Often in this space I write about how you should envision what you want to change in your financial picture. This is because with a little reflection you can take the steps necessary to change and move to a position where you will have greater comfort and ideally an extra dose of happiness.

Those are ideas you’re going to hear a lot about as the calendar turns to 2020, and that is not a bad thing.

The start of a new year is a bit of a construct and is not necessarily some magic point in time where changes are easier to make or more liable to stick. It is, however, a time when one is inclined to take stock of where they are and where you want them to go.

No matter what changes you would like to make, they do require that bit of reflection, but then they also take a great deal of discipline and continued motivation. After all, if these were easy things for you to do, you would just do them instead of requiring a resolution to do so.

This can feel even more daunting when you see others having success where you struggle. They make it seem like it is so easy. First, keep in mind they have more internal struggles than you see. It is easier to see the successes from the outside than to appreciate the turmoil that someone combats. And second, people have strengths and weaknesses in different areas. When you are envious of someone’s success in one area, they probably envy you in another.

But through all of this, one thing to remember is that success can be had if you remain on the path to it. So here is a wish that you find that success in whatever battle you take on and reach your hoped-for destination.

And next week, we’ll turn back to more of those financial concerns.

I don’t know if you’ve realized this, but things aren’t the same as they used to be. You can see that a lot this time of year, for I imagine most of you did at least a portion of your holiday shopping online.

I also notice that our entertainment during this time of year is quite a bit different, too. The days when watching a holiday TV special was an appointment activity because that was the only time you had a chance to see it for a year are over. And yes, it is convenient when you can see essentially anything you want whenever you want, but it also leads to being able to push things off.  Then by the time the holiday is gone, you may not have watched everything you wanted. And that probably also means you didn’t sit down with your family as much as you had planned.

Is there something you used to always watch when you were younger that meant something to you? Well, share it with those who are close to you.

And it’s not just TV specials. Is there an old dish you used to eat around the holidays that you miss? Is there an old family recipe that you wish was still in circulation? Those modern conveniences mean you can even send that recipe to many people and share it with those with whom you aren’t sharing a table.

Many of the changes we are experiencing in our world have been wonderful and open many opportunities. That doesn’t mean we should lose tradition, though, so remember to share things and pass along the things that make us happy.

Happy Holidays!

Well, this is about it. By this time next week, it will be Christmas and a week after that brings us to New Year’s Day.  Well goodbye 2019, you were an interesting one.

This means that there isn’t much left to do when it comes to your 2019 financial year. There are a few things to watch out for, though. For instance, a few weeks ago I wrote about charitable contributions, and if you are in a position where another deduction can do your tax picture good, you can still do that. Even if you’re not in a position where it will do your tax picture good, remember it will still do good for others.

Beyond that, I write often about scams and they do start to ramp up at the beginning of the year. The more taxes (and their inherent fears) are on people’s minds, the easier it is for scammers to play off them.  So keep that in mind if you run into something that sounds fishy over the next couple of months.

And no one really wants to think TOO much about taxes yet, but it is time for you to start moving them up in your mind’s catalog a little bit. People don’t like thinking about taxes, because they aren’t fun, but giving them a little thought now can help spread out their pain. The pain intensifies if you don’t start preparing until the day before you have a meeting to prepare your return.

Most everyone will have a little extra time off over the next couple of weeks and I fully support spending most of it with the people you love. Once you get enough of them, though, maybe you have a couple hours that you don’t know what to do with.

Well first, take a nap. Naps are beautiful.

But when you wake up, you can do yourself some good by getting some financial documents in order. I’m not going to go into huge detail here about what you may need to prepare a full tax return (but fear not, I’m sure much more will be spoken of that in this space in the coming months). Instead, let’s institute a simple rule. If you needed it last year, you’ll need it this year.

So gather those things you needed for last year’s tax return that you already have. Beyond that, make a list of what you do not have yet. There will be some December statements that you won’t get for a few weeks and most of the tax forms you need will start arriving later in January. Putting a checklist of what you know you are expecting with what you already have will let you know when you are ready go make your appointment to prepare your return.

And wouldn’t it be great to get it out of the way as soon as possible?

We promise that we’re ready to see you when you’re ready. Consider us the family you see after the holidays.

Sometimes inspiration comes out of nowhere, like in a bowl of cereal.

I was browsing the CNN business webpage this week and saw a story about Twinkies being turned into a cereal. Now remember, it was less than a decade ago that Hostess filed for bankruptcy and the world was forced to go on without Twinkies for a time. Now, with some new thinking, it’s a brand getting headlines again. You know how sometimes (even in this space) you hear about how you can’t remain stagnant? It seems that’s even true for snack cakes that you would think could last for decades even when left stagnant.

