{"id":63814,"date":"2022-03-23T14:21:05","date_gmt":"2022-03-23T14:21:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.artspainter.com\/?p=63814"},"modified":"2022-03-23T14:21:05","modified_gmt":"2022-03-23T14:21:05","slug":"6-tips-from-a-tax-accountant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artspainter.com\/blog\/6-tips-from-a-tax-accountant\/","title":{"rendered":"6 Tips from a Tax Accountant"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"420\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/T8jD7HR0N8I?autoplay=1&#038;mute=1\"><\/iframe>There are a couple of great tips in this article for how to get your taxes done correctly. I can&#8217;t recommend it enough for anyone who has to file their own taxes.<\/p>\n<p>The biggest mistake most people make with their taxes is neglecting to claim every deduction they&#8217;re entitled to. This is especially true for those who freelance, do home improvements and\/or have rental properties.<\/p>\n<p>The second biggest mistake people make with their taxes is having a hard time keeping track of all the different tax deductions they can claim on their return. When it comes to tax deductions, the best thing you can do is stay organized.<\/p>\n<p>Here are 6 tips that will help you get your taxes done right:<\/p>\n<p>1. Keep thorough records of your income and expenses throughout the year. This includes every check you write and every credit card transaction you have. You&#8217;ll need this information when you prepare your tax return. 2. Identify all the deductions you can take advantage of. Be sure to include business-related expenses such as travel costs, equipment expenses, meals and entertainment, etc.. 3. Make a list of all the different tax credits you may be eligible for, such as child tax credits or credits for energy efficient home improvements. 4. If you plan on itemizing your deductions instead of claiming the standard deduction, make sure you take into account all eligible expenses such as charitable donations and medical expenses. 5. Form an overall strategy before completing your return so that you know<\/p>\n<p>First things first, if you have a business or any other tax deductions, it is important to get your taxes done by a professional. And if at all possible, try to find one who has been in business for more than ten years. This will ensure that they are up to date on the complex tax code and will be able to help you with more complicated issues.<\/p>\n<p>Once you are ready to hire someone, here are some tips that can help you choose the right person for the job.<\/p>\n<p>1. Ask Around<\/p>\n<p>It seems obvious, but sometimes we make the mistake of going with the first person we come across rather than asking around. Word of mouth is one of the best ways to find a good accountant (or doctor or mechanic or any other professional). You can ask friends and family, or even ask around on social media. If someone you trust recommends an accountant to you, it&#8217;s probably a good idea to check them out.<\/p>\n<p>2. Check Credentials<\/p>\n<p>When meeting with potential accountants, check their credentials and stay away from those who have not completed a four year degree program. Also look for those who have passed their tests and obtained their licenses so that they can practice as Certified Public Accountants (CPAs). You should also check with your state<\/p>\n<p>Hi all. I&#8217;m a tax accountant and I see many returns that show people do not understand the tax code. The IRS, as well as state taxing authorities, have made it easier with automatic calculations on their web sites, but they still expect you to report all your income and claim all your deductions.<\/p>\n<p>My advice:<\/p>\n<p>1) If you are getting a 1099, make sure you know what it is for. A lot of times people get a 1099 and think they have to report it when they really don&#8217;t. You only have to report a 1099 if it is for income like interest or dividends or if you received payments from someone whom must pay you via 1099 (contractors). Do not assume everything is taxable income. It&#8217;s very easy to overlook things like interest from your bank or credit union account as well as rebates from your insurance company.<\/p>\n<p>Income is taxable unless it is specifically exempted by the tax code. So even if you didn&#8217;t receive a 1099 for it doesn&#8217;t mean it&#8217;s not taxable income. For example, if you are self-employed and received income in the form of services from your business then that is taxable (unless those services were rendered to an exempt organization&#8230;and not just a friend).<\/p>\n<p>2)<\/p>\n<p>* You can get the tax preparation software for free.* Hire a professional to do it for you.* Don&#8217;t forget about any deductions.* Get organized.* Know your limits.* File on time!<\/p>\n<p>1. You can get the software for free. There are plenty of websites that offer good tax preparation software for free. If you have a fairly simple tax situation and want to do it yourself, this is a great way to go. For example, TurboTax offers Deluxe and Premier versions of their software online at no cost. Both of these packages will guide you through the process step by step and give you the information you need on everything from deductions to filing your taxes electronically. The software may be free but there is a fee if you get a refund but choose to have them file your taxes electronically.<\/p>\n<p>2. Hire a professional to do it for you. Most accountants will offer their services at a flat rate rather than an hourly rate as long as all of your documents are in order and they don&#8217;t have to do a lot of hunting around for extra paperwork or receipts. If your taxable income is over $100,000, then hiring an accountant is probably worth it because there are specific forms that need to be filled out for those returns that aren&#8217;t required for other<\/p>\n<p>This article is for anyone who is getting ready to file their taxes and wants to do it correctly. It focuses on the following:<\/p>\n<p>Getting a W-2 from your employer<\/p>\n<p>Making sure your dependents are claimed<\/p>\n<p>Claiming all of your deductions<\/p>\n<p>Claiming the right amount of your standard deduction<\/p>\n<p>Or, if you are self-employed, paying what you owe<\/p>\n<p>Learning more about the Affordable Care Act and how that affects your tax return<\/p>\n<p>Writing off a home office, for example, is a good idea if your office is also used for your business. But it&#8217;s not so good for a home office that&#8217;s rarely used for work or that you only use for work to save on daycare or commuting costs.<\/p>\n<p>A few years back when my wife and I had just begun working from our home, we were finishing up last minute preparations before writing off the fourth bedroom as a home office. While the kids were in school we had just barely begun to get used to being in the same room together all day. We couldn&#8217;t imagine spending hundreds of hours a year doing it as well. But taxes are taxes and real estate is real estate so we gave it a try.<\/p>\n<p>After a few months it was clear that the office was being used for play more than work so we decided to stop using it as an office. But now there was an immediate problem: What do you do with all those tax deductions?<\/p>\n<p>As it turns out, you get to keep every deduction that fit within the rules. If you didn&#8217;t use your home office enough because you were working from another office, then don&#8217;t write off any of your home expenses. The risk of getting caught wasn&#8217;t worth the few hundred dollars in savings and<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"420\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/bo9nP-aH1X0?autoplay=1&#038;mute=1\"><\/iframe><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"420\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/InMbQBGwcW8?autoplay=1&#038;mute=1\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There are a couple of great tips in this article for how to get your taxes done correctly. I can&#8217;t recommend it enough for anyone who has to file their own taxes. The biggest mistake most people make with their taxes is neglecting to claim every deduction they&#8217;re entitled to. This is especially true for [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artspainter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63814"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artspainter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artspainter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artspainter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artspainter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63814"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.artspainter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63814\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":63815,"href":"https:\/\/www.artspainter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63814\/revisions\/63815"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artspainter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63814"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artspainter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63814"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artspainter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63814"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}