MEDOWSCPA.COM- A Blog for the Self-Employed & Small Business Owners

Do You Require a New York Certified Public Accountant For Your Business Needs?

When it comes to tax season, you need to know how well you did the year before. You may have tried to keep accurate records but you still doubt your records. That is why it is important to hire someone to look through your records before the end of the years so you can be prepared for the tax season. This is where you need to hire a Certified Public Accountant, or CPA. Many people question why they should hire a CPA instead of another tax preparer. Here are some reasons.

If you are not very organized in keeping papers you may benefit from the services of a certified public accountant. You may also hire a certified public accountant to track your finances in your business just to make sure that you have accurate records. A CPA can take a lot of stress off of a business owner.

You can count on a New York certified public accountant to be trained in this particular profession so they are able to handle your business. In order to get a certification, a person interested in becoming a certified public accountant will need to take over one hundred hours in college in a specific CPA course. After the course is complete, they are required to go on and take a CPA examination. Once they pass this exam, they are able to practice certified public accounting.

A Certified Public Accountant in New York can be hired all year around for any type of business service, mainly to handle finances. They know how to take state and federal taxes out on time so you don’t need to worry about not paying any taxes or have penalties taken out during tax time. They are highly trained to handle bookkeeping for any business. They keep accurate records that help you during tax season.

When you run your own business, you are responsible for making sure that your paperwork is always kept current and all taxes are paid up to date. If you are running your business, this can be hard to concentrate on and that is why most people hire someone to keep their records. They keep track of their receipts and expenses during a certain time period and then they check in with their New York Certified Public Accountant and hand them all the information. The Certified Public Accountant will then enter the information and keep track of it all year long. Then during tax time, all the information is there already and the CPA can file your taxes for you.

People also hire a New York Certified Public Accountant because of the personalized service they receive. If you hire someone for bookkeeping services all year around, you want to be more then just a number. You want the attention that you need and deserve. A NY CPA can give that to you so you will be able to establish a trust with the one person that will be helping you keep the best records of your business. You have too many things to worry about, hire a New York Certified Public Accountant to worry about your taxes.

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

Top Mistake on Tax Returns in NYC

Mistakes happen in almost everything and taxes are no exception. People make mistakes when filing their tax returns. Tax time can be overwhelming to some and that allows room for mistakes. Even one mistake can alter the amount that you get back or you owe. Every line needs to be carefully filled out on a tax form and for some, it can be very confusing.

Because these forms can be confusing the say the least, you may want to hire a Manhattan CPA to file them for you. They know exactly what information goes where and you don’t have to try to figure out the meaning of the words. When finding a mistake on tax returns New York CPA is specially trained to fill out these forms correctly and they can help you out.

There are ways to prevent mistakes from happening. You need to allow yourself time to fill out these forms. If you fill out your own forms you will need to do the following:

Always double check and check your math again. The most common mistakes happen with math. You may put the wrong number in one line and that will change everything. You may also put a comma or a period in the wrong place.

Your status is also the place where people make the most mistakes. The status may be single, married filing separate, or married filing joint. Along with your status comes the line to put your social security numbers. If you don’t the right number you may another social security number belonging to someone else. Get your social security cards out and visually look at your number and then verify the number that you have on your form to make sure that they match. If you have a spouse on your tax return make sure that you verify their social security number as well.

You need to make sure that you file the right forms. Some of the most common mistakes happen when someone uses the wrong form to file their tax return. There is a reason for all of those specific forms and you need to make sure that you have the right one for you. When you need someone to look over your papers to check for a mistake on tax returns New York City CPAs know which forms you should be using..

If you file electronically on your own, you need to verify all your numbers before you click the “next” button. Even though you can go back and re-edit everything you want to avoid overlooking anything. Again, it is better if you can avoid a mistake on tax returns Manhattan CPA’s can help you file taxes correctly

Mistakes are going to happen occasionally and you can avoid your chances of making them if you find a quiet place to file your tax return. Make sure that you are not disturbed by others in your home. You want to read the question thoroughly before typing in your answer. Make sure that you have a good connection and you won’t be disconnected while you are working. Make sure that when you don’t understand something you email for help.

About us: MEDOWS CPA, PLLC is a boutique New York City Certified Public Accountant firm (CPA NYC) working with 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

IRS and Delinquent Tax Returns NYC

Every tax payer in New York who has not had their taxes prepared already, dreads April 15th. This is the deadline for taxes. However, if you are not going to make it by the deadline, there is hope. If you just need a little more time to get your tax information together, you can file for an extension. The IRS and NYS will grant extensions to those who need just a little more time.

