December, 2012


Get Ready for 1099s (Please!) (And info on 1099-K’s)

Have you made payments to an individual or partnership from your business in amounts over $600? For non-employee compensation, we’ll issue 1099-MISC forms in January, 2013.

Now is the time to start gathering info for any vendors who need to receive 1099s from you. You need the (REAL) business name, address, tax ID# and amount paid.

Have you heard about the 1099-K? It is a new (as of last year) 1099 that credit card processors have to issue to their merchants – so Visa, Paypal, AmEx, etc will be sending statements to you, if you’ve accepted credit cards this year. A copy will also go to the IRS so they can match the income reported to your tax return.

Here’s the news: if you’ve paid vendors with a credit card or Paypal, you DON’T have to include those payments on a 1099-MISC (the 1099-K is filed instead of the 1099-MISC per IRS instructions). So, now you have to keep track not only of what you paid, but how payment was rendered. If you’re using QuickBooks and populate the check number field with the following:

QuickBooks will exclude the payment (as it should) from the regular 1099-MISC. (I guess they really like Chase bank, and really don’t care for AmEx.) This MIGHT make for less work (at least doing 1099s) but don’t worry, you make up for it in data entry.

So, what if you fail to exclude the credit card payments, and issue a 1099-MISC for the payments, and the credit card processor ALSO issues a 1099-K for the same income? The vendor may have some explaining to do on their tax return—and if this happens in reverse, we’ll have to explain it on your tax return.

Gone are the days of bringing a stack of 1099s into the office and saying “here’s all my income.” Some of your income may be duplicated if you accept credit cards, and you wouldn’t want to pay too much tax.

Classes – S Corporations, Official IRS Education Provider, New On Line Catalog, Basic Payroll, Schedule C

S Corporations
We’ll review the S Corporation requirements, advantages, and disadvantages. There will be practical solutions for filing returns and dealing with clients, even when they have not had the benefit of sound advice (either because they didn’t listen, or the corporation is a “surprise!”) There will be 4 hours of CPE for Enrolled Agents in Federal Tax Law and I’ll reveal all my secrets as well as the latest court cases, and even some old cases that still apply. Email me to be added to the list; cost is $175 per attendee. Send your questions early and I’ll ensure we cover them at the seminar. Andy@TaxBuddha.com.

Location to be determined, but probably Alameda or Lafayette
Saturday, January 19, 9:00 am – 1:00 pm

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

Here’s a new link to my On Line catalog of classes, not quite finished: https://student.gototraining.com/67ts9/catalog/777367154206641920

I’m an official Education Provider. You can find my name (Tax Buddha) listed at the IRS website: https://ssl.kinsail.com/partners/irs/publicListing.asp where you’ll see I’m qualified to provide federal tax update and federal tax classes for EA’s and RTRP’s. (I just knew I should have used the name AAAAA Tax Buddha!)

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 Rafael at 1515 Clay Street, 2nd Floor, Room 11, in the Eliju Harris Building
Thursday, February 7, 9:00 am – 3:00 pm

San Francisco at the SBA office 455 Market Street, 6th floor (I take BART to Embarcadero or Montgomery Street)
Tuesday, March 5, 9:00 am – 3:00 pm

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
Get ready for next year and filing your own Schedule C for last year. Review what the IRS wants to know from you and how to report it 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 SBA office in San Francisco at 455 Market Street, 6th Floor.
Tuesday, December 18, 6:00 pm – 8:30 pm.

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.

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. You may also be interested in my “Choice of Entity” class – see below.

http://www.amazon.com/Little-Box-Inc-Incorporations-ebook/dp/B005F6EREE/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1315154223&sr=1-2

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.

EBAEA—Audit and Representation Group

We have an Audit and Rep Group meeting the second Wednesday each month starting in September again, but I’m teaching in October and November. At Audit and Rep, we’ll try to take a case and review it, and discuss other audit and representation issues. We meet in Lafayette at Millie’s Café at 9:30 am for two hours at 1018 Oak Hill Road, A, just off highway 24. Click on the link for the current bulletin for more information: http://www.ebaea.org/Bulletin/current.pdf

Phone and Fax Numbers

Our northern California physical office is shared commercial space in Alameda, but 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
Our mailing address:
3527 Mt. Diablo Blvd #366
Lafayette CA 94549

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