tax

soloists lag multi-owner firms in economic confidence

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multi-partner firms show bullish signs. soloists turn bearish on the u.s. economy.

卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

z-busy solos vs other in otlookcpas aren’t economists, but they do know numbers, and they have their fingers on the pulse of the flow of money in their local areas. they know how their own businesses and their clients’ businesses are doing, and they have at least an inkling of the causes. remembering 2014 and living through the 2015 busy season, they are well placed to prognosticate on financial flows over the next 12 months.

卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 survey research detects a certain optimism, but it seems to be a bit more cautious among solo practitioners. read more →

will obamacare penalties kill your small business clients?

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drug in syringe on white background

fines run $100 per day, per employee.

by stephen l. nelson, cpa
and elizabeth c. nelson, cpa
small business and the affordable care act

by now, many of your small business clients understand they don’t have to provide employees with health insurance. the employer mandate starts when a firm employs 50 or more full-time-equivalent employees.

but here’s an awkward follow-up question: do your small business clients understand that many of the aca’s rules still apply to them and that they may still be vulnerable to the aca’s 4980d excise tax penalty—which runs $100 per day per employee?

learn more: small businesses and the affordable care act: what every tax practitioner needs to know (55-page pdf digital download)

can we talk irc code sections?

people sometimes hear references to the 4980d penalty and scoff, say you can’t believe everything you hear on talk radio or read at some blog. so let’s look at the actual internal revenue code section in question.

here are the first few sentences of irc sec 4980d: read more →

tax preparation fees and services

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screen shot 2015-06-09 at 9.19.17 pmthe national trends and averages

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

while tax professionals taking a well-deserved break this summer, they are also carefully assessing how well – or poorly – they fared in tax season 2015 and they are beginning to lay plans for tax season 2016. chief among their concerns will, no doubt, be a thorough review of their mix of services and fees.

fortunately, 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 has compiled authoritative data in an easy-to-use set of charts, graphs and infographics to guide the strategizing for 2016.

in this report, 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 reveals:

  • the average time it takes an amateur do-it-yourselfer to do a 1040 – useful information in understanding and communicating to clients the true value of a professional.
  • how many tax professionals give away over $100 per client in free consultations – and how competitive the market may be for practitioners.
  • prices by type of form: itemized 1040; state; schedule c’s; 940s; 1065s; 1120ss.
  • prices by region: west, midwest, northeast and south.
  • how many preparers charge to file an extension and how much they charge.
  • trends in 1040 business.
  • practitioners’ age ranges and years in business.
  • the characteristics of the communities in which they operate.

read more →

irs seeks more tools to fight refund fraud

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irs commissioner john koskinen
koskinen

fy 2016 budget provisions would expand authority for regulation, correctable errors.

refund fraud, especially that caused by identity theft, remains “an ongoing battle” for the irs, commissioner john koskinen said in testimony about the 2015 tax season before the house ways and means committee’s subcommittee on oversight.

“for that reason, and in spite of our budget constraints, we have continued to focus as much of our resources as possible on improving our efforts against identity theft,” he said, improving filters used to detect suspicious returns as they come in at a rate of more than 2 million suspicious returns so far, which is over 500,000 more than last year at this time. read more →

irs predicts ‘challenging’ 2016

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irs commissioner john koskinen
koskinen

budget cuts remain a concern.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

no matter what you think of your 2015 tax season, the irs thinks it had it worse.

commissioner john koskinen testified about the season before the house ways and means committee’s subcommittee on oversight, and said even opening on schedule was a “major accomplishment” because of additional preparation needed for the affordable care act and the foreign account tax compliance act, as well as a system update reflecting december’s tax extender legislation. read more →

irs reports everything went up except refunds

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tax professionals kept 59 percent of the e-filing segment.

when all the clicking and cursing was done, the irs had received more than 132.2 million individual tax returns this year, up 0.8 percent from 2014. as of april 17, it had processed 126.1 million of them, up 0.4 percent from last year and a rate of 95.4 percent for the season’s receipts.

related: tax preparation fees: the national averages [infographic] | irs form 3115: a sin and a travesty | accountants see solid business gains in 2015 | as market share slips away, accountants look beyond the 1040 | irs emerges as major tax season competitor read more →

busy season 2015: worse and worser

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z tax 2015 better or worseafter a bad year for many practitioners, watch for the consolidation and shakeout to come.

by rick telberg
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

before busy season 2015 had even begun, tax professionals were worrying most about the new rules and regulations they’d be facing, among them, the affordable care act.

join the survey; get the results

indeed, so-called obamacare loomed largely over the 2015 season, but practitioners found bigger problems with form 3115, tougher competition and fee pressures. so much so, that a significant number of practitioners swore this tax season would be their last. and with merger season coming close on the heels of busy season, the profession should brace for a new wave of consolidation and shakeout, according to the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 analysis.

see comprehensive coverage of busy season 2015 read more →

e-filing by tax pros gains more ground

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nearly 100 million individual returns have been filed.

with the tax season winding down, the irs had received more than 99 million individual tax returns as of april 3, down 0.8 percent from 2014. more than 97.9 percent of those had been processed – 97 million, down 1.2 percent from last year.

related: have fun this tax season! | tax preparation fees: the national averages [infographic] | irs form 3115: a sin and a travesty | how to get paid faster this tax season | accountants see solid business gains in 2015 | as market share slips away, accountants look beyond the 1040 | irs emerges as major tax season competitor | tax pros losing market share to self-filers read more →

survey results: latest comments on busy season 2015

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the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 busy season barometerclick to join the survey; see the results
the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 busy season barometer
click to join the survey; see the results

the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 busy season barometer 2015:
join the survey. get the results

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

as results pour in from the final days of the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 busy season barometer 2015, it’s clear that practitioners’ experiences range widely, from outright euphoria to bleak despair.

see comprehensive coverage of busy season 2015

here are a few the latest comments, verbatim…

  • better than last year. volume is up significantly and good smoothness of preparation svc and knowledge of clients.
  • we added a small tax practice in an adjoining town
  • i didn’t have any clients with obamacare non-compliance

read more →

busy season 2015: comprehensive coverage

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in case you missed it… in this directory, 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 compiles complete coverage of the 2015 busy season. irs seeks more tools to fight refund fraud fy 2016 budget provisions would expand authority for regulation, correctable errors. workflow automation takes root in … continued