tax season

easy ways to avoid ‘done but’ tax returns

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meeting of six peoplechange mentality and ask better questions to eliminate bottlenecking.

by frank stitely
the relentless cpa

a project hung up in process is one where there is a disagreement between people involved in a project as to the status. for example, a client thinks he has answered your tax return questions, while you believe he has not. another example is when a tax return preparer believes a return is ready for review while the reviewer does not believe it’s ready.

more: six ways to create a millennial-friendly firm | do you know your turnaround time? | tax season client meetings: kill them now | leadership growth is a two-way street | 12 subjective factors for pricing your next engagement | the six pillars for finance transformation | three strategies to keep emerging leaders engaged
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the result of a hung-up project is a dead project – one that’s not moving to completion.
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what i wish clients knew about tax liens

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equity is key.

by eric l. green
tax rep network

“i know i can’t sell the property because the irs has a lien for $80,000 it filed two years ago and there is not enough equity, and i don’t have the money to pay them.”

more: tax: explaining the bad news about canceled debt to clients | offers in compromise aren’t for everyone
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ever heard this? we do, on almost a weekly basis. there is a lot to unpack there, but to cut to the chase:

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don’t use eyes, use brain

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what do your clients deserve?

by ed mendlowitz
how to review tax returns: the field-tested update

my partner peter weitsen frequently tells reviewers to “don’t use eyes, use brain.” i frequently repeat this. what does this expression mean?

more: stop tax return review shortcuts | the best way to review a tax return | three types of tax return reviews | routine is key to reviewing tax returns | why you can’t skip checklists | tax review procedures are your quality control | seven types of tax return reviews | how to turn tax returns into new business
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this is a clarion call to focus on what you are working on and think about what you are supposed to be doing. the focus can be only a couple of minutes, but it has the potential to yield valuable planning ideas and maneuvers.
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tax: explaining the bad news about canceled debt to clients

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meet form 982.

by eric l. green
tax rep network

“what do you mean i have to pay tax on that debt? it was a debt, and they forgave it. the bank gave me a gift; i am pretty sure that is how it works.”

more: offers in compromise aren’t for everyone
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all of a sudden, my client – who five minutes before told me they knew nothing about taxes – is now explaining to me, a tax attorney, that the canceled debt cannot be income and that a third-party bank obviously meant it as a gift.

sadly, it is not a gift; there was never any intent for it to be a gift. when either the bank or another creditor writes off that debt you owed, they are required to file a 1099-c to report the canceled debt to the irs so the lender can take the bad debt write-off. according to congress, the courts and the irs, the recipient now has income because they received value that they do not have to repay. in tax parlance it’s called an “ascension to wealth.”

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stop tax return review shortcuts

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//m.g005e.com/2021/03/23/17-basic-expectations-of-partners/three questions to ask when choosing a process.

by ed mendlowitz
how to review tax returns: the field-tested update

the big issue that i see with the tax season review process is that the workload compression and rush cause the use of shortcuts to get the return out quicker.

more: the best way to review a tax return | three types of tax return reviews | routine is key to reviewing tax returns | why you can’t skip checklists | tax review procedures are your quality control | seven types of tax return reviews | how to turn tax returns into new business
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

doing this has a cost of breaking down the system and having you have to start over each year with the same problems of untrained or poorly trained people not following procedures and making the same type of mistakes they always made. shouldn’t this stop?
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offers in compromise aren’t for everyone

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how much can the client pay?

by eric l. green
tax rep network

no irs program is more interesting yet misunderstood than the irs’s offer in compromise program. for taxpayers who owe money to the irs, between 15 million and 20 million of them, the thought that they can settle their back tax debt for less than the amount owed is an answer to many of their prayers.

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many people have seen the late-night television ads or heard the satellite radio spots: the taxpayer, who seems just like them, owed huge sums of money to the irs and was being abused by the callous tax machine when the advertising company came to the rescue and settled that tax debt for “pennies on the dollar.”

are these ads telling us the truth? can taxpayers really settle their tax debt for little to no money? the answer is yes, they can, but it depends upon their financial situation.