This headline was next to another one about how Nestle is crafting some special KitKat bars. And these aren’t just the special flavors you see around in stores, instead they are so special as to cost about $17 a bar. You are paying that price to be able to choose from about 1,500 flavor combinations and get some personalized packaging. So, the bar costs a bit more, but you’re getting an experience that you cannot get elsewhere. Know how sometimes (even in this space) you hear about how you can charge more if you offer a specialized service? That’s even true for chocolate.

Now granted, some of those KitKats’ ability to charge that price has to do with timing and people searching for gifts during the holiday season. For alongside those two headlines was another saying how the Santa Claus business was booming. And sure, if it’s going to have a boom, this is clearly the season for it. But the article mostly speaks of how brick-and-mortar locations are using the presence of Santa to draw in customers by giving them a moment that cannot be replicated by shopping online. Now what was that about offering experiences one could not get elsewhere?

On the surface, none of these sound like world-beater experiences – I mean we’re talking about breakfast cereal, chocolate, and sitting on the laps of elderly gentlemen - but that goes to show that worthy ideas, good ideas, don’t have to be ones that are going to change the world. After all, there’s never a guarantee that those grand ideas are successful either. For remember, even unbreakable windows don’t always live up to their billing.

I think what this means then is that if you have an idea you believe in, believe in it. It can be easy to talk yourself out of something because it’s not new enough, it’s not big enough, it won’t appeal to enough people. Those can be good things to think about, because you need to know what makes what you’re doing different, but they should not have the power to completely dissuade you from something you are passionate about.

When you feel that passion, own it. Even if you worry that it might sound silly, there’s no reason that people can’t grasp onto whimsy, which is going to be the reason most people pick up that Twinkies cereal box. Be who you are, stand by what you love, and don’t be afraid to get people to follow.

In many of these blogs, I can be straightforward. They often speak of definite numbers that you can look at and what steps can be taken to make them look how you want. For this week, though, I want to know, how do you feel?

Last week was Thanksgiving, and hopefully you got to spend some quality time with people that make you feel good. Last week also marked the big kickoff to the holiday shopping season, though, and for many that may not feel as good. If you did not plan well, making all the purchases you want before the holidays can seem like a daunting task. If you are in a place where you are confident and comfortable that you can navigate the season financially, however, that can feel great.

So how do you feel?

And no matter what the answer, is it possible to feel even better?

For this is also the time of year when you may start to think about your taxes as you prepare to start receiving end-of-year documents next month. Do you know what your return is going to look like once you get all that information? How does that make you feel?

My point with this is that the answer to what people should do in their financial situation is not the same for everyone. We are in different stages of life, we have different obligations, we make different amounts of money. No matter where we stand, though, there are things we can do better to take away some stresses and make us feel better about where we stand.

If you are struggling to see how you are going to meet your obligations from month to month, or even week to week, figuring out how to remove that stress is probably where to start.

If you are meeting your obligations, but don’t feel comfortable with your savings or your future, addressing that is probably where to start.

If you feel secure in your future, figuring out how to leverage the money you have to your best advantage may still be something you want to do.

No matter where we stand, we can always be better.

There is the urge to wait until the calendar turns to 2020 before deciding what new trails you will blaze in life. Nothing is going to actually work better by waiting, though. And the longer you wait to do anything, the further away is the finish line. A new year may feel like a big marker, but that’s just a psychological trick and there is nothing mystical about the date of January 1.

So why not start asking now, how do you feel?

Better yet, why not start asking now, how can I feel even better?

That second question may be trickier because you may not know the answers that will make your stress go away. So remember as always we are here to help you along the way and point you in an ever positive direction, no matter what time of year it is.

You are bound to hear news stories over the coming week about Black Friday sales and some of those are going to include how to keep yourself safe when shopping online. Now I can’t necessarily say that things are going to be more dangerous on that day – as I doubt that’s really the case – but it’s a big enough day to make stories hit a little bit closer to home and sound scarier. Heck, even the IRS has planned its annual Security Summit to start on December 2, right on the heels of the big day.

Now sure, some of this is scare tactics, but that doesn’t mean there are not common-sense measures you should be using to protect your personal information any time of year. So here a few highlights from the IRS’s longer spiel on the subject to keep in mind.

If you are on a website and going to make a purchase, take a half-second and make sure it’s a secure website. This can be done by noting if the site’s address starts with https instead of http, and many browsers will also give you an indicator with a symbol, such as a lock. This is especially important if you are on a website that you accessed by an email link. It is not difficult for scammers to make emails and websites look official and that extra check can help make you safe.

