Last week in this space, I included a passing reference to Pokemon GO, because how could one not? One can argue about the game’s merits (and pretending to come to any definite conclusion isn’t necessary here), but either way it makes for an easy joke.

Imagine my surprise then when shortly after writing that, an article showed up that actually spoke of the financial and tax aspects of the phenomenon.

The financial picture occupies an odd place because the game is nominally free. If you have a compatible device, you can play. Purchasing add-ons are key to how the game will make money, though, and if you are a parent with a kid who is obsessed with Pokeballs, this is a good time to have a talk about money; it can be difficult for children to grasp the concept of a financial transaction taking place when they never see the actual money involved.

I recommend reading the above-mentioned article for a discussion how sales tax can be collected on those purchases. The digital world, after all, opens up lots of questions about exactly where transactions take place and who can collect taxes on them.

I also want to mention another recent report. As a warning, clicking through will lead you to an article about how utilizing accounting professionals is linked to better business performance. And sure, you can then understand that my linking to it is a little self-serving, but it speaks to things in which I fervently believe.

Just as how the current technological world allows access to a wild fad of gameplay taking place in the real world, that same world allows more opportunities for business owners to tackle a greater amount of their accounting load.

This is already taking a firm hold in the tax industry, as affordable over-the-counter options look like great financial deals when compared to the price of a professionally prepared tax return. Tax professionals, however, are aware of more deductions (and any software probably will not lead you to, well, catch them all) and that knowledge could more than pay for the price difference.

Now there are ever-growing bookkeeping and accounting options, too, especially with the increasing prevalence of cloud-based systems. We use many of them ourselves and they do contain great power and possibility.

That is they do if you are confident that all the numbers inputted into them are placed in the right places.

Beyond needing that level of competence to trust that what you have done is correct, there can still be a large time element involved, and that is an area I think many business owners need to make a key concern.

Yes, I can’t deny that do-it-yourself options are cheaper than professional accounting services. But did you start your business because you really wanted to spend a lot of time with your books and bank account statements?

No, that’s what we did.

You started a business because you had some other service that you wanted to offer. And if you are spending hours a week on your finances, then your efforts are being taken away from where you wanted to put them when you started. By putting those efforts back in that primary spot, you can reap greater profits and make it worth paying someone else to handle the accounting aspects of your endeavor.

And it could open enough free time to catch yourself a Pikachu.

Working with finances, we get to see people in many different states of the business life cycle. Some are just starting with wide-eyed optimism, some are trying to gain traction, some are ready to go to the next level and some are thriving and enjoying the success they envisioned in the beginning.

Just as we see people on different spots along that path, we see many different paths. Our clients are engaged in various enterprises; some where we have previous experience, and some that are new ideas we never before contemplated. It is part of the wonder of what we do, having good clients open us up to parts of the world of which we otherwise may have remained unaware.

Because of this varied nature, I get excited when I come across some words that I think carry wisdom for all of our clients. Amazingly, the latest batch of ideas I came across also arrived from a space I had previously been unaware – late 19^th century Indian Hindu monk/philosopher Swami Vivekananda. I came across the ideas first from a throwaway comment in a book that did not even properly attribute the concept to Vivekananda.  It stuck with me, though, sent me looking, and then I found even more wisdom.

So here are some words from that unexpected place that I hope say something to you:

Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life - think of it, dream of it, live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body, be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success.

When we see those business clients who are thriving, they usually are doing something unique. They had a vision of what they could do that others were not doing. They stuck to that idea and didn’t give up on it because they believed in its worth.

Are great things ever done smoothly? Time, patience and indomitable will must show. … Great work requires great and persistent effort for a long time. Character has to be established through a thousand stumbles.

Even when you put yourself upon that path, though, there will be obstacles. There is no idea that immediately appeals to everyone so that you can then just sit back and reap the riches.

(OK, maybe Pokemon Go.)

