CNBC Town Hall

I had the pleasure of sitting in on the taping of the CNBC Town Hall on small business yesterday and needless to say, it was a great experience. There were entrepreneurs from all kinds of backgrounds and we all shared knowledge with each other.

We had a great panel of speakers (as you can see from the photos) and covered a lot of topics affecting the small business sector. I guess the major takeaways I got from the town hall were to mentor or be a mentor, differentiate, network, learn from trials & blessings, and pursue freedom.



To watch the CNBC Town Hall be sure to tune in to CNBC on Wednesday June 20th 9PM EST.

The Tech Accountant

Has your SSN been exposed???

Non-profits and other foundations must provide the public with access to their tax returns. If you are a taxpayer, tax professional or a scholarship recipient there may be a chance that your social security number may be included in those returns. Being that the return is open record, there chances that you may be a victim of identity fraud are increased. Find out more:

listen to ‘Your SSN has been exposed’ on Audioboo

The Tech Accountant

9 Ways to Avoid Being a Victim of a Tax Scam

Tax scams have been on the IRS's radar for quite some time now. First we heard that refunds would be delayed due to the fraud mechanisms put in place by the IRS. Now the IRS has identified a new scam going around promising big refunds to low-income, senior and local churches' taxpayers.

The scam promises a big refund (and of course a big fee for the scam artist)a or nonexistent stimulus payment based on the American Opportunity Tax Credit, even if the victim was not enrolled in or paying for college.

What can you do to ensure that you are not a victim? Here are nine steps to ensure you don get caught in one of the scams.



The Tech Accountant

Mobile App Woes and Social Media

I love to use social media and mobile apps as much as the next guy, but recently I have been having some issues with many of the app updates on some of my mobile devices. One recent update that has me rather concerned is the Google+ (or Google Plus is you say it that way) for iOS devices. Google's apps typically work very well on iOS devices, but for me (and many people leaving review on iTunes) the new Google+ is causing a headache.

Check out my Google+ woes here: The Tech Accountant

Couples Who Filed Joint Returns Must Now File Separate Powers of Attorney

Couples Who Filed Joint Returns Must Now File Separate Powers of Attorney

Cut Your Taxes and Predict the Future

Happy New Year!

As we welcome in 2012 and wave good-bye to 2011 (so goes many of the tax provisions that a lot of taxpayers have enjoyed for quite some time). Let’s take a moment to recap the end of the year.

Congress was able to extend the payroll tax cut but, a little over 50 tax provisions expired when the clock struck 12. For a list of the more important provisions that expired and to take a look into the future:

A Look into the Future

With the start of 2012, there are a few new tax provisions taxpayers will want to pay close attention to. The major new provisions include inflation adjustments, capital gains and loss reporting, credits for hiring veterans, and bonus depreciation.

So what’s in store for 2012? Since this is an election year, there is sure to be a great deal of talk about tax reform and deficit control as many taxpayers already have been hearing. The end of the Bush tax rates (2013) is also sure to be a hot topic for 2012 campaigns.

The bottom line is to have a plan and that way a taxpayer can ensure they don’t make any mistakes most taxpayers make every year.

Give to the Right Charity

We are in the season of giving and many taxpayers would like to provide assistance to those less fortunate than they are. While charitable giving is always good, there are however some things taxpayers should know before giving their money, time, and other items to a charity. Here's a short video with the details. Enjoy.



The Tech Accountant

Travel Receipts Got You Sour as a Lemon??? Make Lemonade

I hope everyone had a great holiday this past week. If you were one of the many people traveling this past week, I am sure you have quite a few receipts from your trip that you may want to organize to see how much you spent over the holiday.

Or maybe you are a constant business traveler that is tired of trying to keep up with all of your receipts when you travel for business.

If this describes you, I am sure that the time it takes to organize and tally up what you spent, and where has you as sour as a lemon.

Here's a quick video on a new web-based product with a corresponding smart phone app that can make lemonade out of those receipts. Let me know what you think.



The Tech Accountant

Update: Lifelock has acquired Lemon to expand in the the mobile arena. A new app to play with on Andriod and iOS.

Facebook Employees Go Nuts As Zuckerberg Tells Them The IPO Is Coming - Nicholas Carlson

Is there a Facebook IPO in the future....stay tuned.