Along those lines, trust your email’s spam filter. Sure, things that you actually wanted to see occasionally end up in a junk folder, and we often have no idea why. Most of the things that are there, though, are things you did not want, which means it tends to do a pretty good job. So be extra wary of communication that lands there.

Standard security software works pretty well, too, and most people put it on their electronic devices at some point. It only keeps working pretty well, however, if you keep it updated. If you installed it on your computer three years ago, it’s only keeping you safe against attacks that existed three years ago. Those out to get information via nefarious means haven’t thrown up their hands in defeat because programs figured them out years ago, so you need to keep up with them.

And they do win sometimes, which can be scary. That’s why news stories about them exist at all, and it’s why stories of large data breaches get larger stories. If scammers do gain some information from you, things get even scarier. You can at least mitigate some of the damage by not using the same password for everything you sign into.

This can be extra important for there are some passwords you do occasionally share. I mean it can be fine for your kids to know the Netflix password, but you might not also want them to then have the knowledge necessary to access your bank accounts.

Security is important, so talking and thinking about it should happen. Actions to stay secure should also happen. Simple steps can help you feel safer and stop you from giving in to fear.

Since the passage of Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, talk of charitable donations and how it affects your tax situation has changed for many. If you’re one of the many who went from itemizing deductions to no longer doing so, you may now be donating money and not worrying about how it’s recorded.

That situation is not necessarily bad, for you SHOULD still be giving that money. There is great value in donating money to worthy causes even if it doesn’t affect your tax picture.

For those who are still in a position where your charitable giving affects your tax picture, however, there’s nothing wrong with being sure that you put it to its best use in all areas. So this week I wanted to write a little bit about how you can do that.

In this space, I can only hit on some of the big issues that you may not have realized you should think about. If you want to get deeper into it, click here for the IRS’s information on the subject, or always feel free to contact us and set up a personal discussion for your own situation.

The big thing here is to be sure you can substantiate the money that you give. Essentially, you want a record of everything you contribute. An easy way to do this is making donations by check so that the cancelled check serves as that record. Many charities will also give written communication (either with each donation or at the end of the year with a total for that year) detailing what you donated and this will also serve for substantiation purposes.

Things gets a little trickier when it comes to cash giving. There is some wiggle room with what you can claim you gave via cash, but if it is anything over $250, you will need a receipt to officially have it allowed.

These things get even trickier when you donate to an organization and get something in return. For example, if you give $100 and get a ticket to an event valued at $50, only the $50 difference is considered a charitable contribution.

(Trigger warning, the IRS discussion of this involves the term quid pro quo, a term that used to seem so innocent, but now you may be tired of hearing it.)

Then there are the situations where you donate property to a charitable organization. If this is something smaller, like donating clothes to Goodwill for example, getting written acknowledgment of the donation is enough. Once these donations go over $500, though, you move into the area where additional tax forms will be needed. And if you get over $5,000 you start to get into an area where qualified appraisals could become necessary.

And if you do a lot of work yourself for a charitable organization, did you know that the mileage you drive for the group can also become deductible?

Overall, this is a deduction that seems very simple on its surface and is in fact simple for a wide variety of transactions. It doesn’t take THAT much, however, to get into the more complicated areas, and you will want to be sure that you are aware of the rules so that you get the full benefit of your gift.

The idea of who gets audited is one that seems to interest everyone. And of course it does, if there is are some tips on how it can be avoided, why wouldn’t you use them? Whenever I talk about the issue, though, I always harp on the idea that the best way to not worry about an audit is to make sure that your tax return is legitimate. If you fit in that legitimate category, then you can submit a return that uses the rules to your best advantage and know it will stand up to scrutiny. This doesn’t make an audit a fun experience, it will still be taxing (har har), but it won’t result in a huge financial hit.

Shedding some light on this issue was a recent tidbits column on taxes that I read. What it really comes down to is the issue between tax avoidance and tax evasion. Avoidance is the use of the rules to benefit yourself, while evasion is not paying what you actually owe. Evasion can come in many forms, be it underreporting income, making up expenses, shady bookkeeping practices, etc.  Whatever it is, it means you didn’t follow the rules in good faith.

This doesn’t mean that tax avoidance is always applauded, nor should it be. We all have heard stories about extremely wealthy people or corporations paying so little in taxes that it just feels wrong. Where you place the blame for that can vary and feel tough to place. Do you blame the person who takes advantage of a legal situation or do you blame those who instituted the rules in the first place? This can start to feel even worse when you realize that the IRS is understaffed and underfunded, which means less people are getting audited, and then you can’t help but think that people in such positions might be getting away with even more than they should.

