The American Recovery and Reinvestment Tax Act of 2009 (2009 Recovery Act), which provides billions of dollars of tax relief, includes a New York City tax credit for individuals seeking a college education. This provision may benefit your income taxes in Manhattan as a parent of a child working toward a college degree.
There are many federal tax incentives available to help reduce the costs of higher education. Some of these incentives offer tax breaks for current educational expenses, such as the above-the-line deduction for qualified tuition and related expenses, and the Hope scholarship and lifetime learning credits. In lieu of claiming the Hope scholarship credit, the 2009 Recovery Act provides an “American Opportunity” tax credit for 2009 and 2010. This credit may be able to help you save money on your income taxes in New York if you qualify.

Eligible Manhattan taxpayers may claim an American Opportunity tax credit up to $2,500. The credit is determined as 100% of the first $2,000, and 25% of the next $2,000 of tuition and related expenses paid during the year. Forty percent of the credit is refundable.

Unlike the Hope credit, the American Opportunity credit is not limited to the first two years of post-secondary education. Also, the American Opportunity credit covers “course materials” such as books. This credit phases out for taxpayers with adjusted gross income in excess of $80,000 ($160,000 for married couples filing jointly).

Educational incentives can provide significant New York City income tax relief for families. The American Opportunity credit is one of several tax options related to saving and paying for higher education. Some may be more beneficial than others in your specific circumstances. Maximizing the benefits of the education tax breaks requires careful planning, particularly because of the interrelationship between the rules that apply to each provision. It is important to go to a CPA who is experienced in dealing with income taxes in New York. At MEDOWS CPA,We can help you sort through the options. Please call our office of income tax CPAs in Manhattan to arrange an appointment at your earliest convenience.

About us: MEDOWS CPA, PLLC is a boutique New York CPA NY Firm serving the needs of Individuals & Small Businesses in New York City and throughout the nation.  We work with the self-employed, freelancers, LLC, C-Corporations and S-Corporations to help them with their accounting and tax needs.

Jonathan Medows, CPA

MEDOWS CPA, PLLC

http://www.medowscpa.com

http://taxblog.medowscpa.com

info@medowscpa.com

A Unique, Boutique New York CPA Firm Serving the Needs of Individuals & Small Businesses

Certified Public Accountant in New York Teaches How to Resolve Debt Issues

Debt consumes many people and although it is very hard to get yourself out of debt, it is not impossible to do. The beginning of the year is the ideal time to start resolving debt issues but you can start anytime of the year, as long as you are ready to do it. If you are not committed to eliminating debt completely, you may not be as successful as you originally wanted to be. Here are some tips to help you resolve debt issues.

The first tip is to not get any deeper in debt. There is always going to be things that you want but you need to make sure that you know the different between your needs and you want. During the year, you will need to make the decision of what to buy and what to pass up. If you want something really bad, wait three days. If you go back after three days and you still want that item as bad as you did then figure out a way that you can work it into your budget. Leave your savings account alone. If you don’t have the cash in your hands then don’t get it. If it is something that you need, you have to buy it but before you do, find out if there is a less expensive necessity.

Make yourself a list of all the debt you owe and figure out how you can pay them down or off completely. Set yourself a time frame to get this all done. It’s best to give yourself one year to be out of debt completely.

Instead of taking care of all your debts at one time, break it down and do one or two to begin with and then once you get those taken care of, start on the next two. Go down the list until you successfully eliminate all your debt.

Don’t co-sign for anyone. When you are trying hard to get out of debt, you cannot back someone else up on a loan. If they fail to make their payments, you will be responsible for paying that loan if the person does not pay for it in time. If you do not make the payments, then it will count against your credit record. You assume all debt when you co-sign and someone does not keep up with the payments.

There will be some debt that will be impossible to clear especially when they have such high interest rates. You may want to hire a third party to step in and try to eliminate some of that interest rate.

If you run your own business, hire a certified public accountant that will keep track of your finances for you the entire year. This way you do not ruin your business due to poor record keeping. You can consult with a NYC CPA anytime of the year to find out what you can do to get back on track.

About us: MEDOWS CPA, PLLC is a boutique New York CPA NY Firm serving the needs of Individuals & Small Businesses in New York City and throughout the nation.  We work with the self-employed, freelancers, LLC, C-Corporations and S-Corporations to help them with their accounting and tax needs.

