Accountants, Small Business, Customer Service

All of our clients are individuals and small businesses. One question we generally ask prospective clients who are looking for a new accountant is why they are looking for a new accountant. The number one reason? Communication - their former accountant takes days or weeks to return phone calls. It doesn't take much time to return a phone call - and I'll get up to 20 messages a day during tax season. Some accountants refuse to give out their cell phone numbers. Cell phones are an extension of our accounting firm. We are striving to make customer service and communication the cornerstone of our business.

New Mileage Rates effective 9/1/05

Announcement 2005-41 advises taxpayers that the Internal Revenue Service is modifying Rev. Proc. 2004-64, 2004-49 I.R.B. 898, by revising the optional standard mileage rates for business, medical, and moving expenses. Effective September 1, 2005, the standard business mileage rate is 48.5 cents per mile and the standard mileage rate for medical and moving expenses is 22 cents per mile.

This will appear in Internal Revenue Bulletin 2005-41, which will be published October 11, 2005.

IRS Launching New S Corp Compliance Study

IRS LAUNCHING NEW SUB CHAPTER S COMPLIANCE STUDY*

Now that IRS has just about wrapped up work on the first phase of the National Research Program audits that targeted individual taxpayers, IRS is shifting attention to Sub Chapter S corps and other pass-through entities. The IRS will select 5,000 Sub S returns for detailed scrutiny in a study that will last about two years. IRS will use data gained from NRP audits and the S corporation study to modify the parameters by which they select returns for audit in an effort to better target compliance efforts and reduce the number of “no change” audits.

*From the 6/30/05 NSAlert.

Fear of audit? Keep good records.

The US Tax Code allows many deductions to reduce taxable income. Some taxpayers won't take a deduction simply out of fear that they will be audited. Keeping good records and documentation goes a long way in reducing the anxiety of the possibility of being audited.

If I kept bad records, I, too, would always be worried about being audited. Generally, if the IRS questions one of your deductions - no documentation, no deduction. Setting up a good tax recordkeeping system can not only save you tax dollars, it can also reduce a lot of unnecessary anxiety.

Important Tax Dates

Missing an important tax deadline can be really irritating. Click on the following link for a list of important tax dates:

http://www.warrioracs.com/TaxImportantDates.html

Tip: List them on your calendar so they don't sneak up on you.

Small Business Payroll Solution

Payroll can be a very time-consuming and expensive process for the small business owner.

Please take a moment and ask yourself these three questions:
1) Is doing your own payroll taking time away from running your business?
2) Are you spending too much money on costly payroll service bureaus like ADP and Paychex?
3) Have you had to pay a penalty because of payroll tax errors or missed deadlines?

If you answered yes to any of the above, go to http://www.warrioracs.com/Paycycle.pdf !