And then if you personally get audited, how fair is that? What you should pay by any metric should be much lower than what others are getting away with, isn’t it? I think most people feel this way, but again, we can only do what we can within the rules under which we must play.

In the same article, it mentions mathematical errors being one reason that the IRS’s computer scanning could mark a return for potential audit.  Well, at least with ever more powerful electronic tools when it comes to preparing and filing, we can avoid that.

But it then mentions the potential marking of numbers that are out of the average range for those in similar positions to the taxpayer. Does that mean we shouldn’t use them, though, if they are legitimate? Of course not. Let this be the time when you can get back at the system. Maybe you made some moves that put you in a better spot than others, well then you should be able to reap all the benefits that come with that. At that point, you’re not doing any evading, you are just planning well. And no one should hold that against you, right?

We work with many small businesses and love when those relationships become long-lasting and span many years. Unfortunately, this is not always possible because running a successful business is difficult and there are many trials that can pop up and lead a business to failure. For example, this recent article from Accounting Web lists 19 potential problems. Even if that number of 19 represented all the possible issues, the business landscape would be tricky to navigate, but the fact is that the real amount of potential pitfalls is even larger.

I’m trying to be transparent here, for the article is aimed toward accountants and how they can help (and charge) clients to continue to succeed. And sure, we are looking for business, too, so that our enterprise can also continue to succeed. But we legitimately want to help our clients succeed for that will only be beneficial to everyone involved.

And hey, one of the entries on that list is paying for services that don’t produce results. So instead, we strive to be a service that produces results.

I think for many businesses, finding yourself battling a few of those 19 potential pitfalls is normal and inevitable. It is going to be a rare time when someone starts a perfect business at the perfect time that enters a perfect marketplace and becomes wildly profitable from the start.  Worrying about those pitfalls, though, does not mean that you’re bound for failure. In fact, if you are battling them, then you stand a much greater chance of success. The businesses that fail are the ones that do not address their issues.

And as you grow, which battles you need to fight will change. For example, sometimes you offer an item or service that a customer utilizes then will not need to purchase again for a long period of time. In this situation, you may start strong, but will need to continue developing a customer base to maintain that success.

Or it could be that you need some guidance on where to put your efforts in the future for growth. Maybe you experienced success, paid down your debt, and now have funds to spend elsewhere, but don’t know where. Standing still would lead to stagnation, so advice and guidance is needed to move in the right direction.

Yes, there are a lot of places where problems could arise, they are not the same for everyone, and they will not be the same for the life of your business. No matter what, there are people who can help, want to help, and will continue to help as you travel your business’s path. So wherever you find yourself, we would love to help.

For even one of the reasons that the original articles says businesses fail is that they won’t spend money to grow. Expenses are only bad when they aren’t leading you anywhere. Expenses are a good investment when they are put some place dedicated to guiding you toward long-term success.

Thinking about tax returns never stops, even as we go through the last quarter of the year when it seems like the topic should not be that timely. The IRS is always releasing something, though, and some numbers that have come out recently give a look at how the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act affected the landscape.

As we have seen earlier following the April deadline for returns, the changes were not that wild. Sure, we saw some people whose individual situations were drastically different, but when you spread it out over the millions of tax returns received by the IRS, the numbers largely evened out with previous years. (And if you personally saw a drastic change and have yet to do anything about changing it for next year, time is running short on being able to do that … see last week’s blog.)

And although things do tend to even out when we are talking about tens of millions of instances, the IRS recently released numbers that showed over 2.5 million less tax refunds were sent for the 2018 tax season over 2017. This sounds bad when you think of it from the mindset of “I’d like a tax return,” but that doesn’t necessarily mean it is. After all, a refund is really only giving you money back that you already paid to the government and it was later determined that your obligation was lower. Some changes in how you pay taxes or have them withheld from your paycheck can simply mean that you get that money in smaller chunks throughout the year, giving you quicker access to it.

Where this goes in the future is going to be a little difficult to determine. For one thing, more and more people are making money outside of their standard I-receive-a-paycheck-and-a-W2 job which is lowering the number and amount of refunds. Also, some who was surprised by their tax bill last year would have made changes to avoid that next time. In that situation you tend to just want the final number to come out to zero instead of making sure you get a refund back. Those who get a refund tend to just be happy with it and see it as an unexpected (or hoped for) surprise. Again, never minding the fact that better planning could get that money to you quicker.

The IRS unsurprisingly expects the number of returns it receives to keep growing, though, so who knows where the number of refunds will go. The bigger key is to be sure that you are taking care of your own personal situation and planning within the rules that now exist. This doesn’t mean that figuring out where you stand when it comes to taxes is ever easy or an exact science, but it does mean that you can obtain the power to set up things to work to your best advantage. So if you want to be ahead of things and not just follow national trends, give us a call.

