dellseriousbusiness.com
Business Guide, Money Management, Insurance, Saving and more
Finance Tax Attorneys And Tax Planning
Dec 28th
Specialized knowledge of tax law and tax codes is a requirement of a finance tax attorney since he or she will possibly be tasked with representing their client in civil or even criminal court. To pre-empt court representation tax law and tax planning advice to clients is a valuable service they offer. The advice of a good finance tax attorney in regards to tax law can save you money and help to legally minimize your tax liability.
You should seek out professional advice if confronted with issues related to your tax planning that are questionable. To receive the best possible tax planning advice that is legally sound a finance tax attorney is a logical choice.
Finance tax attorneys should be able to help guide you in planning your taxes so that you can minimize your tax burden, make you aware of any exemptions and rebates that you do or do not qualify for and tell you the most prudent method for filing taxes. They must be able to negotiate the complicated nature of federal and state laws and the constantly changing tax codes.
Ignorance is no excuse in the eyes of the Internal Revenue Service. If you are not sure you understand the confusing tax codes and how they apply to you and your circumstance, take a look at a good finance tax attorney.
Unless you are willing to pay the consequences of financial penalties or more…get professional legal tax advice. Tax law is not an area where you might want to risk doing it all by yourself. Sure, you can do all you can to have a low tax liability, just take care to get counsel and make sure your approach is in accordance with local and federal tax codes and laws. Do you really want to risk the wrath of the IRS, they can be so unforgiving if you are suspected of evading taxes or tax fraud.
Should you find yourself in such a predicament, a finance tax attorney is who will be wholly responsible for representing you in a court for tax law violations including tax evasion or fraud.
His expertise is what will help determine the outcome of your case. In legal matters a finance tax attorney has attorney-client privilege which means they do not have to disclose any conversations you may have had as a client. Protections other tax professionals can not offer you.
Finance tax attorneys will negotiate on your behalf with the IRS. Should their client be found guilty or liable in a court proceeding their job is to minimize penalties and fines. A good finance tax attorney by seeking reduction through a settlement can have your penalties and fines reduced substantially.
The biggest challenge is to make up your mind you need help and seek out counsel from a finance tax attorney that has the requisite experience and proficient in tax law, especially in your local jurisdiction. All good attorneys are not good finance tax attorneys, use due diligence. Make sure you find a finance tax attorney with a proven track record and the skills to represent you successfully. Tax planning advice from a finance tax attorney makes sense, get it.
Pay Less IRS Taxes Through Optimal Tax
Dec 21st
It is possible that you would be paying a lot less in IRS taxes than you have in the past if you just practice planning for your taxes a little better. Every year, people in similar tax conditions pay different tax amounts because some tax payers capitalize more on tax provisions to pay the least taxes possible. You can also get smart with your IRS taxes and plan for a lower tax payment in the coming year! With some more accurate planning, you can save on lots of taxes into future years.
Tax Process
For you to operate at an optimal tax position, you will need to analyze all factors that affect your income and tax liability. The process of taxation is done as follows – The Adjustable Gross income (AGI) is arrived at by removing the eligible adjustments from the schedule of all your incomes. The standard or itemized deductions are then reduced from the AGI. A further exemption is made for every eligible dependent to apply to the taxable income. Your tax rate is then applied to this taxable income to get to your tax obligation. Therefore, simply put, to reduce on your tax burden, you need to reduce your taxable income to the least possible amount by capitalizing on all possible adjustments and deductions.
Lower Your Income for Tax Purposes
There are various things that you can do to reduce the applying income for tax purposes. You can take up a 401(k) plan which lowers your income and pushes the amount into a tax deferred retirement account. You can also defer various incomes, including year-end bonuses, sales of property with a capital gain, or defer receipt of retirement account distributions (if you will get to 70 and ½ years by end of year). You can also reduce your income by breaking down a property sale into installments as opposed to getting a lump sum payment.
For businesses, there are various ways that you can lower the income to be considered for tax purposes. You can contribute to qualifying charities or make all your expenses within this year (such as purchasing office equipment or stocking office supplies). You can also seek to defer any income receipts (for example, by deferring invoices of some of the payments due in the late fourth quarter).
