Forms, Schedules and Worksheets - A very special offer for tax professionals, a taxguy review.

            From the desk of Robert D. Flach of TAXPRO SERVICES CORPORATION and ROBERT D. FLACH, LLC tax preparers are given a great offer. Robert is also THE WANDERING TAX PRO.

 

            If you are not a professional tax preparer I say so what, you’ll find the majority of these very useful to you as well.

 

            All professional preparers have forms and worksheets we use for various reasons. What store did you buy yours from? Mine are a mix from Greatland and the NATP store. I have a few of my own and have been working on my own client questionnaire for a few years now. Still mine has many bugs to fix as it has far too many pages.

 

            What Robert has created here is more.

            Robert has these forms, schedules and worksheets designed wonderfully for their purposes.

            The Cell phone log is perfect for taxpayers to log the cost of their business use of their phone. I don’t know about you but I have several clients that send me the years bills and pay to have me sort this out. With the cell phone log, they won’t be paying me for an hour or two, as they’ll have the expense at hand and all I will need to enter the amount. They have a reference form in case of an audit.

            Ever need to add a supplement to Schedule A? In this collection there is one made out perfectly.

            The Medical Expense Worksheet has lines for insurance premiums, long-term care insurance, doctors, dentist, therapist, nurses, hospital bills, Lab Test, prescription and just everything that sure you could run across including breakdowns of your mileages and other medical traveling expenses.

            The Charitable Contribution Listing worksheet is exactly what taxpayers need to document their donation/s. Including instructions as to what is and what isn’t deductable. As there are several types of deductions, there are several types of worksheet for taxpayers to use in this package.

            Do you have continuing education expenses? Do you file Schedule C? Need a mileage log? A business travel record? What about an employee time card? Do you need or have a comprehensive worksheet for clients who have a home office? Need a worksheet to have cost basis lined up? Do you own rentals - A multi-family building? How well is your worksheet for figuring AMT?

            The point?

            Robert Flach has been preparing taxes for a great many years (over 35) and is very knowledgeable in his profession proven time and time again in the articles he writes for his blogs/websites as well as others including here. The TAX PROFESSIONAL FORMS, SCHEDULES  AND WORKSHEETS  that are being offered are a great resource for preparers and taxpayers alike.

 

            These documents are in MS Word format and thus cannot only be used as much as you need, but can be edited to best fit your practice and/or needs. I will be using several as is, and making slight changes several others. $5.00 is very gracious considering the time these will save everyone. Not to mention the time that was put into creating them. Every reader of TWTP needs a copy of these, even if just to check yourself and/or your practice.

Yes everyone. Robert advertises them for tax professionals, but it is my opinion those taxpayers who are busy doing their own will benefit as much as any tax preparer. 

For information to get yours now, go to A VERY SPECIAL OFFER FOR TAX PROFESSIONALS. The information for getting your copy is there.

Tags: benefit, client questionnaire, Deductions, Forms, Opinions, professional tax preparer, Review, special offer, tax preparers, tax professionals, taxpayers

            This is kind of a “passing the week . . .” post but first I wanted to put a collection of history tidbits and info out there for you. At the end or after you’ll find a links to a few post of interest.

 

The idea behind the term “Black Friday” is that this is the day in which retail stores have enough sales to put them “in the black” - an accounting expression that alludes to the practice of recording losses in red and profits in black.

 

So where did the term “Black Friday” come from?

 

In 1975 the shopping craze that followed Thanksgiving turned into Black Friday, in reference to the hectic crowds and horrendous traffic. Despite a slipping economy shoppers still came out in full force that year and caused several newspapers to call the day ‘Black Friday’, and thus the tradition began.

The earliest uses of “Black Friday” come from or reference Philadelphia and refer to the heavy traffic on that day, an implicit comparison to the extremely stressful and chaotic experience of Black Tuesday (the 1929 stock-market crash). The earliest known reference to “Black Friday” (in this sense), refers to Black Friday 1965 and makes the Philadelphia origin explicit:

JANUARY 1966 — “Black Friday” is the name which the Philadelphia Police Department has given to the Friday following Thanksgiving Day. It is not a term of endearment to them. “Black Friday” officially opens the Christmas shopping season in center city, and it usually brings massive traffic jams and over-crowded sidewalks as the downtown stores are mobbed from opening to closing.

