May, 2011
If you’re a corporation or a person, June 15 is the date of the next
estimated payment. If you’re paying the minimum for your corporation
to California, the amount due is $320, unless the corp owes more! Not every
person will owe estimated payments—it depends on your income and history
of owing from 2010, but California corporations, both C and S, owe minimum
tax each year. Also, if you’re the only employee of your S Corporation,
start thinking about your second quarter payroll—if your paycheck is dated
June 30, the taxes will typically be due July 15th unless you have a substantial
amount of payroll for your company.
We’re working on a web based CPE class for S Corporations this month
based on the live, in-person seminar so you don’t have to travel, and
at a reduced cost. More details will follow as we complete the various segments
required to offer a class, including approval by the IRS and other agencies
(the in-person S Corporation class already has been approved by the IRS,
but needs to be re-approved for the new media).
To be “closer to the action” for next year, we’re making
some adjustments to the phone and fax later this month to reduce response
time for you. The “service” tells me there will be “no
down time,” but from past experience, my expectations are pretty low.
Be extra extra sure I receive your fax—if it doesn’t go through
right away, or you don’t get a confirmation that I’ve received
your fax, please let me know by email or phone and we’ll either get
the service working or find an alternate delivery method.
Want to be the first person in your tax bracket to sport the fabulous Tax
Buddha Messenger Bag? I’ve now got a “shop” on Café Press
at www.cafepress.com/TaxBuddha in
case you’d like to order your own
Tax Buddha logo items. The messenger bag came out particularly well, not
quite “saffron,” but easy to find in an airport.
The Eightfold Path to Pay Less Tax and Avoid an Audit
Eight basic things business owners want to know printed in booklet form in “Executive Summary” form. This is ten years of working with the IRS Tax Code distilled down so it doesn’t take YOU ten years.
Just another way we’re trying to simplify your life. And the purchase is tax deductible!
You can order from Amazon.com. Here’s the link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Eightfold-Path-Less-Avoid-Audit/dp/0615233422/ref=sr_1_22?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1226611038&sr=1-22
The booklet also contains sections on how returns are selected for audit,
when to seek professional help, and how long to keep your tax records.
EBAEA—Speaker Development Group
I’m tired of going to see boring speakers for my continuing education
requirements, so at the East Bay Association of Enrolled Agents, we’ve
started a group to help develop speaking skills. Our next meeting is scheduled
for after the April tax deadline. Go to the “permalink” for
the current bulletin for more information http://www.ebaea.org/Bulletin/current.pdf.
EBAEA—Audit and Representation Group
Our meeting is scheduled for Wednesday June 8. We’ll try to take a
case and review it, and discuss other audit and representation issues. We’ll
meet in Lafayette at Millie’s Café at 9 am, 1018 Oak Hill Road,
A, just off highway 24. Go to the “permalink” for the current
bulletin for more information http://www.ebaea.org/Bulletin/current.pdf.
Last Month’s meeting went well and we reviewed the “traveling
bartenders” case.
Classes—S Corporation Webinar, Basic Payroll, Schedule C and Household Employees
Here’s a link to the seminars page on my website: www.taxbuddha.com/seminars.html
I’m starting to work on an on-line S Corporation seminar for release this summer. I’m currently planning on having easy access to the seminar, plus CPE credit available to those who want it. My thinking is to allow viewers to sample the seminar before deciding to pay for the CPE. Details to follow.
Basic Payroll
In conjunction with the IRS and EDD, I’m going to be doing some Basic
Payroll seminars coming up in the near future.
Basic Payroll Seminar runs 9 am 3 pm with an hour for lunch
The next seminars will be:
San Francisco at the SBA office 455 Market Street, 6th floor
(I take BART to Embarcadero or Montgomery Street)
9 am 3 pm, June 14 and July 12
Oakland at Elihu M. Harris State Building, 1515 Clay Street,
Room 20, Second
Floor,
9 am 3 pm, May 19 and June 21
San Jose at 100 West Santa Clara Street
10 am 4 pm, May 18 (Just added)
Register by going to http://www.edd.ca.gov/Payroll_Tax_Seminars/ and find your favorite location.
These seminars have proven to be very popular for business owners and bookkeepers, plus they’re free.
How to Prepare your Own Schedule C
Prepare your business taxes for ’10 and get ready for ’11. Review
what the IRS wants to know from you and how to report it on the Schedule C for
your business. This is a class for business owners who
need a basic
understanding of their 1040 Schedule C tax forms. We’ll also talk about
what to do with the numbers once you have them.
We can’t guarantee you won’t get audited, but this class will make it less
likely.
I will be at the US Small Business Administration offices in San Francisco at 455 Market Street, 6th Floor
Tuesday July 19th, 6:00 pm 8:30 pm.
This class will be free. To
register, check out the SBA website www.SBAtraining.eventbrite.com, or just
show up.
Household Employees
This is an
update class for both employers and the tax practitioners
who help them. This is currently scheduled for January, 2012. Cost to attend
this class is $75.
QuickBooks
If you’re in the market for QuickBooks training in a classroom
setting, I recommend Mani Business Services. This is a two-day QuickBooks
seminar
offered in various places around the country. The website is http://www.manibusinessservices.com/
Our northern California physical office is shared commercial space in Alameda and we’ve been meeting people at Starbucks on
Mt. Diablo Blvd in Lafayette near the mailing address.
Phone numbers are:
Phone (510) 332-0401
Fax (510) 522-2307
Our mailing address:
3527 Mt. Diablo Blvd #366
Lafayette CA 94549
“The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax.” — Albert Einstein, physicist