NOW, IT'S THAT TIME AGAIN...

I understand that now everyone is consumed with the coming holiday season. Now is the time for shopping, holiday parties and dinners, as well as getting prepared for guests. Now is the time to also think about what you are going to deduct for the 2014 tax season. Time to find all of those receipts, and make sure that your W4s are correct.

December 31 is the last date to give to your favorite charities, and it's the last date to claim whatever your going to claim on you income taxes.  

April 15, 2014 is also the last date to amend your income taxes going 3 years back in other words, its the last day to amend your 2011 personal income taxes.

These issues can be difficult and overwhelming, and that's why I'm here to help. If you have personal income tax issues, please call us anytime. We'll even talk to the Internal Revenue Service for you. My company has been dealing with personal income taxes since 1988, so experience in these issues are more than just a notion.

We offer service 7 days a week including holidays.

 

 

 

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Wrapping Up End Of The Year Tax Deductions

It's already the end of August and before you know it it will be time to file personal and small business income taxes again. It's time for you as a tax payer to start working on your end of the year deductions such as charitable deductions (church tithes and offerings, and monetary donations to other organizations), also non monetary donations such as clothes, household items, used electronics, auto's, and anything else that you gave or are going to give to Goodwill.  Also, if you have a small business or if you are going to claim Un - reimbursed employee expenses (if you are an employee), make sure everything is documented by the end of the year (December 31).

If you are looking to buy or start a business, NOW is the perfect time. Any and all expenses for any business start up will be deductible on your 2013 Income Tax. To assist you with this, call and talk to me about filing a DBA, S Corporation, Non Profit Corporation, LLC, or LLP.

And for those of you that already have a business, any marketing is tax deductible such as business cards, travel, cell phones, computers, business miles, etc.

Contact us with any questions regarding any tax or business issues at (213) 820-1513.

LEGAL SERVICES AND DOCUMENTS SALE

All legal documents and paralegal services are on sale. Bankruptcy (Chapter 7) $300, Living Trusts $650, Power Of Attorney $65, Wills $65. Nonprofit Corporation completions $400 & up. Call for other services which include back income tax preparation, Grant and business proposals.

WATCH OUT FOR THIS SCAM!

I recently had another client who was almost another victim of an "IRS agent" scam. She received a phone call from a "IRS agent" stating that she had "over due" taxes and unless she paid them right then through a major credit card, prepaid card, or debit card they would issue a warrant for her arrest! They will also speak to you in a rude, threatening and agressive manner. They will also know some personal information about you like the last four digits of your social security number, your address, and in some cases, even your mother's maiden name. In some cases, these scammers will have an accomplis call 5 minutes later pretending to be from the police department or from some other government agency encouraging you to listen to the "Agent" or your freedom will be in peril. These scammers usually target the elderly, immigrants, and people who live in low income neighborhoods.

Remember this. The IRS will NEVER,  EVER initiate first contact with you through a phone call. They will also NEVER, EVER initiate an in person visit to your house. Their initial contact with you will always be via official correspondence from their main office. The only acception is if you're already in an audit situation with the IRS, and are already going through an IRS examination, the agent may call you with your permission if you've given him or her your telephone number.   But, other than this, If anyone calls you on the telephone, or shows up at your house representing themselves as an "IRS agent" (cheesy business card and all), tell them to send you a letter and you will forward the letter to your tax professional. But, If they get to aggressive with you, call the police.

IRS TELEPHONE HOLD LONGER THAN EVER!

One other reason not to procrastinate with your taxes this year is that if you need to reach the IRS for any reason, the telephone hold time is longer than ever! Average wait on hold is 45 minutes or longer to reach an Internal Revenue Service agent. Last week I tried to call the IRS for a client and was kept on hold for 3 hours. And still there is no guarantee that your questions will be answered in that first phone call. One of the reasons could be because of all the cut backs that have occurred at the agency. I guess they're like any other business. IRS employee hours have been cut back or employees have been laid off. For those of you that have had the experience of trying to reach an agent, you already know that the series of telephone menus are ridiculous. People often get discouraged and finally hang up. If you need to reach the IRS, the best time to call is very early in the morning around 8:00 a.m. Next article will be the easiest way to reach an IRS agent.

