Introduction: I have been a practicing accountant since 2007. After gaining the required work experience, I became a licensed Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in Pennsylvania in 2010. Later, in 2013, I obtained the license to practice as a Certified Public Accountant in New York as well. I also have a law degree and worked in the Mergers & Acquisitions group of a "Big Four" public accounting firm. I left the public accounting firm after 7 years in order to start my own firm.
TAX PREPARATION SERVICES:
INDIVIDUALS
For clients who have already established a tax filing history and have concerns about prior filings, we can help amend any tax returns incorrectly filed. We work with our clients year round to make sure we understand your tax needs. Throughout the year we will ensure timely filing of estimated taxes, if applicable. Alternatively, if you usually receive a refund and minimizing your refund to ensure more disposable income during the year is your goal, we’ll work with you to determine the proper withholding allowances to submit to your employer on Form W-4. This will ensure that you get the maximum amount of pay each payroll period, instead of giving an interest free loan to the government.
DO I NEED TO FILE A TAX RETURN?
Some individuals may be newly employed and feel that they make very little money and are not sure whether they need to file a return. A tax return should be filed if an individual has yearly gross income equaling a threshold amount based on the person’s filing status. The filing threshold generally totals the sum of the personal exemption and the standard deduction. For tax years beginning 2018 through 2025 the personal exemption is $0, so the filing threshold will be based only on the standard deduction for those years. If you have a question about whether you need to file, please contact our office. The IRS may impose a penalty based on the failure to file, even if no tax is due. Therefore, it is important to understand whether you are required to file a return.
ESTIMATED PAYMENTS
If you had a tax liability of $1,000 or more in the prior year and your circumstances have not changed and you have not changed your withholding, you should likely be making estimated payments in the current year. We can review your income/liability numbers from the previous year to determine if you’ll owe tax for the current year. We will calculate your estimated payments by compiling your income, deductions, credits and taxes paid, similar to filing a yearly tax return.
For the purpose of estimated tax, the year is divided into 4 payment periods. Each period has a specific payment deadline, and failing to pay on time can result in IRS penalties:
• January 1 — March 31: Deadline is April 15
• April 1 — May 31: Deadline is June 15
• June 1 — August 31: Deadline is September 15
• September 1 — December 31: Deadline is January 15 (of the following year)
For taxpayers that have a tax year starting on a date other than January 1st, you are considered a fiscal year taxpayer. Please contact our office if you have questions about when to make your estimated tax payments.
It is important to submit your tax payments on time. Even if you’ve already missed a few installments for estimated tax, you should still try to pay them as soon as possible in order to minimize the underpayment penalties.
MISSED TAX RETURN FILINGS
If you have fallen behind on your tax filing requirements and have not filed in prior years, we can help you file those delinquent tax returns. Although the tax laws are constantly changing, we will make sure the correct law, in effect in the year of the tax return at issue, is applied. If interest and penalties are outstanding, we can negotiate with the IRS to try to achieve a reduction.
STUDENT LOAN DEFAULT
Have you defaulted on your student loans? Has your tax refund been offset as a result? Or, has your spouse defaulted on his or her student loans and you feel your share of the refund should not be offset? If you have defaulted on your student loans and a tax refund offset presents a hardship to your current financial condition, we can help you apply for a Tax Offset Hardship Refund. If your spouse has defaulted, but your share of the refund is offset, we can help you submit an Injured Spouse Allocation in order get back your share of the joint refund. In addition to tax refund offsets for student loan defaults, tax refunds can be offset for any other federal agency debt. We can help you negotiate a one-time claim for relief from the Offset.
IRS TAX LIEN
If you owe federal taxes from prior years, the IRS may place a lien against your property. A federal tax lien is a legal claim against your property resulting from a failure to pay a tax debt. If you owe taxes to the IRS and you have received a 1) Notice of Federal Tax Lien, 2) Final Notice—Notice of Intent to Levy and Notice of Your Right to a Hearing, 2) Final Notice—Notice of Intent to Levy and Notice of Your Right to a Hearing, 3) Notice of Jeopardy Levy and Right of Appeal, 4) Notice of Levy on Your State Tax Refund—Notice of Your Right to a Hearing, or 5) Notice of Levy and of Your Right to a Hearing, you have a limited time to respond. Our office can help you respond to any of these Notices in order to preserve your rights prior to having your wages garnished or tax refund offset by the IRS.
These are just a few of the individual tax services we provide. Please contact our firm to discuss your individual tax matters.