Jonathan Medows, CPA

MEDOWS CPA, PLLC

http://www.medowscpa.com

http://taxblog.medowscpa.com

info@medowscpa.com

A Unique, Boutique New York CPA Firm Serving the Needs of Individuals & Small Businesses

Understanding Self Employed Taxes and Role of NY CPA

If you recently became a self employed business individual you will need to learn about self employed taxes in New York. Being self employed is much different when it comes to taxes. You will need to make sure you understand the way they work and what is expected from you. You may also want to consider a CPA which is a certified public accountant in Manhattan or in New York. Understanding self employed taxes and role of NY CPA may be complicated at first but once you understand taxes for small businesses you will be more prepared and able to handle what you are responsible for.

If you are considering the self employed life style you want to make sure you have everything figured out before you begin. It would be a great idea to hire a NY CPA to prepare, evaluate, and also attest the financial part of your new business. They will be able to keep your financial books and records in order, making it much easier when tax season comes around or if you are audited by the IRS in the future. Since you are a self employed company you may be audited more often than larger companies would be. Being self employed in New York, you are responsible for a lot of things that you may not know about until you begin receiving letters and notices. Do your research and hire a CPA NY to help you. Your New York CPA would also prepare your tax returns, be able to organize a schedule for existing tax payment options, as well as being able to provide you with tips on how you could save money or even deduction options when it comes to office supplies and other needs for your business.

Understanding self employed taxes and role of NY CPA is great information to take in when you are ready to be self employed. It will make your life much easier understanding that you’re New York CPA will be able to handle all of your tax situations so it is something less you need to worry about in the long run. Your NY CPA will handle all of your self employed taxes this will make it quite a bit easier for you. At the end of the year when tax season rolls around you will have the money that you need to pay toward taxes and you won’t get behind.

Your self employed taxes will be handled by your Certified Public Accountant New York City, so your social security and your Medicare will be taken care of and you will not need to worry about how you will last when you reach the age of retirement. Understanding self employed taxes and role of New York CPA should be the number one priority when you are heading into your new self employed business. There are so many things that you need to keep track of and if you allow one thing to get behind then it will be hard to catch up. Your first year may not prove to be very profitable if you don’t consistently work at it.

About us: MEDOWS CPA, PLLC is a boutique New York CPA NY Firm serving the needs of Individuals & Small Businesses in New York City and throughout the nation.  We work with the self-employed, freelancers, LLC, C-Corporations and S-Corporations to help them with their accounting and tax needs.

Jonathan Medows, CPA

MEDOWS CPA, PLLC

http://www.medowscpa.com

http://taxblog.medowscpa.com

info@medowscpa.com

A Unique, Boutique New York CPA Firm Serving the Needs of Individuals & Small Businesses

About MEDOWS CPA, PLLC: We are a boutique CPA firm located in New York City  (Manhattan), dedicated to helping small business owners, freelancers and individuals.  In addition, we also provide CPA services to people outside of the state and country.

Jonathan Medows, CPA

MEDOWS CPA, PLLC

http://www.medowscpa.com

http://taxblog.medowscpa.com

info@medowscpa.com

A Unique, Boutique New York CPA Firm Serving the Needs of Individuals & Small Businesses

Good news for small business owners:  Earlier this month, President Obama signed into law the Worker, Homeownership and Business Assistance Act of 2009 (Public Law Number P.L. 11-92). The passing of this legislation comes as quite a boon for small businesses who have experienced hardship due to the economy.

This new provision will enable any business with a net operating loss (NOL) to carry back  losses incurred in either 2008 or 2009 against income earned in the past five years. This is in contrast to the previous provision issued earlier this year that only applied to small businesses and only allowed for a carry back period of 2 years.

The provision is available to any Taxpayer who has experienced an NOL for a taxable year ending after Dec. 31 2007 and beginning before Jan. 1, 2010, except those who have received payments under the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Under the procedure, Taxpayers may elect to carry back a  NOL for a period of three, four or five years to offset taxable income in those previous taxable years. A NOL carried back five years may not offset any more than 50 perfect of a taxpayer’s taxable income in the fifth preceding year.  However, this limitation applies only to the fifth year, and does not apply to the fourth or third preceding year.

