tax

art werner: cta and fincen reporting | quick tax tip

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helping clients with these filings isn’t just a responsibility—it’s a chance to enhance your practice and grow your billable hours.

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quick tax tip
with art werner
cpe today

today, tax professionals are navigating an increasingly complex landscape, where compliance extends beyond the familiar internal revenue service (irs), including fincen and the financial crimes enforcement network. a division of the u.s. treasury department, fincen gained prominence after 9/11 to combat organized crime, money laundering, drug trafficking, and terrorism. while tax professionals may already be familiar with fincen form 114 for reporting foreign financial accounts, new requirements under the corporate transparency act are reshaping the compliance responsibilities of tax advisors.

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effective january 1, 2024, the corporate transparency act (cta) introduces new reporting requirements to increase corporate ownership transparency. tax professionals must now help clients identify and report the beneficial owners of their companies. this information must be updated whenever there is a change in ownership, making ongoing compliance a critical concern.

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ask tax clients the right questions

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hourglass on paper charts

don’t let them dictate your workflow.

by frank stitely
the relentless cpa

who makes the errors in your firm? staff obviously, but that’s half of the answer. clients are a major source of tax return errors. clients cause errors in three ways:

  1. errors of omission
  2. errors of commission
  3. errors in attitude

more by frank stitely
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every tax season, we finalize and deliver returns only to hear from the client, “i think i might have forgotten to tell you that we had a baby last year.” does this happen to you? this is a client error of omission. unintentionally, clients withhold important information.
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taxpayer advocate sees big improvements at irs

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data table

but still “far from perfect.”

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

for the first time ever, erin m. collins, america’s resolute national taxpayer advocate, has opened her annual report to congress with good news.

“the taxpayer experience,” she writes, “has noticeably improved.”

more: ask tax clients the right questions | major changes to circular 230: implications for tax professionals | cornerstone report | art werner: due diligence and irs enforcement | quick tax tip | make ‘done but’ tax returns a thing of the past | six methods for getting paid faster this tax season | use humor to get tax documents in early | art werner: busy season predictions | four steps could close the tax gap | art werner: how to turn tax prep into tax advisory | art werner: navigating business structure decisions amid tax law changes | tax season memo from staff to managing partner | is the irs adequately tracking corporate tax evasion? | irs still unsure how to measure audit rate
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collins has good reason for her praise:
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is your team ready for tax season?

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happy multi-ethnic business team with thumbs up in the office

three ways to prepare.

by ed mendlowitz
tax season opportunity guide

if you have staff, have happy cheerful helpful people. don’t surround yourself with downers and naysayers.

more: six methods for getting paid faster this tax season
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also have team players. part of this is your firm’s culture. it takes work to get people to work together and to focus on doing what it takes to service the client fully, properly and timely.  everyone working together gets it done.
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art werner: due diligence and irs enforcement | quick tax tip

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the irs is increasing scrutiny, and your due diligence must meet the challenge.

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with art werner
cpe today

as the irs increases its enforcement efforts fueled by new funding and additional agents, understanding and practicing due diligence is more critical than ever for tax professionals. due diligence requirements, established to ensure compliance with tax law, place a significant responsibility on tax practitioners to verify their clients’ eligibility for certain tax benefits.

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tax professionals must now certify positions related to the american opportunity tax credit, the earned income tax credit, the child tax credit, and the filing status of head of household. these certifications require meticulous documentation, a thorough understanding of the client’s situation, and adherence to the law.

failing to uphold due diligence can have serious consequences.

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make ‘done but’ tax returns a thing of the past

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six people around work table

eliminate bottlenecks by asking better questions.

by frank stitely
the relentless cpa

a project hung up in process is one where there is a disagreement between people involved in a project as to the status. for example, a client thinks he has answered your tax return questions, while you believe he has not. another example is when a tax return preparer believes a return is ready for review while the reviewer does not believe it’s ready.

more: use humor to get tax documents in early
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the result of a hung-up project is a dead project – one that’s not moving to completion.

if a tax return gets hung up, eventually your client calls you, and you get to waste time determining why the project stopped moving. this increases work in progress (wip), which increases turnaround time.
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six methods for getting paid faster this tax season

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sure it’s good for business, but it’s also considerate to clients.

by ed mendlowitz
tax season opportunity guide

accounting is a business and businesses need to be paid.

it’s harder to justify prices when providing services rather than products. products are usually priced before delivery while many times services are priced after delivery, i.e., performance.