The term Black Friday began to get wider exposure around 1975, as shown by two newspaper articles from November 29, 1975, both datelined from Philadelphia. The first reference is in an article entitled “Army vs. Navy: A Dimming Splendor,” in The New York Times:

“Philadelphia police and bus drivers call it “Black Friday” - that day each year between Thanksgiving Day and the Army-Navy game. It is the busiest shopping and traffic day of the year in the Bicentennial City as the Christmas list is checked off and the Eastern college football season nears conclusion.”

 

The derivation is also clear in an Associated Press article entitled “Folks on Buying Spree Despite Down Economy,” which ran in the Titusville Herald on the same day:

Store aisles were jammed. Escalators were nonstop people. It was the first day of the Christmas shopping season and despite the economy, folks here went on a buying spree. … “That’s why the bus drivers and cab drivers call today ‘Black Friday,’” a sales manager at Gimbels said as she watched a traffic cop trying to control a crowd of jaywalkers. “They think in terms of headaches it gives them.”

 

It is an Accounting practice:

 

            Look up in the red, in the black in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Many merchants objected to the use of a negative term to refer to one of the most important shopping days in the year. By the early 1980s, an alternative theory began to be circulated: that retailers traditionally operated at a financial loss for most of the year (January through November) and made their profit during the holiday season, beginning on the day after Thanksgiving. When this would be recorded in the financial records, once-common accounting practices would use red ink to show negative amounts and black ink to show positive amounts. Black Friday, under this theory, is the beginning of the period where retailers would no longer have losses (the red) and instead take in the year’s profits (the black). The earliest known use, found by Bonnie Taylor-Blake, is from 1981, and presents the “black ink” theory as one of several competing possibilities.

 

The day after Thanksgiving in the United States. Retailers generally see an upward spike in sales and consider this to be the start of the holiday shopping season.

 

 

Historically Black Fridays have never been good events. History has shown many ‘Black’ days, most with dire consequences.

 

1.      A day of stock market catastrophe. Originally, September 24, 1869, was deemed Black Friday. The crash was sparked by gold speculators, including Jay Gould and James Fist, who attempted to corner the gold market. The attempt failed and the gold market collapsed, causing the stock market to plummet.

2.      The term “black” has been used to describe other disastrous days in financial markets. For example, on Black Tuesday, October 29, 1929, the market fell precipitously, signaling the start of the Great Depression.

3.      Black Friday in January 1939 refers to Australia’s day of horrible and devastating fires.

4.      The largest one-day drop in stock market history occurred on Black Monday, October 19, 1987, when the Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted more than 22%.

 

So what happened this time around? With the economy the way it is many are concerned. Businesses wondering about their sales (many make 30% of their income during this month) and the rest wondering about the economy.

Well I am currently working for a Toy distributor (I even worked yesterday) and the rumor from the “big boss” is that their stores reported higher sales Friday than in past “Black Fridays”.

Early data show strong Black Friday

Shoppers, clerks say ‘Black Friday’ crowds seem lighter

Is Black Friday worth it?

 

 

taxguy has a few mentions this week (and I would like to point out, it is “taxguy” not Taxguy, or Tax Guy or whatever else has been put out just plain and simple, no caps one word taxguy. Why? The same reason I guess a parent names a child Elizabeth and demands people call her Elizabeth and not Lisa, or Beth.)

 

Issue #4: Dr. Tax-O-Sphere, Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Tax Code including pictures of your favorite tax bloggers.

Macho Macho tax blogs describes a site that shows you the chances in a blog (of a blog) if the author is male. As Joe points out it isn’t very accurate as it shows a few females bloggers ( including “Taxgirl”) as being “manly”. Although I question the overall findings, I found it interesting the score taxguy was given.