If you would like to find out how this new provision can help your business, feel free to contact me. My Manhattan CPA firm specializes in assisting small businesses and individuals.  My practice has been serving clients in New York  City and abroad for over 7 years. If your small business is in need of an experienced CPA, I’m your guy.

About MEDOWS CPA, PLLC: We are a boutique CPA firm located in New York City  (Manhattan), dedicated to helping small business owners, freelancers and individuals.  In addition, we also provide CPA services to people outside of the state and country.

Jonathan Medows, CPA

MEDOWS CPA, PLLC

http://www.medowscpa.com

http://taxblog.medowscpa.com

info@medowscpa.com

A Unique, Boutique New York CPA Firm Serving the Needs of Individuals & Small Businesses

Courtesy of http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/:  NEW YORK (WABC) — Appliance companies like Whirlpool, Electrolux and GE are all experiencing a severe slump in sales due to the weak home construction market. They are hoping a federal rebate program, much like “Cash for Clunkers,” could change all that. And that means it’s a golden opportunity for consumers.

Is your clothes dryer on its last spin cycle? There may never be a better time to upgrade to a more energy-efficient model. Officials say $300 million of federal stimulus money has been set aside for appliance rebates that will cover refrigerators, dishwashers and washers and dryers. Bob Markovich is with “Consumer Reports” magazine.

“You can get up to $250 rebate from your state per appliance,” he said. “So let’s say you get $100 rebate. You’re looking at additional utilities rebates, you’re looking at sometimes additional state rebates. And you’re also looking at big discounts, because appliance sales are something like 25 percent off what they were during the housing peak.”

To qualify, you must buy an Energy Star appliance. Fortunately, more than 50 percent of all appliances have an Energy Star rating, so you will have a big selection. In addition to the rebate, the new refrigerators or dishwasher could save you up to $100 a year in energy expenses. The program will launch in November, with government funds available starting November 30. With the Cash for Clunkers program, car dealers were overwhelmed by the response, selling close to 700,000 vehicles in just one month. Sales associates like Richard Conran at Sears are expecting a boost.

“We are actually, because we already have customers coming in to look specifically for the Energy Star items,” he said. “And now, since we have the rebates going, it’s probably going to increase a lot.”

Sears is so convinced there is going to be a rush to buy appliances under the government program, they have set up three computers so customers can see exactly how much their rebate will be and file for it right in the store.

Rebates range from $50 to $200, but each state has their own program. Retailers will have all the details, plus don’t forget to check with your utility company, as many are offering additional rebates.

If you live in New York, you may also want to contact a CPA to help you understand how the rebate will effect you. Our Manhattan CPA firm can help you understand all New York State tax issues.

About MEDOWS CPA, PLLC: We are a boutique CPA firm located in New York City  (Manhattan), dedicated to helping small business owners, freelancers and individuals.  In addition, we also provide CPA services to people outside of the state and country.

Jonathan Medows, CPA

MEDOWS CPA, PLLC

http://www.medowscpa.com

http://taxblog.medowscpa.com

info@medowscpa.com

A Unique, Boutique New York CPA Firm Serving the Needs of Individuals & Small Businesses

From our in-box:

Hi Jonathan,

This is something you might want to pass along to your small business clients who might be “struggling” these days.

Last Monday, the SBA announced a new loan program to small business, called ARC (America’s Recovery Capital). Go to www.sba.gov and click on the ARC item on the right side. It is designed to loan up to $35,000 to small businesses who have been hit hard by the recession. There are some qualifying factors, but a company has a great chance to receive the money. Click on the respective links in the middle of the ARC page.

I have applied and am confident I will be approved. The funds will be dispersed within 10 days, which is amazing. I’m not quite spending it yet, but my company is a textbook qualified prospect: ongoing business; profitable 2 our to 4 years; hit hard by recession; mounting credit card debt, etc. Even companies who have gone through a bankruptcy are not ineligible. The loan is totally guaranteed by the government, so the banks have no risk.

Sincerely,

Anthony D.

Jonathan Medows, CPA

MEDOWS CPA, PLLC

About MEDOWS CPA, PLLC: We are a boutique CPA firm located in New York City  (Manhattan), dedicated to helping small business owners and individuals.  In addition, we also provide CPA services to people outside of the state and country.

http://www.medowscpa.com

http://taxblog.medowscpa.com

info@medowscpa.com