tax practice

busy season: accountants worry for u.s. economy

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卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 busy season barometer: the business & economic outlook

but upbeat on their clients’, their firm’s, and their families’ outlook.

today’s bonus question:
the tcja impact on your practice and your clients
join the survey: get the results.

by rick telberg
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

tax and accounting professionals are headed into the jaws of busy season 2019 fairly confident in the business and economic outlook for their clients, their firms and themselves – except they are distinctly negative on the direction of the nation’s economy as a whole, according to the latest readings from the annual 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 busy season barometer.

more on busy season:  tax shops bulk up for big busy season  |  busy season: the busiest ever?  |  survey: tax season launches with a whimper16 big questions for tax season   |  survey: tax accountants alarmed by tcja & shutdown | shutdown: what to tell tax clients during “the lapse” | beware the leeches and consultants | charitable giving under tcja | why padding tax deductions is a risky proposition |  handling the delay in 199a regs |  survey: clients rush for tcja answers |

goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

free to pro members: busy season 2019 trend report (log-in required)

with more than 475 practitioners reporting, 52 percent expect better times ahead for their firms, 37 percent see no change, and only 10% are bracing for declines, yielding a weighted average of about 2.4 on a five-point scale. read more →

tax shops bulk up for big busy season

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wages hit new highs.

by beth bellor
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间

new hiring in the tax and accounting industry may be slowing in many areas, but the latest 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 jobs report finds gains overall. up is up and we’ll take it.

more on jobs: jobs report: 43,000 new hires | tax shops cut 6,200 jobs | salary survey: top skills getting top pay | accounting wages set new record | all staffed up? new tax prep hiring stalls on eve of busy season | the myth of the staff shortage
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

read more →

busy season: the busiest ever?

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tax professionals expect a very busy busy season.

today’s bonus question:
the tcja impact on your practice and your clients
join the survey: get the results.

busy season barometer: 63 percent expect an increase in clients this year, and 78 expect higher revenues.

by rick telberg
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

one thing’s certain about the 2019 tax season: nothing’s certain.

the early results from the 16th annual 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 busy season barometer show tax practitioners hopeful but nervous.

more busy season:  tax season 2019 launches with a whimper  | 16 big questions for tax season  |  survey: tax accountants alarmed by tcja & shutdown  |  shutdown: what to tell tax clients during “the lapse”   |  beware the leeches and consultants   |  charitable giving under tcja  |  why padding tax deductions is a risky proposition  |  handling the delay in 199a regs |  survey: clients rush for tcja answers |goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

for many, the season seems to be shaping up for more clients and increased revenues. at the same time, however, practitioners are showing unprecedented concerns that instead of success, they could end up with a mess.

and mess or success, they’re in for a lot of work. read more →

16 big questions for tax season

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how's busy season so far? join the survey. get the results.
how’s your busy season measure up? join the survey: get the metrics.

what’s your busy season forecast? join the survey: get the results.

by rick telberg
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间

the government shutdown could not have come at a worse moment for the internal revenue service.

the tax season will bring its annual avalanche of returns. the irs was already working with fewer agents than it had a few years ago, and now it’s even more shorthanded.

the new tax cuts and jobs act tax code is poorly understood by agents who need to be trained and taxpayers and tax preparers who need to be informed. even after the shutdown ends, the backlog will be overwhelming.

the biggest problem may be the uncertainties. we can think of at least 16: read more →

shutdown: what to tell tax clients during “the lapse”

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how's busy season so far? join the survey. get the results.
join the survey. get the results.

government shutdown scrambles busy season.

next question: how’s it affecting accountants and clients?
join the survey. get the answers.

by rick telberg
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间

the internal revenue service is struggling to continue operations as the nation heads into tax season during the “appropriations lapse,” a.k.a the government shutdown.

some 16,000 irs employees are exempt from the shutdown, and another 30,000 are being called in to work without pay—a total of 57.4 percent of the 80,265 employed before the shutdown.

nevertheless, with four desks out of ten empty, the irs is holding back on most services that require human involvement.

tax practitioners would do well to advise their clients of the following:

read more →

beware the leeches and consultants

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kool-aid for tax and accounting firms.

by frank stitely
the relentless cpa

a group has been abusing my facebook timeline with ads touting a system promising to transform our clients into $10,000 annual billing clients.

more stitely: 2 lessons clients taught me | cpas can’t help you | the cure for commoditization | four amusing millennial myths

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i did a little sleuthing – for free of course. if i were billing someone for this, i would call it forensics.

read more →

charitable giving under tcja

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donor-advised funds can be a simpler option.

by barry j. friedman, cpa
industrynewsletters

the new tax law nearly doubles the standard deduction for individuals and families, simplifying the filing process for millions of americans, but complicating giving strategies for many who have made a habit of deducting their charitable contributions.

more: the latest fraud problem: synthetic identities | why padding tax deductions is a risky proposition | portability: sharing the estate tax exemption | tariffs: what clients need to know now
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indeed, an estimate from the washington, d.c., tax policy center is that the number of itemizers will drop from 46 million to 13 million. that means most taxpayers will have little tax incentive to donate cash or stock to charity, reducing giving by $13 billion to $20 billion a year.
read more →

why padding tax deductions is a risky proposition

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some client education may be in order.

by barry j. friedman, cpa
industrynewsletters

“in this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes” is a quote often attributed to benjamin franklin. with that in mind, it’s best to be prepared, at least financially, for taxes and tax season each year.

more: yes, home equity loans may still be deductible | how to challenge property taxes | real estate, iras & clients | percentage-withholding for clients | bitcoin: what clients need to know | supreme court wayfair ruling sows confusion – and opportunity
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the risks

when it comes to deductions, things can get a little sticky. some clients may wonder what the harm is in taking a little extra here or a little extra there.
read more →

handling the delay in 199a regs

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brace for tough conversations, more extensions.

by stephen nelson

pretty clearly, the section 199a final regulations won’t appear before dec. 31, 2018. the draft version of the final regulations went to the office of budget and management on dec. 14, 2018. and the review process almost certainly won’t finish in time for the new regulations to appear in the federal register before new year’s eve.

note: the department of treasury did not designate the final regulations as economically significant. that means omb has 45 days to review the regulations.

this timing hugely impacts tax accountants preparing returns with qualified business income, the income partially sheltered by the new section 199a deduction.

note: qualified business income includes sole proprietorship profits, trade or business income earned in an s corporation or partnership, rental income in most cases, reit dividends and then also income from qualified agricultural or horticultural cooperatives. in short, lots of taxpayers earn qualified business income. read more →