IRS Summertime Tax Tip 2011-11: Seven Tax Tips for Job Seekers

Save money on taxes while seraching for a job.


IRS Summertime Tax Tip 2011-11: Seven Tax Tips for Job Seekers

Summer Travel Tax Free...Until Congress acts

Thanks to all the "waffling" in Congress, taxpayers that have late summer  travel plans may be able to take advantage of a tax free airline holiday similar to many of the sales tax holidays for back to school. With all the delays in Congress regarding the debt ceiling, Congress has yet to approve the budget for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

How much can you save on summer travel and when does the tax savings start? Get all the details here:



The Tech Accountant

Let Technology Wear Some of Your Hats

Small business owners and entrepreneurs all know that starting and operating your own business is a rewarding but tough experience. Typically when a small business is in the start-up or growth stage, the owners will attempt to wear all the hats from being the sales manager to the bookkeeper. Although this will give a small business owner a wealth of experience in operations and processes, could their time be better spent doing what they do best?

Many small business owners want to know how they can break away from doing the back office functions and most times the solution is to hire someone to do the work or outsource. Sometimes when this solution is implemented, the costs are more than the benefit and the small business owner is back at square one.

The new way to get operational tasks done is to use technology in conjunction with and employee or contractor. This way a small business owner can continue to the be the backbone of the economy and cut their operational and overhead costs considerably.

Let's take marketing and public relations for example. In the past small business owners could not compete with their larger counterparts due to the high cost of websites, customer relationship management and public relations companies, tv, and radio, etc. Nowadays a small business owner can build their own website (or outsource) with WordPress, use social media sites and apps like Facebook and Twitter for public relations and CRM, broadcast themselves on YouTube, and podcasts, and get paid instantly with PayPal, Google Checkout and others.

These are just a few ways technology can help a small business owner cut costs and focus on what they do best. Feel free to post your ideas too.

The Tech Accountant

The IRS Gives Notice

In an effort to collect on the 300 billion plus  tax gap, the IRS will be ramping up the amount of notices they send to everyone. Currently there are about seven different kinds of notices that the IRS will send to taxpayers and small business owners and most of designated with the initials "CP" and a number. The CP stands for Collection Process meaning that the taxpayer' account is in collections with the IRS. Get more details of the different notices here:



If a taxpayer receives any of the notices outline in the audio, the first step is to get a copy of the tax return in question and review it. If there is a discrepancy, be sure to contact the IRS as soon as possible to get the issues resolved. There may be a chance that interests and penalties have accrued on the taxpayer's account, so be sue to speak with your tax professional on ways to have the penalties abated.

Be on the lookout in your mailbox taxpayers and small business owners, there may be a chance that the IRS notices you.

The Tech Accountant

IRS will take students money

That's right students. If you get a summer job, the IRS is sure to take a chunk of your hard earned cash. If you have not already gotten your first paycheck from your summer job, then you will really want to know who that guy FICA is and why he (and the rest of his friends Fed, State and SS) are taking your money.

Here is a quick podcast to explain the what a student should be aware of when they start that summer job.



I hope these tips help you this summer students. Have a great summer.

The Tech Accountant

Fill Your College Coffers

If you are a college student who has had a hard time finding a job this summer, then there may be another way for you to generate the much needed funs to pay for your college tuition and other needs. Surly a college student (and their parents) engages in one of the following activities:

• Go Shopping
• Go Out to Eat
• Go Grocery Shopping
• Hang with Friends

If you do any or all of the previous, then here is a quick video on how you can do those activities and still save for college, pay off current student loans or even pay for other college costs.

So if you were not able to find that perfect summer job to give you the money you were looking for, don't fret, just go out and shop.

The Tech Accountant