This week saw the tax extension deadline of October 15^th pass. That means you only have six months left before it is time to file taxes again on the regular April date.

Now I know that most of you read that and think six months means there is plenty of time before you have to worry about your tax situation. I also know, though, that there are many who should read that and realize instead that there is not much time left to make moves that can affect your tax picture.

This is the time to think of a critical question. Do you know what your tax return is going to look like when April comes around? If your answer is yes and you are happy with how things look, good job, carry on as you were. If you do not know, though, (or don’t like how things looked last year) it is time to start looking into things and avoiding unpleasant surprises.

Now sure, if your life and employment situation has not changed, then what your tax return looked like for 2018 will be a good approximation of what it will look like for 2019. You can know this without a deep dive. Small changes can make for big surprises, though. So even if you just got a significant raise at work, it can be worth getting the peace of mind that your withholding changed enough with it. Then there are the life changes - did you have a child, did you get married? Is your child no longer a dependent, did you get divorced? All of these will change your return.

Especially if you have had any big changes, though, that deep dive should come now while there is still time to make moves to change it. Did you start a new small business? Or are you running a small business that is now generating more income than before?

And remember, small business doesn’t mean that you left your regular job and started going at it completely on your own. Even joining the gig economy with something like Uber is “running your own business” in some ways as far as taxes are concerned. The money you make there has to be put on top of any regular income you made when it comes tax time. And in most cases, that money has not already been taxed.

Even if you are making some of this extra money and have thought about what its tax implications are, did you remember to include your spouse’s income, as well? This is all going to be made into one pile when it comes time to file your taxes.

Every year, we see clients who receive unfortunate news of how much their tax bill is. More often than not this is due to some changes in their situation that seemed small at the time, but loomed larger when they went into tax calculations. It is not the people making huge amounts of money who are surprised, but the ones in the middle, making some modest gains, who just did not plan.

Planning can hold off the shock of this. It cannot remove the fact that you need to pay some amount in taxes, but we can most likely lessen it some, and then plan for what you will need to pay. So if you do not yet have a handle on things, please contact us to look at your situation while there is still time to make a difference.

No matter where you stand politically, there is a feeling that we are living in interesting times. Where is the impeachment inquiry going? Are we on the way to recession? Is Joaquin Phoenix more creepy or genius? These are the questions that will define our age.

But they don’t have to define your business.

At least two of those questions could certainly have a big impact on the financial state of the nation. For business owners, it feels impossible to not prognosticate a bit, taking a guess at where things are going and imagining what that could mean for you down the line.

Granted, this is a fruitful endeavor for many businesses, but not all of them. I’m going to go with a general rule that if you are a big enough enterprise to have people who can afford to spend time on such issues, it is not a bad idea to have contingency plans in place for possible future events. If you are a smaller company where energies are best used elsewhere, though, keep them elsewhere. When you are in that situation, the best thing you can do is make sure your own house is in order.

When it comes to such future thinking we often get lost in ideas that don’t really have any data attached to them. We get a feeling of something that might happen, imagine it leading to a second incident, and keep spiraling until the first logical leap is lost in the miasma. The key here is that these flights of fancy don’t serve you at all if they aren’t backed up by something concrete.

So do you even have anything concrete to start from?

That is where the importance of having your house in order is highlighted. If you are keeping on top of your company’s financials, then you can actually tell when things change. If you do not have solid numbers from the beginning, then any decisions you make are being done on a whim and they will feel good if you like or want change or feel uneasy if you felt you just had to do something.

No matter what situation you are in, know that if you would like the comfort of knowledge in uncertain times we would love to help. If you do not have the foundation of good record keeping and reporting, we can get you started so you can start tracking where you are and figure out where you are going. If you already have a solid foundation, then we can help you analyze your numbers, track new ones, and keep you moving forward based on them.

Only with such diligence and planning can you be ready to react to outside forces if they do start to have an effect on your business. Beyond that, only with that diligence and planning can you know if those forces are having an effect on your business.

You hear lots of talk about how self-care is important and this is also true when it comes to business. Caring for yourself doesn’t only have to be done alone, though, so let us know if you need to get a better handle on things.

Recently, USA Today ran an article about how many Americans are lagging in saving for retirement. Such bits of news never surprise me, for we all have times when we fall victim to thinking about the present at the expense of the future. What stood out to me was some of the things that are mentioned as ways to start saving more – all the way down to making coffee at home. Such a simple thing shows how easy it can be to spend less than you currently are.