That stubborn single-mindedness is most difficult to keep up when things are not going your way. Perseverance, however, will get you to the goal and the trip will appear smoother when you look back upon it

Even the greatest fool can accomplish a task if it were after his or her heart. But the intelligent ones are those who can convert every work into one that suits their taste.

Things can turn even more positive if those stumbling blocks are not seen as impediments, but possibilities. Solving a problem on your path gives you power. It means you will not have to fight that battle again.

And if you overcame that obstacle, you then have the power to lead others to defeat similar difficulties. Successfully addressing problems means you became better at what you do.

Finally …

Arise! Awake! And stop not until the goal is reached. 

It seems that barely a week goes by without the IRS warning us of a new tax scam. If you pile them up together, it becomes rather frightening.

But I am here to try to spin this in a more positive direction (and it isn’t even that much of a spin).

First, realize that the high number of warnings being released means that people are aware of them and actively are trying to shut them down. For the extra curious, take a peek at the IRS’ news releases and see how many headlines concern security, data, scams, etc. Although I realize this easily sets up humorous retorts, it shows that the government is doing something, and maybe a lot of things.

There was even a Security Summit at the end of the last month, where tax agencies gathered with private-sector interests to make sure they do not remain complacent and continue to stay on top of security issues. If you curious ones want to delve deeper, read the report on it here.

This will not be the tone given with most of these stories, though, for fear makes better headlines. Taxes feel so mysterious to most people that is easy to tap into a sense of danger when talking about them. Paying taxes already involves money being sent somewhere unknown, taken by an entity with which we rarely have any interaction and the benefits of that relationship are never immediately apparent. At the same time, we know there can be stiff discipline for not fulfilling our end of the relationship.

Losing money and potential penalties? Those are the stories you want to know about. The government taking steps to keep your money safe? Then it is just doing what its job, no need to discuss.

As the do-it-yourself tax business continues to grow, stories of security concerns are destined to multiply with it. Those of us who work in the tax-preparation business have rules that we need to follow to ensure that our clients’ information remains safe. The more that tax work happens in more (less secure) places, however, the more chances there are for more criminals to take advantage of it.

So although I believe there is reason for calm when it comes to this area, it is not something that should simply be ignored. My biggest piece of advice when it comes to this – and it can apply to every avenue of life – is be mindful.

If you get involved in any situation that does not feel legitimate, chances are that it is not. If by some chance you are ever having a real interaction with an actual IRS agent, you are not going to make the situation worse by taking the time to confirm credentials. Call it an extra layer of security.

And that leads to the second important rule to remember. The first interaction with the IRS in any official capacity will never be a phone call, but through official correspondence sent through the mail.

Now for the more self-serving bit, as I remind you that working with a tax professional can be an even stronger layer of security. We are already abiding by those previously mentioned rules established to keep your information safe. And if you ever do receive some of that official correspondence from the government, wouldn’t you already rather have someone already on your side and not be going at it alone?

Last blog, I wrote about taxes. Yes, even as summer was ramping up with the approach of July 4^th (and may you have had a wonderful holiday and enjoyed a longer weekend), there was something to be said about taxes.

Of course, I would like to think that this is the time of year when I have nothing but extended weekends and do not need to spend time worrying about taxes. We do have to do that, though, and that is what makes us so good at what we do.

You may not have to worry about taxes at this time of year, but we still are. That means that come tax filing time, you still do not have worry about taxes and can entrust your return to us because we are worrying now.

Sometimes this means interesting stories come across our radar that you may not have seen. I want to bring you a couple of those this week. That’s right, a second tax article at the height of summer. We must be into this stuff or something.

First, I am sure many of you at some time in your life received an IRS Form 1099. Essentially, this comes for any income you received that did not come through a W2 employer, so taxes were not automatically paid from it. It thus is well known for any self-employed person or independent contractor.

But can you imagine one being sent to a strip club?