BUSINESSES
Have you recently incorporated a new business? There are tax requirements to be considered during the initial tax filing of a corporation. There must be attention to detail, as taking the incorrect position on an initial return may result in an accounting method that can only be changed with IRS approval. Our firm helps a new company evaluate whether it needs to use the accrual or cash method. We can help a company adopt an initial accounting period and determine whether it can choose a fiscal year or a calendar tax year. We help new companies determine whether they should be concerned about the Personal Holding Company rules and the potential pitfalls of a new company. For existing companies, if any changes are required, we assist with navigating the rules for requesting a change with the IRS. If any issues arise requiring contact with the IRS or state tax authorities, we will correspond with those agencies on our client’s behalf.
C CORPORATIONS
A C Corporation is formed based on the laws of the state in which it is incorporated. For tax purposes, the most significant aspect of a C Corporation, compared to other forms of business, is that income and gain generated is subject to two levels of taxation. Income and gain are first taxed at the corporate level and the tax is paid, if necessary, with the entity’s corporate tax return (Form 1120). The income and gain are distributed to the shareholders and are taxed a second time at the shareholder level. If necessary, additional taxes are paid with each shareholders’ tax return. Corporations pay the same rate of tax on both ordinary and capital gains, unlike individuals who pay a lower rate for capital gains. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act mitigated the double taxation for C corporations when it reduced the corporate tax rate to 21%, making it just one percent more than the 20% paid by individuals on capital items.
LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY (LLC)
A limited liability company (LLC) is created under the state law in which it is formed. It is neither a corporation nor a partnership. For federal tax purposes, an LLC is an entity that is eligible to take advantage of the “check-the-box” regulations. An LLC can be treated as a corporation, partnership or disregarded entity. If an LLC has one owner, it is a single member LLC (SMLLC) and is automatically treated as a disregarded entity. In order to be treated as a corporation, the LLC must follow the “check-the-box” regulations and file Form 8832 in order to elect to be treated as a corporation, which is an entity separate from its owner. If an LLC has two owners, it is automatically treated as a partnership unless it files Form 8832 to elect to be treated as a corporation.
S CORPORATIONS
Many businesses choose the S corporation as a form of entity because it is a pass through entity without taxation at the entity level. Once the S corporation status is established, many businesses may have a false sense of comfort about the lack of taxation at the corporate level. Care must be taken, however, to be sure not to invalidate the S corporation status. If the S status becomes invalid, the S corporation terminates and becomes a C corporation. Suddenly, the entity and shareholders are subject to double taxation, which was the very result everyone wanted to avoid. The S corporation status should be reviewed annually. Our firm can review the transactions of a business each year to make sure it continues to be eligible for S corporation status. If an S corporation inadvertently terminates its S corporation status, the IRS may grant relief if steps are taken within a reasonable period of time to correct the defect. In the event of an inadvertent termination, the S corporation has the burden of establishing that the IRS should consider the termination inadvertent and, therefore, grant relief. We work to help the S corporation gather the relevant facts to support the request for relief.
SOLE PROPRIETORSHIP
A sole proprietor is an individual who owns an unincorporated business by himself or herself. A sole proprietorship is also a pass through entity and the business itself is not taxed. The sole proprietor reports taxes for the business on his or her individual tax return, Form 1040. A sole proprietorship is very easy to establish, but there are still tax considerations beyond the individuals personal income taxes that must be considered. Sole proprietors must file Schedule C along with the Form 1040. Schedule C specifically lists the income and expenses related to the business. A sole proprietor must also file Schedule SE to pay self-employment tax from any trade or business. Self-employment tax for a sole proprietor consists of the full 15.3% usually paid by both the employer and employee for Social Security and Medicare taxes. A typical employer would be responsible for just half, or 7.65%, of these taxes while the employee would be responsible for the other half. Because a sole proprietor is both the employee and employer, the full percentage must be paid. The typical employer will usually receive a deduction for the business’s portion of the Social Security and Medicare taxes. Therefore, a sole proprietor is permitted to deduct the employer equivalent portion of self-employment tax in arriving at adjusted gross income. Wage earners, or employees, cannot deduct these taxes.
PAYROLL SERVICES:
Our firm is able to offer customized services based on the needs of each client. Unlike some payroll services, we can enter employee hours on our clients' behalf, thus cutting down some of the administrative work required by each household employer, or the staff of our small business employers.
Payroll is a weekly or bi-weekly service, therefore, we are able to have continuous contact with clients. Because we are constantly in contact with our payroll clients, we are able to receive real time updates regarding any payroll issues they may encounter. This puts us in a better position to help them stay in compliance with their wage payment and tax filing responsibilities, not just during the typical tax filing season, but all year long.
