August, 2011


Little Box of Inc: Incorporations Made Easy published on Kindle

The book with tips about how the S Corporation works is now published to Amazon’s Kindle, updated with additional information about S Corporations and can be found by searching for Andrew S Rogers as author, and click on Kindle. Here’s the blurb:

Considering incorporating as an S Corporation? This booklet will help you understand how the S Corporation works, what you need to do to become incorporated and what you need to do once you have a corporation to stay out of trouble. The structure and the requirements are reviewed, as well as helpful tips to use your Corporation to reduce your tax liability and retain your status as an S Corporation. I’ve worked with S Corporations for many years, and as a tax preparer, I can choose the kind of entity I have for my business: I choose the S Corporation myself, and I’ve convinced many of my fellow tax preparers to incorporate as well. I’ve divided the information into clear, easy-to-understand topics, and cross-referenced sections when it might be helpful.

After you’ve read this material, you can view on-line videos via YouTube.com for free to access more advanced information about S Corporations.

IRS Doesn’t send email/BOE sends letters

If you get an email from the “IRS,” it is probably “phishing” for your personal information. The IRS won’t even receive an email from me after I’ve made contact with a Revenue Officer or Revenue Agent—they don’t consider email to be secure enough to communicate about a taxpayer’s information.

The California State Board of Equalization DOES send letters out asking for people who don’t think they have a sales tax issue to file online and report any “use tax” for things purchased out of state that you are the “end user” of. It’s like if you purchase books from Amazon.com, you don’t pay sales tax because they ALWAYS ship from out of state—I know, because when someone orders my physical book from Amazon in San Leandro, I ship a book to Kentucky, and they ship it back to San Leandro from “out of state” so they don’t have to deal with sales tax. Admittedly, California sales tax is quite messy—rates changing mid-year and different rates apply depending on the CITY of the recipient—hard to program into a website.

The BOE has been sending delinquent filing letters to companies who need to file a Use Tax return. If you get one of these, it’s probably legitimate—if you have questions, fax me a copy and I can confirm “it’s real” for you. If you need help filling out the filings, I can help with that too. You’ll need to assemble the information about any out-of-state purchases—like things bought from Amazon, or if you’re “retailing,” we’ll have to talk.

I originally wrote about this issue of the BOE in November 2009 when they first announced they would be sending these out. For a more extensive discussion, please go to www.taxbuddha.com/newsletter/newsletter_2009_11.html

Tax Buddha Messenger Bags

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 a booklet 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. Go to the link for the current bulletin for more information: http://www.ebaea.org/Bulletin/current.pdf. July’s meeting had some new attendees as well as presentations of material in development by three different speakers who received feedback on the material, handouts, and presentation skills.

EBAEA—Audit and Representation Group

Our meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, August 3, and the next one for September 7. 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 9:30 am for two hours at 1018 Oak Hill Road, A, just off highway 24. Go to the link for the current bulletin for more information: http://www.ebaea.org/Bulletin/current.pdf. Last month’s meeting was well attended with a mix of those experienced with newbies to representation. We’re currently discovering if we can give CPE to Enrolled Agents who attend for two hours.

Classes—Basic Payroll, Schedule C, Household Employees, and SEE Classes

Here’s a link to the seminars page on my website: www.taxbuddha.com/seminars.html

I’m working on a new seminar S Corp vs. LLC for the LA chapter of Enrolled Agents, two hours 1­3 pm, October 18th, in Los Angeles.

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)
10 am ­ 4 pm, August 2 and September 13

Oakland at Elihu M. Harris State Building, 1515 Clay Street, Room 20, Second Floor,
9 am ­ 3 pm, September 22

San Rafael at 120 N Redwood Drive, 2nd Floor
9 am ­ 3 pm, August 30

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 this year and get ready for next year. 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 SBDC in Oakland at 250 Frank Ogawa Plaza near 12th Street BART station
Thursday December 1, 2:00 pm ­ 4:30 pm.

Household Employees
This is an update class for both employers and the tax practitioners who help them. This is currently scheduled for late January, 2012 in Lafayette. The cost to attend this class will be$75.

SEE Classes
The Special Enrollment Exam is a three part test to qualify to become an Enrolled Agent, and the East Bay Chapter of Enrolled Agents is offering a class series to help you pass. I’m teaching a couple of the segments—but if you’re interested, you should attend the whole series. I’ll be teaching Saturday August 20th Losses and Partnerships, 9 am to 4 pm. Sign up here if you’re interested: http://www.ebaea.org/EBAEA_SEE_CLASS_FLIER11.html

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/

Phone and Fax Numbers

Our northern California physical office is shared commercial space in Alameda, which is currently undergoing a bit of construction over the summer, so 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 (925) 478-2726 (The fax number is new.)
Our mailing address:
3527 Mt. Diablo Blvd #366
Lafayette CA 94549

“You too can be enlightened about tax” — Tax Buddha