LET'S NOT PROCRASTINATE! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?

Remember, the first day the IRS will be accepting tax returns for processing is January 31, 2014. But remember, the deadline for filing your taxes with the IRS is still April 15, 2014. The IRS gets a two week reprieve, but we don't. So, take the day to gather up all the deductions and documents you're going to need without delay. Before you know it, it'll be April 15th. But relax, take care of business and don't stress...

Is "Black Friday" Really A Day For Deals, Or Sleep Deprivation?

I've checked out the ads posted so far for the "Black Friday" deals that most of the major stores are offering. Sorry, but I really don't see anything surprising or any significant deals that will get me out of bed at midnight with enough time to stand in line at JC Penny by 3:00am. Especially when it comes to high tech items. Couple of bucks here, and a couple of bucks there, isn't worth it. For example, at Best Buy Electronics, they have a ASUS 15-inch touchscreen laptop with Windows 8 and 32GB memory for $249. I guess, for the brand, this could be just okay. But, the point is, I've seen these deals all the time. You can get the same deal at Big Lots all year round. I've also seen other great electronics deals at eBay, Amazon.com, and other smaller electronic "brick and mortar" stores. I guess the Kindle Fire that's listed for $99 might sound like a "good deal". But how many of the Kindle Fire's will be in stock? Example: About 6 years ago when portable DVD players were popular (remember those days before the popularity of Netflix, iTunes, Youtube, and Hulu) I went to Best Buy Electronics very early the Friday after Thanksgiving in order to snare a Sony brand portable DVD player that was listed at the "Black Friday" price which was $25. Well, these "players" were normally listed at $149. Seems like a good price, right? I mean, this was a really, really, good price! I busted into the doors of Best Buy with all the other people, ran to the DVD department and was told by the sales clerk that they have been sold out! What!!! "You guys just opened!!" The sales clerk went on to explain to me that they only had 10 of them in stock, and they probably were already snatched up and purchased by employees stocking shelves the day before. But he went on to tell me that I might be interested in these DVD players over here...which by the way, were at a significantly higher price. I guess, anything to get you into the store, right? The old "bate and switch". Also, I had seen an ad for a $159 Garmin GPS system for my car at Sears. The item was on sale for $49.99. Before I went home that morning, I decided to stop into Sears and try my luck. I did see the Garmin! I snatched it off the rack, but boy, oh boy, when I saw that line to the cashiers, I promptly put the Garmin back. That line must have been at least 200 people thick.

I went home very discouraged (and sleepy). I decided (after having another piece of pumpkin pie)to get on my computer that afternoon and visit the Sears website and joy of all joys there was the Garmin listed online at Sears.com for the same $49.99 sales price. They even had free shipping! And, yes, I was willing to wait the extra 2-3 days to receive the item. That was my last "Black Friday" that I got up early for. After that, every Friday after Thanksgiving, I look for all deals online (I didn't even have to wait for "Cyber Monday"). And the good thing about that is that I can do it in my pajamas.

I've been invited several times by good friends and relatives to attend "Black Fridays" with them. "Not on your life" I tell them. They quickly inform me that it's not the shopping that's important, but its the tradition of getting up early, driving to the mall in the cold, and "hunting" for good deals. It's all in the "hunt". I still say "No thank you". It could be "old age" (even though I'm not really old), but to me this is torture.

Through the years, many stores have been opening earlier, and earlier for "Black Friday". Many had began to open there doors by 8:00pm on Thanksgiving night. Now, there are a stores that have now announced that that will be opening all day on Thanksgiving starting at 8:00am!! Oh, those poor employees. How will they spend Thanksgiving with their families? I say we all stand by those employees and send a message to the greedy store execs...Let's all shop online this year!