Friday inspiration: Facing an ugly reality and making changes. A mess I am in and trying to fix. An interview that I am now grateful I participated in and would encourage others to take part in this. The questions are pretty basic for everyone, if you can answer them, please respond to the request that is at the end of the post/interview.

And the Nominees for 2008 Twelve Blogs of Christmas are -

 

Okay enough about taxguy. . .

 

What the government should be doing during a recession

Tax Tips, Rates and Brackets for 2009 Returns

GREED IS THE WORD

Russia to Cut Corporate Taxes, Washington Dithers

 

Tags: black friday, economy, History, recession, retail stores, Review, stock market crash, Taxes, Week in review

Some points I think need thought about:

 

Many economists believe and are expecting that the financial crisis, the worst in seven decades, will produce the country’s worst recession since the 1981-1982 downturn.

 

The retail sales report showed that sales at general merchandise stores, the category that includes big chains such as Wal-Mart Stores, and other department stores, fell 0.4%, while sales at specialty clothing stores were down a bigger 1.4%.

 

Sales at furniture stores dropped 2.5%, with sales at appliance stores and sport goods stores also showing declines.

 

One of the few areas to show an increase was the category that includes restaurants and bars, which posted a small 0.3% gain.

 

‘09 is going to be a very bad year for economic activity and is starting to dawn on people and they are starting to digest just how bad it’s going to be.

 

The Commerce Department reported that retail sales plunged by the largest amount on record in October as consumers cut back on spending in the wake of the financial crisis.

 

Retail sales fell 2.8% last month, surpassing the old mark of a 2.65% drop in November 2001 in the wake of the terrorist attacks that year.

 

For the week, the Dow lost 4.99%, the S&P fell 6.20% and the NASDAQ tumbled 7.92%.

 

The major indexes have fallen dramatically since their highs of October 2007 as the housing and credit crises have taken their toll on the economy. The Dow is down 40% from its closing record of 14,164.53, while the S&P 500 is off 44.2% from its record close of 1,565.15. The NASDAQ is off 46.9% from its then 7 1/12-year high of 2,859.12.

 

Wall Street’s violent swings in recent weeks are part of the market’s ongoing “bottoming” process, analysts say, in which the market retests the lows hit last month. The market is expected to remain volatile, as evidenced by past recoveries from a bear market.

 

            Kay Bell has some information in her post Treasury chief defends bank loss change. I know we should all be watching this scenario very close. Are you? Personally I am not very happy with how the bailout funds are being used. I still believe this thing passed when it shouldn’t have.

            A few other need to read post from Kay, Sunday reading: check cashers and recession talk, and Closer look at bank bailout tax breaks.

 

            Stimulus Package Is Not the Same as Stimulus Check is an informative post from Kelly the Taxgirl. If you are wondering about your next check . . . well I don’t, and neither should you.

 

            Ever want to take A Trip Through the IRS Audit, Appeals and Court Procedures? Well Rob Teuber from The Tax Law Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I like the flow chart he has there.

 

            From my favorite tax blogger we have a great post of IF I HAD MY DRUTHERS - PART II. Part one was for the tax code. Part two is a wish list I am willing to bet most preparers have.

            Also from Robert this week, HERE IS A SPECIAL TAX TRICK, WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU DO NOT FILE YOUR FEDERAL INCOME TAX RETURN, TO TWIT OR NOT TO TWIT.

Welcome to Twitter Robert, however I must say I am surprised to see you there giving your thoughts on social networking sites. If we are careful, could we talk you into also using a preparation software? Well maybe that is too much. Still, I for one am surprised to see you on Twitter.

 

Things should get better by 2010 or so says The Economist looking at the GDP. This post from Andy might give you a look at what is to come. I even gave my two cents worth in the comments of this post.

Andy also gives us his Reflections on the Week.

 

In a recently added blog to my blogroll (A Personal Finance Guide), we are given some pointers to help us Get Out of the Spending Habit to Help Your Finance.