Facebook Employees Go Nuts As Zuckerberg Tells Them The IPO Is Coming - Nicholas Carlson

The Tech Accountant

A Bonus for Small Biz

Thanks to the IRS, small businesses can deduct the cost of bonuses they pay to employees even if they don't know which employees will receive a year-end bonus. Listen here for details:



The Tech Accountant

Kids Say the Wildest Things

Here's a cool video that explains what it is like to be a tax accountant....well maybe in the "old" world of accounting. Personally I could only relate my past experiences to what the kids describe in the video. The "new" world of accounting is so much more exciting.

So check out the video, send it to your accountant and see if they can relate.



The Tech Accountant

Warren Buffet and Jay-Z preach financial literacy

Here's a coolcartoon video of rapper Jay-Z and Warren Buffet teaching kids good money management. Enjoy.



The Tech Accountant

Summer is Over - Time for Reports Cards and Football

The summer is almost over, and school is back in session. If you have kids, you’ve probably already met the teachers. You may have even enjoyed college football and NFL starting recently.

It’s probably been a long time since you’ve sat in a classroom yourself. But school is never out if you’re looking to make the most of your money in today’s challenging economy.

Here are some classes I'm considering teaching this fall to keep more of your hard earned money in your pocket. Let me know what you think:

• Math 1040: Where are tax rates headed?

• History 2010: Lessons from last year’s mistakes?

• Social Studies 463: Write off meals and entertainment

• Chemistry 162: Is there a “secret formula” for paying less?

• Anatomy 213: What’s the best strategy for healthcare benefits?

If you want to keep the most of what you make, you can’t wait ‘til finals or game day for answers. You need to study now and have a playbook ready just like the football players and coaches. Putting tax-wise ideas and strategies in place today could help avoid an ugly surprise when “Report Cards” and the "Tax Playoffs" come due April 15!

The Tech Accountant

Know the Rules For Employees and IC's

There is a difference when terminating and employee versus and independent contractor (IC). Better know the rules.

The Tech Accountant

Travelers RMplusonline

Protect Your Auto Deduction in an Audit

Small business owners (SBO) will be under more scrunity now that the IRS has increased their enforcement efforts in an attempt to close the tax gap. What this means is that audits for SBO's are on the rise. One way to ensure that you are not caught in an audit. is to take a proactive approach to your tax situation and not a reactive one.

Here is a taxpayer that took a reactive approach to her tax situation and the outcome of their dealing with the IRS (this may hit home for the real estate professionals out there). You can read the entire court case here or get the quick recap below. Enjoy.



The Tech Accountant

Washington Changes Challenge the IRS

Challenges are currently occurring at the IRS. No I am not referring to the time it takes for taxpayers to get assistance from the IRS or even the TAS (Taxpayer Advocate Service). I am talking about the problems the IRS is having with implementing many of the new tax law changes that have been enacted in recent legislation.

I had a chance to review a report from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration and there are currently about 100 new tax provisions that the IRS will have to implement.

Did you know that the IRS is currently dealing with one of the largest tax law changes in the past 20 years? With all the changes on the horizon, the IRS has increased their collection and enforcement personnel (one would think that IRS would increase their efforts to implement the tax changes) and not in enforcement.

What does this mean? Basically that IRS is increasing their collection and enforcement efforts on taxpayers and small businesses (the number of tax returns examined increased for individual, corporate and S-Corps over the past 5 years). Bottom line, the IRS is getting tough on the taxpayer.

The best thing for taxpayers to do is to take a proactive approach to their tax planning and know what to expect in the future. Many of the tax changes can swing in favor of taxpayers and small business owners so now is the time to start thinking about tax savings and not getting caught in any IRS traps.

The Tech Accountant

Airline Tax Turnover

I am sure many can remember the good old Charlie Brown episodes where Charlie Brown is attempting to kick the football and Lucy is the holder. Well we all know what happens, poor Charlie Brown thinks that he is going to finally kick that pigskin but right when he gets up to the ball, Lucy yanks it away and Charlie Brown falls on his face.

Well that scenario just played out in Congress recently in regards to the airline excise tax and potential refunds to small businesses and consumers and we already know who the characters were played by:

Lucy – Congress/IRS/FAA
Football – Excise Tax Refunds
And of course…
Charlie Brown – The Taxpayers

Yes folks all those potential refunds that many were expecting will never be sent. According to the IRS,

“passengers who purchased tickets prior to July 23 and traveled between July 23 and the date of enactment of today’s legislation are not entitled to a refund of the airline ticket excise tax.”

I guess there had to be a review from the booth on this one. Let me know your thoughts.

The Tech Accountant

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