more: four steps could close the tax gap | art werner: how to turn tax prep into tax advisory | quick tax tip | art werner: navigating business structure decisions amid tax law changes | quick tax tip | tax season memo from staff to managing partner | is the irs adequately tracking corporate tax evasion? | irs still unsure how to measure audit rate | irs vs. fraudsters | is the irs mismeasuring phone service?
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many accountants price tax returns before they are worked on, usually basing the fee on last year, or a rate schedule. sending a bill with the return establishes the relationship that you should be paid promptly for the work done.
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use humor to get tax documents in early

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my secret? humor, sarcasm and a bit of shame.

by frank stitely
the relentless cpa

there are easy ways to get clients to do what we need them to do. in our office, we call the process “training” clients. one of our biggest headaches is the late delivery of tax materials. so, we train our clients to bring their tax documents in early.

more: end tax season meetings with clients … seriously | get clients to understand firm processes … or say goodbye | train now before it costs you down the road | keep clients from “balance due” shock | stop clients from performing “favors” | who needs fall tax planning? clients … and you | it’s ok to say no to clients (even the large ones) | control your time: avoid ambush meetings and calls | you train your clients, whether you mean to or not | don’t let clients dictate tax workflow | make fewer mistakes, increase revenue and capacity | easy ways to avoid ‘done but’ tax returns
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we accomplish this through a series of e-blasts explaining our deadlines. the e-blasts start in december, and we call them “countdown to tax season.” they cover much more than our deadlines for clients to provide business and personal income tax returns documents.

we use the blasts to train clients in other areas – such as minimizing the use of staples when they give us their documents. we also discourage people from putting their documents in three-ring binders. as i’m certain you already know, staples and binders drive your admin staff crazy when they’re trying to scan documents.
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art werner: busy season predictions | quick tax tip

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learn why the upcoming busy seasons could be among the most demanding in recent memory.

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quick tax tip
with art werner
cpe today

according to seasoned tax educator art werner, the next busy season may be the last of what he calls a “lull period.” preparers are currently working under existing laws, dealing with the tax returns for the 2024 calendar year. however, significant changes are expected on the horizon.

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“the fact is, busy season in 2025—and especially 2026—will require a lot of knowledge of new laws,” werner explains. he anticipates that navigating these updates will pose a steeper learning curve for tax preparers, resulting in more complicated filing seasons.

one of the primary drivers of this complexity will be legislative changes. with uncertainty around tax reform and the evolving tax landscape, 2025 could see the introduction of new regulations that tax professionals will need to quickly master.

“when you get to busy season, you’re in this historic mode,” werner said. “you’re preparing tax returns based on the old law. but by 2026, you’ll need to know all the nuances of the new law.”

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four steps could close the tax gap

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the difference between what’s owed and what’s paid is $625 billion.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

what’s more aggravating than paying all the taxes you owe while other people cheat?

maybe this: that the biggest tax cheats are the wealthy while it’s the lower-income taxpayers who get audited more.

more: art werner: how to turn tax prep into tax advisory | quick tax tip | art werner: navigating business structure decisions amid tax law changes | quick tax tip | tax season memo from staff to managing partner | is the irs adequately tracking corporate tax evasion? | irs still unsure how to measure audit rate | art werner: estate planning strategies | quick tax tip | art werner: post-mortem estate planning | quick tax tip | pause to praise the tax pro volunteers | irs vs. fraudsters | imagine! the national tax advocate does | art werner: maximizing fringe benefits
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the financial consequences of noncompliance are staggering. according to the annual public report issued by the internal revenue service advisory council, an estimated $688 billion in taxes went unpaid in 2021.
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art werner: turn tax prep into tax advisory | quick tax tip

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show clients the value of tax planning.

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quick tax tip
with art werner
cpe today

every cpa and ea, as well as other tax professionals, should attend at least one federal tax update program annually. it’s like stretching or warming up before intense exercise.

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a tax update serves two main purposes and demonstrates your value:

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art werner: navigating business structure decisions amid tax law changes | quick tax tip

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upcoming tax law adjustments could significantly impact clients’ business structure decisions.

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quick tax tip
with art werner
cpe today

we are anticipating changes to tax laws that could significantly impact clients, either positively or negatively, depending on the structure of their businesses.

click here for more art werner

one major consideration is the type of business entity the client operates. the options include sole proprietorships, partnerships, and corporations. within corporations, there are further distinctions: c corporations or those that have made an s election.

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