 

Bluntmoney.com is Looking for more inspiring stories. Have you paid off your debt or otherwise improved your financial life? Are you in the process of doing so? If so, she would love to hear from you.

 

Patrick over at CashMoneyLife had a great week of post. If you missed them I recommend you go check them out.

 

Last week/end I enter to win a book and was truly excited to find out that I had won. The contest was held over at Living Almost Large. The book I won you can find out about at Book Review: Birth of Plenty. This week she reviewed Book Review: Investing for Dummies.

            I am very anxious to read Birth of Plenty.

 

            Are you living paycheck to paycheck? Robbing Peter to pay Paul when it comes to your bills? If you aren’t sure or you know you are then check out Let’s Dance! Who Knows the “Bill Shuffle”? from Kevin over at No Debt Plan.

            Other need to read post from Kevin - How to Financially Prepare for Children?, ING and Virtual Bank Reminders, How to Combat Your Internal Credit Card Debt Excuses, and one that doesn’t sound right but is 10 Great Reasons to Have Credit Card Debt.

 

            Put Your Brain Where Your Money Is: Think to Save is a great post from Penelope Pince over at Pecuniarities. The key is think. Like Penelope, I think 24/7 has to be unhealthy but once or twice a day, think about it. Is there a less expensive way. For the record I have been recently call a “cheep bastard” by the most loved one in my life. This hasn’t always been with me. In fact I used to often spend money just because “shopping makes you feel better”.

 

            Monday over at Wide Open Wallet she has a great post called Not being true to yourself can lead to financial disaster. A lesson learned by many the hard way. Including myself. A great quote from the article “if you live spending every dollar, eventually you need even more.”

 

            New to my blogroll is TaxDollarsAndSense introduced to me from another tax blogger and friend with his mention of Help Yourself by Filing Past Due Tax Returns. As I perused the site I had a great smiling moment when I read IRS Secret Agent. I am hoping to get my yard mowed.

Tags: bailout, bear market, downturn, economic activity, economy, financial crisis, recession, Review, s, Taxes, Week in review

Still searching for that last-minute eureka on your 1040? Perhaps you’ll find it here. Trim your taxable income with these strategies, and don’t miss frequently overlooked deductions.

Look for losses. If you took a hit in the market in 2007 or even if you switched investments within a fund family at a loss, you can spin the pain into tax gold. First you must use losses to offset capital gains. Then you can deduct another $3,000 worth against ordinary income. What’s left carries over to later tax years. So make sure you don’t have any leftover losses from, say, a bad bet on GM in 2005.

Pad your retirement. You can fund an IRA for 2007 until April 15 (the max is $4,000; $5,000 if you were 50 as of Jan. 1). And don’t assume you earn too much to write it off. Even if you and your spouse have retirement plans at work, you can deduct part of your contribution if your modified adjusted gross income (AGI) is below $103,000. For a full deduction, your modified AGI must be $83,000 or less.

Itemize. Some 63% of taxpayers don’t itemize - at their financial peril. A 2002 Government Accountability Office report found that filers who should have itemized but didn’t paid $438 extra on average.

 

Are you stuck paying the AMT?

Honest answer? Probably not. Designed to ensure that the super-wealthy don’t get away with paying nothing, this parallel tax system increasingly snags middle- and upper-middle-income families because Congress never indexed the AMT to inflation; as incomes rise over time, so does the number of people stuck paying tax under the AMT.

Late last year Congress passed a “patch” that exempts more income from the AMT, but the levy will still trap some 3.5 million filers this year, according to the Tax Policy Center. If you use tax software, click yes on the window that pops up asking if you want an update. That will make sure you have the correct AMT rules.

While the AMT snare is hard to escape, a very tiny portion of affluent AMT payers might be able to avoid the tax by electing to take smaller deductions where it’s allowed. If you take the smaller standard deduction instead of itemizing or if you deduct state sales taxes instead of higher state income taxes, you may simultaneously raise your ordinary tax bill and lower your AMT enough to tip the balance in favor of regular taxes. This complicated strategy, though, is best done by an accountant.

