Tom Wheelwright's Articles in Taxes - ABC Article Directory | Submit Articles | Article Search Engine

Tom Wheelwright's Articles in Taxes

Show All\|Display Category\|Title\|Newest\|Oldest
Deducting Your Seminar Expenses This is an area of the tax law that is a prime example of how increasing your knowledge, can decrease your risk. In this case, it can decrease the risk of overpaying your taxes and decrease the risk of having to pay more tax (and penalties and interest) if you are audited. 3 Tax Planning Tips for S Corporations Recent IRS statistics say that S corporations represent the most popular form of small business corporation. That's understandable. S corporations provide some powerful tax savings benefits for small business owners and investors. Your 15-Point Tax-Return Checklist It's time to start thinking about getting those taxes done. Maybe you're in a panic. Not to worry. Just follow Tom's 15 steps to getting your taxes done, and you'll be much happier. Ready? The Basics of State Tax Planning The first step to turning your state tax exposure into state tax opportunity is to identify the states you or your entities may be required to file state tax returns. Top 3 Incorrect Uses of Like-Kind Exchanges If like-kind exchanges are used incorrectly, the result is not just an increase in taxes, but also a slow down in the ability to build wealth. Here are the top 3 ways I see like-kind exchanges used incorrectly Tax Saving Entity Structures In a perfect world, the tax preparer would have asked the right questions to learn more about Pierre's goals and situation and would have translated "confusing accountant talk" into something clear and understandable. In general, S Corporations are good entities for businesses. But, they can be terrible when there are losses, and losses are common when a business first begins. Why You Must Change Your Mindset Before You Can Reduce Your Taxes The number one reason given for the erroneous overpayment of taxes was the complexity of the tax code. This plays right into molding the mindset that taxes are just too complicated to even try to understand. Reducing Your IRS Audit Risk Accuracy in a tax return simply means that the information provided by the client was reflected on the tax return. It does not mean that the tax return was prepared in the BEST way it could have been prepared. In fact, I RARELY see a tax return from a new client that was prepared the way we would prepare it at ProVision. Forming Your Personal Tax Strategy Think about planning a vacation. Let's say you are going to Hawaii. When you go to book your ticket, you need to know where you are departing from, right? This is your starting point. It is impossible for you to get to Hawaii unless you know where you are starting. The same applies to a personal tax strategy. You must know where you are starting. In your personal tax strategy, this means you must know your current financial position. Rules the IRS Won't Tell You The common theme in all of these questions is the lack of flexibility. Again, I'm not saying don't use an IRA or 401(k), I'm saying be aware of your options in those plans and how they will impact your wealth and tax goals. Creating Permanent Tax Savings Every dollar you spend is certainly not going to be deductible, but it's always shocking how many people don't consider the possibility that an expense may be deductible. The most successful tax strategies include the possibility that any expense may be deductible. It's simply a matter of determining how it can be deducted and if that fits with the strategy. How State Taxes Can Become Very Scary Many business owners (and real estate investors!) get into trouble by not even realizing they aren't complying with the state tax laws. Last Minute Filing Tips for April 15th While it may be tempting to just get it done, you definitely want to make sure you give your CPA time to analyze your tax return. My team and I are often able to find tax savings opportunities during the tax return preparation process, and come up with tax savings ideas for the new year, but you don't give your CPA an opportunity to do this when you file at the last minute. 3 Ways to Prepare for an Audit Before You Are Ever Audited I still find it hard to believe, but I've seen people give up thousands in LEGAL tax savings in an effort to hopefully reduce their audit risk, and many times at the advice of their own accountant! This is often an emotional decision - the fear of an audit. Don't Drive By This Tax Deduction! Have Your Business Reimburse You for Its Use of Your Personal Vehicle Your business can reimburse you for allowing it to use your car - even if you are the one using it in the business! Here's What You Need to Know about the New Tax Law The new tax law enhances the credit by eliminating the repayment obligation for taxpayers that purchase homes on or after January 1, 2009. 5 Reverse Tax Planning Tips What is Reverse Tax Planning? Normally tax planning focuses on reducing taxable income and taxes. Reverse tax planning does the opposite and may actually increase taxes. Why is this a good thing? The Tax Return Trap Today my team and I are wrapping up the month of October with our annual Halloween office party. It's a nice way to end the month, which is always one of the busiest months at the ProVision office. One of the reasons October is always a busy month is because of the October 15th tax deadline. It's one of the biggest deadlines because for many, it is the absolute last date to timely file many types of returns. The Financial Markets Rescue Bill and How it Impacts Your Taxes Earlier this month, the President signed into law the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. The financial markets rescue plan is one of the main components of the new law, but the new law also includes over 100 tax provisions! The Biggest Mistake With C Corporations and How to Save Taxes Using the C Corporation Double Tax When used correctly, C Corporations are a great way to supercharge a tax strategy. I find that when my clients make the most of their C Corporations, they reduce their taxes by a minimum of $10,000 every year. 5 Questions for Your Mid-Year Tax Planning Have you ever met with a CPA or tax preparer and been told you could have done something about a tax problem if only you had acted before the end of the year? And while year end tax planning has its place in a tax strategy, often times there is simply not enough time at the end of the year to get the best tax results. That's why mid-year tax planning is so important. Mid-Year Tax Planning: Do You Need to Add an Entity? Do you need to add an entity to your tax structure? This is such an important question for mid-year planning because knowing the right time to add an entity to your tax strategy can often save as much as $10,000 per year in taxes! Inside Secrets of Failed Tax Strategies I have seen the inner workings of hundreds of tax strategies. I recently did a study of tax strategies to reveal the inside secrets of failed tax strategies. I was searching for common causes of the failures. The most common causes all centered around cost, but not in a way you may expect. Three (3) Things You Can Do To Be Prepared For An Audit The number of IRS audits increased in 2007. What is causing this increase and who is targeted? What can you do to be prepared? The number of IRS audits increased in 2007. Remember, the IRS can audit a return 3 years after it has been filed (and 6 years if the tax return filed was considerably incorrect). Is The IRS Sending You a Rebate Check? Find Out If You Are Eligible ARE YOU GETTING A REBATE CHECK? There are two groups eligible to receive rebates. You can only be in one group so if you qualify for both group, be sure to pick the group that results in the highest rebate amount. Group 1: Those who paid taxes in 2007. Group 2: Seniors, disabled veterans and widows of veterans. How the New Tax Law Can Help Your Business: Two Tax Breaks for Businesses Congress recently passed the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008. It's designed to inject $152 billion into the U.S economy. As a business owner, what does this mean to you? Tax Law Changes That Will Impact Your 2007 Tax Return Do you own real estate? At the very end of 2007, Congress passed a bill with several tax law changes impacting real estate. Expect some changes when you file your 2007 tax return! Here are a few highlights from the Small Business and Work Opportunity Act of 2007. SEP's, IRA's, 401(k)'s and RRSP's My gripe with SEP's, IRA's, 401(k)'s and RRSP's is that the financial institutions and the government push them so hard that people think they are the ONLY alternative. There are many other ways to save taxes that are much better for many people. Are All Tax Returns Created Equally? As we approach Tax Season, I wonder how many people understand the potentially vast differences in the quality of tax return preparation? Are tax returns really the commodity that they seem to be? Is a tax return prepared by the tax service in the mall of the same quality as that prepared by a major CPA firm? What does it mean to have a "quality" tax return? In fact, can a tax return be prepared in such a way as to reduce income taxes?