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the best way to review a tax return

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extreme close up of female hand with pen pointing on cash flow document.choose a process, then trust it.

by ed mendlowitz
how to review tax returns: the field-tested update

i have mentioned seven types of tax return reviews and explained the first three. today it is time to look at the other four.

more: three types of tax return reviews | routine is key to reviewing tax returns | why you can’t skip checklists | tax review procedures are your quality control | seven types of tax return reviews | how to turn tax returns into new business
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

a comment is that i believe i will present the best overall method to review tax returns. it is clear that no matter what i say many will not agree with me, many will have no interest in changing but will want to make some minor changes if they appear helpful, or many are reading to validate what they are doing.
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three types of tax return reviews

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extreme close up of female hand with pen pointing on cash flow document.where you can add value.

by ed mendlowitz
how to review tax returns: the field-tested update

there are numerous ways to review tax returns. most reviewers have their own techniques, and some alter these based on the type of or size of the return, or who the preparer is or who the partner in charge of that client is. there is nothing wrong with this as long as the reviewer is experienced and really knows their stuff.

more: routine is key to reviewing tax returns | why you can’t skip checklists | tax review procedures are your quality control | seven types of tax return reviews | how to turn tax returns into new business
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

my purpose is to show how returns can be reviewed effectively and efficiently and not cause major changes for those who are already doing a great job reviewing returns. hopefully they will glean a few tips from here. however, in many cases reviewers are not working effectively and efficiently and i offer processes that have worked for me and are working for many firms following these methods and that could help the reader work better reviewing returns.
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cpa billing rates rise at 6.5% pace

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the mark tops six months of steady growth.

line chart
overall pricing at cpa firms, year over year

by beth bellor
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

pricing at cpa firms has been growing for the past six months, according to a new 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 study, and the numbers are worth noting. august was the first year-over-year hike of over 5 percent, at 5.1 percent. from there, it hopped to 5.5 percent in september, 6.3 percent in october and 6.5 percent in november.

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financial auditing at cpa firms was slightly behind, with annual differences of 4.9 percent in september, 5.5 percent in october and 5.9 percent in november.
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routine is key to reviewing tax returns

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young man riding hour hand of clockgot info they need? don’t delay.

by ed mendlowitz
how to review tax returns: the field-tested update

reviewing returns is a technical process. however, there are times that the mechanical functioning of tax season interferes with or alters the reviewer routine and momentum.

more: why you can’t skip checklists | tax review procedures are your quality control | seven types of tax return reviews | how to turn tax returns into new business
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most returns are reviewed on a fifo basis as they are transferred to the reviewer. however, in many firms returns are pushed to the head of the line for many reasons – some legitimate, such as the client is going on a vacation, and some because the partner wants to get a return out to the client.
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why you can’t skip checklists

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do you want tax returns fast or right?//m.g005e.com/2021/03/23/17-basic-expectations-of-partners/

by ed mendlowitz
how to review tax returns: the field-tested update

this is an area i feel very strongly about, and it is a major reason for the success of the better firms and the lack of growth of smaller firms.

more: tax review procedures are your quality control | seven types of tax return reviews | how to turn tax returns into new business
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by my way of thinking, a system must be established to assure the greatest quality at every level, reduce the number of touches per return, and present the client with the type of return he or she is relying on you to deliver. this system only works if there are the right processes and procedures and a strict adherence to them, and this includes the careful and deliberate use of checklists.
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outlook 2023: irs hires will add pressures

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incentives will bring new opportunities.

by julio gonzales
the rosenberg map study

the current tax changes from the inflation reduction act include 87,000 irs hires to bolster tax return audits for small business.

more: outlook 2023: look who’s making money now | outlook 2023: capacity strategies drive change | outlook 2023: top five trends | outlook 2023: compensation gets creative | outlook 2023: the office is over | 2023 outlook: accounting firms face up to private equity
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i believe the additional irs agents will create significant pressure on accounting firms to increase staff and costs associated with client audits. this will create pressures to take advantage of tax credits and incentives, but firms must do this with third-party providers with impeccable reputations.

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