Take All Available Deductions
There are various ways of increasing your deductions to reduce your AGI. Retirement plans are a good way of optimizing on deductions as contributions to such plans are eligible for deductions. You can also increase your deductions by taking on life and health insurance, having a health savings account (especially for self employed individuals), going to college to further your education, or paying off your student loans. You can also reduce your current year’s tax by prepaying applicable expenses such as loan interests and medical expenses.
Capitalize on Credits
Credits work to reduce the tax owed. Therefore, maximizing on all available credits will impact directly on the taxes to be paid to Uncle Sam. Some of the credits that you can qualify for include investing in qualifying retirement savings plans, enrolling in college, dependent child-care credit that requires hiring a child caretaker while parents or parent (if single parent) is working or in school, and adopting a child. Other less-utilized credits include purchasing energy-saving equipment for your home and also buying a hybrid car.
Offshore Tax Planning For Beginners
Dec 14th
When considering any form of offshore tax planning you need to essentially wear ‘two hats’. The first hat is the UK hat, and the second is your offshore hat. You need to ensure that you consider the total tax impact, both in the UK, as well as offshore to decide whether your tax planning strategy is worthwhile or not.
Different offshore tax planning strategies
Firstly, you could move overseas. Essential to this is that you need to ensure you cease to be UK resident and ordinary resident. If you do, you can usually avoid UK Capital Gains Tax provided you’re absent for at least five complete tax years. Of crucial importance here is the overseas dimension. In particular you need to ensure that you’re not going to suffer taxes overseas or if you do you’re fully aware in advance of the tax burden you face.
When considering moving overseas, there are a number of traditional tax havens that are continually popular with tax savvy expats such as Switzerland, Monaco, Cyprus, Malta and Andorra.
Secondly you could consider using an offshore company. If you are going overseas, using an offshore company is pretty much standard practice for international trading. If though, you’re remaining to live and work in the UK it is much more difficult to use an offshore company tax efficiently, at least for UK tax purposes. That’s not to say it’s impossible, just that it will be looked at closely by the tax authorities.
There are a raft of anti avoidance rules to consider. Essentially you’ve got the best chance of obtaining tax benefits with an offshore company if you can show it’s controlled from outside the UK, and that you are either non UK domiciled or that you had a sound business motive for incorporating the company overseas. If you can achieve this, the benefits can be huge as any overseas profits will escape UK tax altogether (and in most cases any tax overseas as well). Using an offshore company in conjunction with an offshore trust (see below) can assist in obtaining these benefits as well.
Thirdly you could use an offshore trust. Offshore trusts (and their ‘cousin’ the foundation)are an old favourite for international tax planners. There’s been a global clampdown on using trusts (given the perception that they were established for tax avoidance motives) — so are they still an effective tool in reducing UK & overseas tax liabilities?
The answer — yes they are but in pretty limited circumstances. If you’re a UK citizen born and bred the anti avoidance provisions that apply to any offshore trusts you form are in some ways stricter than if you formed a UK trust. So you could find yourself in a worse tax position than if you established a UK trust. It’s not always like this though and there are circumstances where offshore trusts can still be used tax efficiently.
Most notably, there’s the position of non UK domiciliaries. Again they are in a privileged position as many of the tax anti avoidance rules don’t apply to them so they can obtain tax benefits from using trusts much more easily. There are also specific tax exemptions and opportunities for trusts that are for income tax avoidance only (as opposed to capital gains tax avoidance) or where close family won’t be listed as beneficiaries.
Offshore trusts are however still popular for people coming to live in the UK. Settling overseas assets into an offshore trust before obtaining UK residence or domicile status can lead to big tax savings in the long term (particularly in terms of inheritance tax).
Tax Planning and Preparation Service
Dec 7th
Hiring a tax professional is money well spent. Tax rules have become more and more complex. Using a pro to prepare your taxes may save you from paying more tax than you should. It is probably less costly to hire a tax preparation service than a nasty tax surprise and a visit from the auditors of the taxing authority in your country, for example the IRS in the US.