In an interesting accounting trick, it recently came to light that boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr., did just that, sending a 1099 form for more than $20,000 to Larry Flint’s Hustler Club in Las Vegas. From a tax perspective, how this plays out between how the tax burden on the club or the dancers is interesting. From a layman’s perspective, hey, who can’t see the humor in Mayweather’s audacity and strict accounting when out at the club.

It isn’t the typical way that 1099s are used, and Forbes.com’s Robert W. Wood sums up the situation:

More than a few observers are probably wondering how they too can start issuing IRS Forms 1099 to turn the tax tables on someone. Issuing a Form 1099 is something businesses do to verify that payment was made, and to help support tax deductions. Of course, by issuing a Form 1099, you are generally also sticking the recipient with paying taxes on the item. In that sense, some IRS Forms 1099 may conceivably be issued with a kind of punitive intent.

I guess some people out there can afford to try to be a little more punitive after those situations when they couldn’t believe what they did the night before.

Inherent humor aside, this story highlights the complexity of tax issues and how something that seems obvious like a 1099 can be turned and used in situations that we never imagined. Those entanglements lead to time being spent navigating the tax waters, but just how much time?

Taxfoundation.org recently published some research that looked into this question and determined that an astounding 8.9 BILLION hours are spent complying with tax filing requirements every year. In a fairly extensive breakdown that you can look at by viewing the article, it is determined this costs $409 billion a year.

With such tactics and numbers abounding in the tax world, aren’t you glad that we are paying attention? 

We are now exiting June, and many may be surprised to find that we were a little busier over the past month than usual. (We swear it’s not all beaches and margaritas after April, but not everyone believes us). You see, we got a pretty steady flood of questions around mid-month when quarterly estimated tax payments were due.

This does not affect every taxpayer, as many have enough taxes being taken out of their paychecks to cover their annual tax bill. If this is you, congratulations, you are all set and we can’t wait see you next tax season.

This is not everyone, though, and for the rest of you the IRS would like you to be checking in quarterly (well, not quite quarterly, but four times per year, more on that later). So let’s start with the agency’s two rules for requiring you to make quarterly estimated payments, which sound a little complicated, but if they take them individually they are not too bad. And keep in mind that both situations have to apply for you to fall in the group that must make payments.

First, you must expect to owe at least $1,000 in federal tax for the year, after subtracting federal tax withholding and refundable credits. In easier terms, if you expect to be making at least a $1,000 payment before next April 15^th, this is you.

Second, you must expect that your federal withholding and refundable credits to be less than the smaller of: 90% of the tax to be shown on your 2016 return or 100% of the tax shown of your 2015 return (if it was for a full 12 months). This just means the IRS wants to be sure they are getting enough money to cover their expected bill. The government isn’t too keen on you keeping that money for now, they would rather get the interest.

Now we get back to when these payments are supposed to be made. The first two for this year (covering  the periods from January 1-March 31 and April 1-May 31) already passed. There are upcoming due dates of September 15 for the period covering June 1-August 31 and January 17, 2017 for the rest of 2016.

Making these payments is done by estimating your adjusted gross income, taxable income, taxes, deductions and credits for the calendar year. This is done on Form 1040-ES, which includes an estimated tax worksheet. It also includes instructions that go way more in depth than is suitable for this space. It sometimes does it in language that is typical government-ese, however, so remember we are in your corner if you need help navigating it.

A large number of those who are affected by this situation are the self-employed. If you are not receiving a paycheck from an employer, the IRS is missing out on the tax payments that would come along with it and it would like to get some of its taste through the year. This is an unavoidable aspect of being self-employed, but instead of thinking of this as an unnecessary burden, try to frame it as being proud that you are successful enough to be earning enough money that you fit in this schema.

If you are not self-employed and still fit the IRS’ rules for these quarterly payments, though, maybe you would like to increase your withholding to cover the liability. The government is always happy to take more money from your check, after all. Again, feel free to contact us if you want some guidance on figuring out what you should be paying, and from there it can be easily changed with your company’s payroll department.

So until September 15 ….