take about 6 months). People who has qualities such as good computer skills, has a keen eye on details, has math skills and good thinking analysis can definitely find success in this field and they are usually employed in organizations such as:
Accounting firm (accounting, tax and salary preparation, and bookkeeping services providers)
Businesses and organizations with an accounting department or professional
Government units and academic institutions

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