Rather than hire a tax preparation service at the end of the financial year, consider making tax planning a part of your overall business strategy. It will help you maximize profitability and limit exposure to tax liability. Many accounting firms also specialize in tax planning. When they advice clients on how to structure a business venture or a transaction, they help them take advantage of tax savings wherever possible. A few examples of such transactions are multiple-state operations, purchase or sale of business, business succession planning, taxpayer dispute resolution and e-commerce transactions.
Tips on choosing a tax planning and preparation service firm?
There are several ways to find a suitable consulting firm. Easiest is to search the internet and look for them on a B2B marketplace, Google or the Yellow pages. You can also ask friends, relatives and business associates for recommendations.
There are several things to keep in mind while hiring a tax consulting firm.
- Consider a firm that is similar in size to your company. Large companies tend to hire big four consulting firms. If you are a small company consider one of the smaller companies that have the desire, expertise and resources to help your business.
- Preferably look for a tax consulting service that has previous experience in your industry.
- Ask the tax planning firm about the educational background and experience of its professionals. Also check if the firm is registered and licensed to operate in your state or country.
- If you want to hire the tax planning service for a short term assignment, make sure they have the requisite experience in the area. Search on the internet for any articles written by the professionals of the company. It can tell a lot about their area of expertise.
- Some firms have expertise only in personal income tax service. Make sure the company you hire has enough experience in business tax services. Can they help you with business tax preparation all agencies including federal, state and the city?
- It makes sense to interview specific consultants who will work on your account. Do they have the requisite skills and experience to work for your company? Are they easy to work with and are they approachable? Are they interested in working on your account?
- Ask the tax consultant for a few references. Call previous and current clients and inquire if they were happy with the service. Did they gain from consultant’s advice? Ask if the consultant is easily accessible. Does she take enough interest in the engagement?
- Before you make the hiring decision, ask the company to examine your business model and financial statements and provide some example as to how they can help you save money.
- If you use financial software in your company, make sure the software used by the tax preparation service is compatible with it or you will not be able to transfer any data back to your company.
- As a small business owner you may need advice regarding capital gains taxes, estate taxes, real estate taxation, incentive stock options, multi-state operations, e-commerce transactions, purchase and sale of property, business succession planning, tax dispute resolutions etc. Can the firm offer you advice in these areas?
Learn How Real Estate Agents and Mortgage Brokers Are Getting Results With Social Media
Nov 28th
With the rise in social technology, real estate agents, mortgage brokers, financial planners and insurance agents are discovering how social media can help them generate new business. These professionals have found success in lead generation and sales through the use of social media marketing (SMM) platforms such as Twitter and Facebook. With the drop the home sales, agents are heading online and finding new ways to communicate with their customers. Additionally, social media provides a way for businesses to connect with their customers and prospects in ways that are faster and wider spread than traditional forms of marketing
Social networking is growing at an enormous rate and there does not seem to be an end in sight. This growth is resulting in a shift in client communications which must be covered in order to stay relevant in the current marketplace. However, staying connected with clients and keeping abreast of the ever growing social market is time consuming. Many real estate agents and business owners do not use social and Internet marketing to its full potential because it is too time consuming. Thus, they are missing out on a large percentage of their prospects.
SMM has a number of factors that make it different than traditional media such as newspapers, television, books, and radio. Social marketing allows the user the ability to interact and communicate by leaving comments and participating in discussions. Additionally, if real estate agents can influence a group of followers, they can actually create a market position based on social acceptance. Social networking provides a complementary extension to traditional marketing efforts. The one important difference between social and traditional marketing is that with social media you can listen to it, measure it and track it over time. All in all, social media can attract new customers, strengthen existing customer relationships, reinforce brands and enhance loyalty. Social networking has changed the way goods and services are taken to market.
In this rapidly changing world, it seems like technology is taking over the marketplace, and real estate agents and mortgage brokers who don’t communicate with their clients effectively will get snatched up by someone else who will. SMM and Internet marketing allows communication between clients and their customers in order to maintain their positive and professional image while building trust and credibility. To be successful in today’s economy, it is absolutely essential that you have a strong online presence that paints you as the true professional you are.