For the most part, people’s income increases as they go through life. Even smaller, cost-of-living raises sends you through that dynamic. Often, though, that extra gets eaten up on the expense side of things. Those things can be very small, but it feels good to take those income advances and turn them into going out to eat more, a slightly bigger vacation, or such similar things. Once you get in that mindset, though, it can be difficult to halt and change to one that prioritizes saving.

Now of course, there are some people out there in unfortunate situations who literally barely make enough to get by. Most people, though, could benefit from an honest analysis of where their money goes and see where they could pull back and help secure their future. That is where some of those small moves mentioned in the article come in. That is great for almost everyone individually, but I also want to encourage business owners to take the same outlook.

Even very small business owners can quickly lose a handle on what their expenses look like. At the beginning, you may be very concerned about where money is going because there is not a lot of it. Once you hit a comfort zone, you start to put your efforts elsewhere and give less attention to every transaction going through the bank. Renewing some of that attention can help your bottom line continue to grow.

So the first step is just to make sure that you are keeping track of those financials and not winging it at the end of the year when it comes time to file taxes. It’s great if you have enough money coming in that you don’t have to worry about it and there is always enough to cover expenses, but that lax attitude definitely means you’re spending money that you don’t have to.

You may be surprised at software licenses you are still paying for and not using. You may find it shocking to actually see how much lunch costs when you calculate it on a monthly basis. And is it really possible to go through that much paper and that many pens?

Of course, it’s never going to be that no expenses are necessary. There are things you need to make your business work. You do not, though, need expenses that are only dragging your business down. The only way to ensure you are not paying for such things is to make sure you have updated books, giving you the ability to get the reporting you need to see such things. So if you need help with that, don’t hesitate to contact us. You could save more than it costs to do so.

I write about tax scams a few times a year because there is never a stop to the warnings coming out about scammers using new tactics to try to frighten or bully people into paying money. Well here is the good news, I have nothing new to report on that front today!

But then, of course, the bad news …

These attempts by scammers never stop and I wanted to speak a little more about the use of email in these scams, for I am afraid that I may not focus on those enough. Yet, email remains the prime mode that most of the potential scams that come into our life.

I think I may not have given enough attention to this tactic because I find it so easy to ignore. For one, all large email providers have pretty good filters that put a lot of the potential bad emails into a spam or junk folder. I do recommend checking these folders periodically to see what has been placed in there (for occasionally ones you do want to see get shuttled there), but if you don’t recognize the sender, delete them all.

Another reason emails seem easier to ignore is because they are less personal. If you answer a phone call from someone actually voicing they are trying to collect on taxes, your emotions muddle the mind more than reading an email that says the same thing. You also have to react more immediately to that voice on the phone than words on a screen.

What can be most malicious about those emails, though, is the way they can linger even if you do delete them. This usually happens if you let them install something on your computer. So a big word of advice is never download anything from an unknown sender no matter what the email says it is. Beyond that, keep yourself extra safe by never even opening an email from an unknown sender if it contains attachments.

For remember, if the IRS really wants to get in contact with you, it is not going to start doing so via email. The agency sends notices by regular postal mail first. So I’m not saying that you’re never going to receive an email from the IRS in your life, but if you think you’re receiving news that way about a potential issue for that first time that’s asking you to pay money, don’t trust it.

Furthermore, even if these are legitimate issues, they are never issues that you have to handle by yourself. Even if you prepared your own taxes, that doesn’t mean that you can’t seek outside help from someone to understand the situation instead of only being fed information from those seeking to collect a debt from you. So if you’re not sure where you stand, at best this outside help can alert you to a potential scam. At worst, that help can help you mitigate whatever legitimate issues you are facing.

So when it comes to any potential scam, don’t be rash and remember that we are always here to help guide you through all tax matters, even those ones.

Occasionally in this space I like to pass along general business advice outside of the financial realm. I am not trying to claim any great expertise in the area, but through my own journey and by watching and listening to those of my clients, there are some ideas that I know contain value. I found one of these earlier this week.

I was cleaning out my email when I noticed this article from Inc.com was claiming there were five words that make every meeting better. I have been in enough awful meetings in my life that I was compelled to look. I imagine I’m not the only who has been in those situations, so I’ll tell you those words here – “Who’ll do what by when?”

I’ll now try to leave aside my snarky immediate response that the contraction is a cheap device to make this come in at only five words. Besides that, I think this does get to the meat of the issue of why some meetings can feel so pointless.

Because it’s not all meetings that feel pointless. We leave some feeling that much has been accomplished and that much will continue to be accomplished. It is the ones where it feels like nothing got done that are so trying. You know, the ones that did not have an answer to those five (or six) words.

