March, 2015


Email Down 3/12/15, now back.

Want to stress out a tax preparer? Have the email go out Thursday afternoon before the corporate tax deadline!

Apparently, my MX was all Positini over to the DNS.

So, if you sent me an email March 12 in the afternoon, or March 13, before 8 am, I probably didn’t get it. I’m not out of business, just an email glitch. Can you re-send it?

Time of an Extension?

Speaking of tax deadlines, the corporate tax return deadline is March 15th, which is a Sunday, so Monday March 16th

I charge an extension fee of $100.

IF I DON’T RECEIVE YOUR EXTENSION FEE, I WON’T PUT YOU ON EXTENSION.

Why so harsh? What’s the big deal about filing an extension? It’s just a one page form, right? WRONG! Yes, it’s one page, but to properly extend your return, it is required to estimate the amount of tax due, which basically means doing the tax return before doing the real tax return. There is no extension for payment of the tax; if you pay late there will be penalties and interest. There is a separate penalty for filing late, and throwing together a last-second extension or putting “$0 due” (without at least believing it is true) is a good way to have IRS invalidate the extension, and that can subject you to some very nasty penalties for filing late. That’s bad for you. Ultimately, I’m trying to protect you from paying substantially more in penalties and interest for not filing on time.

The IRS offers a six-month extension, but it is best if you still file as soon as possible within those six months. If you wait until the last minute, your returns may not get finished on time. If your return is not filed by the extension deadline, the government computes late filing penalties from the original due date and disregards the extension.

Don’t have the extension fee together at extension time? In addition to cash, check and PayPal, I also accept MasterCard and Visa.

You may also put yourself on extension. Be warned that some states do not accept the federal extension as having simultaneously extended the state return, and also that the “extension” is an extension to file, not an extension to pay. I file extensions electronically, so I get an electronic confirmation. If you file one for yourself, I suggest certified mail with return receipt service for confirmation. No, I cannot “just answer a few quick questions” about your extension if you haven’t paid me to prepare it; it’s not fair to the other people for whom this policy applies.

Note that the extension payment policy only applies if you miss the deadlines. If you have questions about this policy, please call me to discuss them.

Thanks for using our services for the 2014 tax year.

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 S Corporations May 2015

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 seminar will be:

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

S Corporations
By popular demand, I’ll be offering my S Corporation class again in Alameda sometime in May, 2015, probably the week of May 18–22. If you have a preference, feel free to email me to help me select a date you’d be able to attend. The class will be limited to fewer than 10 people, and is 4 hours of Federal CPE. In addition to a set agenda of materials about how to prepare the S Corporation return, we explore questions you have about specific returns you’re working on.

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.

Phone and Fax Numbers

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