December, 2014
IRS Calling Demanding Money? It May Be A Scam.
Here is a “cut and paste” from the IRS:
The Internal Revenue Service issued a consumer alert today providing taxpayers with additional tips to protect themselves from telephone scam artists calling and pretending to be with the IRS.
These callers may demand money or may say you have a refund due and try to trick you into sharing private information. These con artists can sound convincing when they call. They may know a lot about you, and they usually alter the caller ID to make it look like the IRS is calling. They use fake names and bogus IRS identification badge numbers. If you don’t answer, they often leave an “urgent” callback request.
“These telephone scams are being seen in every part of the country, and we urge people not to be deceived by these threatening phone calls,” IRS Commissioner John Koskinen said. “We have formal processes in place for people with tax issues. The IRS respects taxpayer rights, and these angry, shake-down calls are not how we do business.”
The IRS reminds people that they can know pretty easily when a supposed IRS caller is a fake. Here are five things the scammers often do but the IRS will not do. Any one of these five things is a tell-tale sign of a scam. The IRS will never:
If you get a phone call from someone claiming to be from the IRS and asking for money, here’s what you should do:
Remember, too, the IRS does not use unsolicited email, text messages or any social media to discuss your personal tax issue. For more information on reporting tax scams, go to www.irs.gov and type “scam” in the search box.
Additional information about tax scams are available on IRS social media sites, including YouTubeand Tumblr where people can search “scam” to find all the scam-related posts.
Household Payroll 2015 Handbook
I am currently writing a Handbook for Household Payroll Tax in California for 2015. If you have a “household worker” who is usually providing nanny or elder care services in your home, and they’re not employees of an outside agency, you may be putting yourself or your loved ones at risk if you’re not properly reporting them as employees. Look for this publication on Amazon, available electronically for download soon. We’re just finishing up revising all the examples for 2015 tax year.
Classes: Basic Payroll, Schedule C, and Schedule C Audit Prevention
Here’s a link to the seminars page on my website: www.taxbuddha.com/seminars.html
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. We don’t cover wages for apartment managers.
Basic Payroll Seminar runs 9 am 3 pm with an hour for lunch
The next seminars will be:
Oakland at the Oakland State Building, 1515 Clay Street, Room 9 (I take BART to 12th Street Oakland Station.)
Wednesday, February 4, 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, May 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, March 25, 6:00 pm – 8:30 pm
You can register for this class at http://www.sbatrainings.eventbrite.com
Audit Prevention for Schedule C Clients
I will cover IRS resources, including audit technique guides and statistics to prepare accurate returns that are less likely to be audited. I will specifically cover start-up expenses, employee vs. independent contractor and hobby loss rules, as well as some court cases and examples. This class qualifies for Continuing Professional Education for two hours for enrolled agents and some others.
This class will be at North Bay CSEA seminar at Inn Marin, 250 Entrada Dr, Novato CA
Wednesday, December 10, 4:00 pm – 6:00 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.
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.
Our northern California occasional in Alameda:
1516 Oak Street, Suite 109
Alameda CA 94501
Phone numbers are:
Phone (510) 332-0401
Fax (925) 478-2726
“You too can be enlightened about tax” — Tax Buddha