It’s not a good idea to keep putting off filing or contacting the IRS. Even when you think that you don’t have anything to report, it’s good to contact a CPA in New York to find out for sure. You don’t want to have delinquent taxes Manhattan or wherever you may reside.

There are several reasons why people do not file taxes and the most common is fear. They are fearful they will have a tax liability. If you do have an outstanding balance the IRS will work with you to repay the money. Most of the time, you will be able to pay a minimal amount each and every month until you pay off your debt. The only problem with this is that you will also have to pay back penalties and interest that have accumulated over that period of time.

The penalty for delinquent tax returns New York City or any other area is determined by the amount that you owe, how delinquent they are, and if the IRS issued any action to get you to pay.

In some cases, if you are delinquent, the IRS will prepare an alternative return for you. This type of return is not to help you, but to help the government so you will end up owing far more then what you initially owed to begin with. You really need to avoid this step if at all possible. To do that you need to make sure that you file even if you think you will owe. To avoid delinquent taxes NYC CPAs can help you file the right forms.

If you want to get any type of tax relief, you are going to need to file all the back tax returns and get caught up. You may qualify for more then what you thought and owe the IRS less. You may want to avoid them but in the end, it will catch up with you. It has happened to famous people like Wesley Snipes and it can happen to you. To avoid delinquent tax returns New York City CPA’s can help you determine what you can do to get caught up.

About us: MEDOWS CPA, PLLC is a boutique New York City Certified Public Accountant firm (NYC CPA) 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

Courtesy of http://www.foxbusiness.com/:

President Obama will propose Friday in Baltimore a new business tax credit worth up to $5,000 for every new worker hired this year.

Under the president’s plan, a business could claim a tax credit of up to $5,000 for every net new employee it adds to its workforce this year.  If that business hires a worker and fires another, it would be ineligible for this credit.

Senior administration officials said they capped the total credits a business can claim at $500,000 to ensure their proposal mostly helps small businesses.

“The focus is really on small businesses,” said a senior administration official.

The president is also proposing the federal government reimburse businesses for the Social Security taxes they owe on increases in their payrolls this year.

If a small business with 50 employees raises wages by $1,000 for each employee, either through increased pay or hours, the business would receive a tax credit of $3,100 to cover higher Social Security payroll taxes, according to an administration fact sheet.

“It isn’t just about net new jobs, it’s about wages also,” said the official, who added the administration projects these credits will benefit a million businesses.

Provided congressional approval, businesses will be able to claim this credit on their 2010 taxes for any new hire they make during this year.

The tax credits will cost the government $33 billion dollars, according to the White House, citing a Treasury Department estimate.

The president and Congressional Democrats are wrestling with an economy struggling to create jobs, while trying to confront a massive federal deficit.

In this week alone, President Obama called for Congress to temporarily freeze some federal spending to save $250 billion over the next ten years, the Congressional Budget Office forecasted a $1.35-trillion federal deficit for this fiscal year and a $75-billion increase in the stimulus plan’s cost estimate, the Senate approved a measure to raise the debt ceiling by $1.9 trillion, and Democrats have been negotiating billions in new spending to try to catalyze a dormant job market.

While in Baltimore Friday, the president will also address House Republicans who are holding their retreat there.

A tax credit plan may be one of the president’s few economic proposals Republicans may support.

“The only bright spot in President Obama’s latest jobs plan is that his Administration finally acknowledges that lowering the tax burden on small businesses is the most effective way to reduce our nation’s unemployment,” said Rep. Scott Garrett, a New Jersey Republican.  “Unfortunately, while this temporary wage subsidy may create a spike in employment, Americans need permanent relief through sustained growth.”

Strongly opposed to the president’s economic agenda, congressional Republicans have been blasting Democrats for their efforts to spend billions more on highway and rail projects.

“We’ve had enough,” said House Republican Whip Eric Cantor. “The $800-plus billion stimulus bill didn’t produce any jobs.  Then the president says we’ve got to freeze domestic discretionary spending.  But oh, by the way, let me go and propose $150 billion more before our freeze.  None of that makes sense,” he said.

Meanwhile, Senate Democrats are moving ahead with negotiating the details of their latest economic bill.  They say it will, along with the stimulus plan, jump-start hiring and upgrade aging transportation infrastructure.

“I think it’ll give the Republicans an opportunity to – to work with us,” said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.  “It’ll be so glaringly apparent to the American people if we don’t get a few Republican votes to support us that they are not interested in any success to the American if they are continually going to say no.”

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