There is so much underlying those words that may seem obvious, but their explicit statement can make you feel more productive and on a good track. First is simple momentum. You want to be working on tasks that are leading somewhere. You want to be working with others who are working on tasks that are leading somewhere. Laying out where you are going helps the finish line feel closer.

Second is making your time feel valuable. If you’re meeting to just talk about how great you are and high-five each other over the table, then that meeting was unnecessary. There are parts of doing a job that just become part of the standard operation and they don’t need to be discussed. The time spend going those things is still worth something, but discussing them is not. If you can answer that five-word question at the end of meeting with something you haven’t done before, that is more valuable.

I want to finish now by focusing on the time element of the question. Note that it’s not only who is going to do what, but when. For you do want to keep up that momentum I mentioned, but it is going to feel pretty weak if the next steps are a year away. It may feel like not everything needs a deadline, and sure, some tasks are not pressing, but those tasks may never get done if they do not have a time element placed upon them.

So take this with you on how you approach meetings, and even how you approach your own work in your mind. Being deliberate keeps things in the front of your mind, keeps them moving forward, and helps see that they are accomplished.

Last week I wrote about the incoming Hurricane Dorian and how it looked like it was about to create a moment when we had to remember the necessity of binding together in our shared humanity to help those who needed aid. Since then, we have seen images from the Bahamas showing a path of destruction that is absolutely devastating and heart breaking.

So consider this another reminder/plea to help to the best of your ability.

Much of what touches us about such scenes is a natural empathy. We don’t need to hear personal stories to immediately understand the feelings one would have when faced with such a situation, to find so much of what was yours destroyed. Take it as a warning then to make sure you are doing what you can to make it through such a situation if you are ever faced with such misfortune.

This doesn’t come from any prepper standpoint. There can certainly be some wisdom in making sure your home is provisioned with food and water that could survive without electricity, but it is not my place to give such advice there. I can, however, urge that you keep your finances in mind when it comes to imagining such events.

For instance, do you have all necessary documents backed up somewhere? It is a good thing to keep key documents in containers that can survive calamity, but it can also only take a minimal amount of time and effort to see that you have digital backups. This can be even more key for a business, because it could take many hours to reconstruct your books if you lose paper documents or a computer where you kept the only copy of your company’s financial file.

I don’t want to list out everything you may want to think about when it comes to preparing for disasters, but here is a link to a short IRS YouTube video that can help you continue brainstorming about actions you should take.

And sure, videos made by the IRS don’t sound like the greatest way to spend your time. I am frequently deeply involved with issues concerning the agency and I never want to fire up some popcorn and settle on the couch to take in some tax information. Such things, however, are great for communicating important information via media that can reach a lot of people. This is actually something that the IRS is pretty good at.

The agency has even prepared this web page that aggregates information about Hurricane Dorian. There is not a lot on the page, for thankfully the storm did not carry the same level of destruction to the United States, so necessary IRS actions were minimal. But it is still good to know that such actions are taken when needed and the government communicates them to the public in multiple ways.

So just know such things exist, take some preparedness actions if needed, and let’s all hope together that it won’t be necessary to have such discussions many more times throughout the rest of the year.

As I write this, it is still unknown just how much damage Hurricane Dorian is going to dish out. Suffice to say that it has already done enough to be a sobering reminder about the power of nature and how quickly it can affect our lives.

I say these words often when disasters strike, but it is important every time, so continue to remember those in need. In past years we could talk about how giving to charity was good for your tax picture, and sure, that is no longer the case for many taxpayers, but that does not mean being generous and compassionate has become a bad idea. Giving to those in need is one of the best things one can do to feel good about what you’re doing with your money. Even if it is just a small amount, it is warming to know that you did more with your money than making a frivolous purchase.

(And really, no judgment, we all make frivolous purchases.)

The IRS is on top of this all well, as it always is. After such disasters (no matter what form they come in), the agency gives some leeway to those affected at least in the form of loosening of deadlines. So if you are ever affected in such a way, keep an eye out for that so you can keep your mind on more important matters.

I am going to keep this week’s blog shorter so that we can simply take time to think of these more important matters. Coming off Labor Day weekend, many of have just indulged in some pleasurable activities, celebrating the end of summer in the presence of families and friends. We band together in those times of happiness and let’s not forget to band together in times of sadness. From either end, it is heartening to remember our shared humanity.

Over the last handful of years, it has become clear that more people are open to working for themselves, even if it is just a side gig. Technology has helped this happen, since there are more ways to connect those looking for services to those who provide them. Just how much younger people are weighing the value of being your own boss seems higher than was imagined, though. Recent research found that seven in ten young adult job seekers say being your own boss is more valuable than the security of working for someone else.