Chances are there’s nothing you can do for 2007, but consider making an appointment with a pro to see if you can skirt the AMT at least every other year.

 

How to avoid an audit 

Find a four-leaf clover and steer clear of black cats: To some extent, being hit with an audit is just bad luck. Even if you don’t do anything to raise an IRS computer’s eyebrows, you could end up being plucked at random. Nobody outside the IRS knows for sure how the nonrandom returns are identified - and the agency isn’t telling. But most tax experts agree that having outsize deductions is one red flag.

Martin Kaplan, author of “What the IRS Doesn’t Want You to Know” and a C.P.A. with 35 years of experience handling audits, says that writing off more than 25% of your income would likely get your return marked for review. And while the IRS used to look hard at the home-office deduction, the emphasis these days seems to be on people reporting small business losses on Schedule C, says Frederick Daily, author of Stand Up to the IRS.

That said, as long as you have backup, you should claim what you are due, even if doing so might raise the likelihood of your being audited. While tax evasion is bad, tax avoidance is perfectly legal. An audit certainly won’t be pleasant, but it should be bearable and affordable if you have the proper paperwork to make your case.

Don’t want to hear from the IRS at all? Go back and check your numbers. Even TurboTax and Tax Cut can’t stop you from keying in the wrong digits. These simple mistakes won’t lead to an audit, but they could trigger an “assessment notice” - in other words, a bill.

 

What if you can’t file on time?

Good news: You can have a six-month extension. Bad news: You still have to pay your taxes by April 15. File Form 4868 (download a copy from irs.gov or your tax prep program will provide one), and use last year’s return to estimate what you owe or let your tax software do it for you. It’s better to overestimate and get a refund later; if you’re under by more than 10%, you’ll owe interest of 7% on the amount you underpaid by, plus a penalty of up to 25% of the underpayment.  

 

Can’t pay what you owe?

First make sure you’ve done everything you can to lower your tax bill. If that doesn’t help, you’ll have to pay up.

You can raise the dough any number of ways, including shaking down your first cousin or selling your least-favorite yacht. You can also qualify for an installment plan if you can prove to the IRS that you don’t have sufficient assets or income to pay now. You’ll be charged a $105 setup fee ($52 if you okay a direct transfer from your bank) and a variable interest rate on the balance (7% now).

Otherwise, use the lowest-rate loan you can. Tapping a home-equity line of credit may be the best deal. But you also have the option of paying by credit card through Officialpayments.com or Pay1040.com. Both hit you with a “convenience fee” equal to 2.49% of your tax bill, and then you’ll have to eat the interest charges. Wherever you get the money, pay off the debt as quickly as you can.

Be smarter about taxes next year.

Stop missing out on easy money Label a folder “2009 taxes,” and throughout the year file receipts for anything that might qualify as a deduction.

Bring home more cash If you got a refund this year, you lent money to the government interest-free. Better to owe a bit. Adjust your withholding so less of your paycheck goes to the IRS. (Go to irs.gov and search for “withholding calculator” to figure out the right number of exemptions.) Then arrange to have that bump in take-home pay go directly into a money-market fund. That way the interest earned is yours, not the IRS’.

Look up your tax bracket Knowing what you pay on every extra dollar you earn can make you a more tax-savvy investor. After you file, find the tax-rate tables at irs.gov (search for “tax rate” and pick the first result) and see what bracket your taxable income (line 43 of your 1040) puts you in. Armed with that, you can judge whether you’re better off investing in tax-free municipal bonds or taxable bonds. To do the math, divide the muni yield by 1 minus your bracket, expressed as a decimal (or 0.72 if you’re in the 28% bracket). The recent triple-A-rated five-year muni yield of 3.1%, for example, is the same as earning a taxable 4.3% if you’re in the 28% bracket. Compared with five-year Treasury yields of 2.9%, it’s a clear winner. 

 

Tags: Audits, Deductions, middle income families, Review, taxable income, Taxes, Withholdings