A lot of that generation is planning on putting that feeling into action. The same research also found that 53 percent of recent graduates said they are likely to start their own business. And sure, the number that actually goes ahead with that in their working lives is going to be smaller, but it is still important to appreciate how that number is growing from previous generations.

No matter what generation you are from, there is a lot that goes into starting a new business. A recent article from Accounting Today looks at these numbers and then passes along some advice and pointers from the American Institute of CPAs for those looking into starting a business. So if this is something you are thinking about, take a look.

Coincidentally, The IRS also recently released some tips for people who are looking to start a business, a little more of the nitty-gritty stuff that needs to be thought about than the AICPA’s big-picture view. Both of these looks are important.  You need to think big to have your general finances and mindset in a position where you can experience future success. These IRS tips are also important, though, to make sure you do the correct things in the beginning to make sure you are set up legally.

I think a lot of those seemingly smaller things are important to know about because of where a lot of these potential new business owners come from. A lot of this younger mindset comes from the gig economy where you are nominally working for yourself because you are a contractor with no set hours, You are benefiting from a business setup, though, that was done elsewhere by others. If you want to really own your own business, those become steps you must personally take.

Like when you see that LLC at the end of a business name, it means something. You may want one of those with your business, but then again, you may not. When it comes time to pay taxes, are you going to use the calendar year or a fiscal year? Do you have an employer identification number? Do you know what needs to be done when you hire employees?

Some of these may be things you only have to think about once, but you definitely have to think about them. We love working with new businesses, to see the passions that drive people to take the chance on themselves. We also love making sure they do everything right. So if these are things you are thinking about, but could use a little guidance, don’t hesitate to contact us and set up an appointment.

A few times over the summer I have written about looking toward the future. This has mostly come from the point of view of keeping a business moving forward, though. So this time, I wanted to spend some time thinking about your personal future and putting money aside for retirement.

First, this is obviously a good idea that everyone appreciates on some level. So if you have nothing put aside, start small. If you have some money siphoned out of your paycheck before it ever feels ‘real’ in your bank account, it is easier to get by without it than you think. You can then increase that amount every year (or more) and really start to build some momentum. This should be especially true if you get a raise of any sort. Add some of that increase to what you save. You then will be serving your future while still seeing more money in your paycheck.

For many, much of this future money is put into either a 401(k) or a Roth IRA. No matter which one you utilize and/or which one your job offers, the fact that it is a good idea to use it remains the case. They are not quite the same thing, though, when it comes to taxes.

From here on out, take everything in this article as generality and not as any sort of recommendation for your personal situation. Individual instances come with enough nuance that needs to be taken into account before making personal decisions. I still think this general information is good for when you start thinking your situation, though, and a lot of it is not always well known.

For instance, most people know that these types of accounts are meant for putting away money for the future, but that is about it. So the first thing I would you to take into consideration is if your employer offers any sort of match with that money. If they will also contribute money up to a certain percentage of your pay and you are not yet funding your account to that percentage, think about doing it. If you do not, that is essentially free money you are leaving on the table.

Next, the type of account you have comes with those differences in taxes I mentioned. If you are contributing to a 401(k), those funds are taken from your paycheck before incomes taxes are deducted. Essentially that means the money you put in there has not been taxed. This also means that the money will be subject to taxes when you take distributions from the account in retirement (or before, but that will come with a penalty for doing so).

In a Roth IRA, the funds placed in it come after your taxes have already been computed in your paycheck. That means the money placed in there has already been taxed, so you do not have to pay tax on it in the future when you start taking distributions. This is especially advantageous if you expect to be in a higher tax bracket when you retire than when you make the contributions.

That again tips off that the most advantageous way to use these accounts will vary on a person-by-person basis. So yes, use them, but if you are looking at how to use them best, don’t hesitate to set up a meeting with us to help discuss your situation.

Last week I wrote about how the complications inherent in the tax system made it impossible for the IRS to release a promised postcard-sized tax return. Since then, the agency has unveiled a draft of a new, more complicated W-4 form and a redesign of their online tax withholding tool.

The first bit of evidence as to how these are attempting to help one through a difficult system is how the online tax withholding estimator is a rebranding of the withholding calculator. A strict calculation was possible when more people worked one W2 job and their tax picture was more straightforward because of it. That situation has become rarer, though, so the numbers are now more honestly labeled estimates.

These estimates are better, though, for they take into account things left out in the past. One thing that was simple but not always taken into account through older forms and calculation was if a spouse earned money, too. Now, the IRS is trying to accommodate that situation. 

One of the biggest pieces left off people’s calculations that is now being handled is money one makes as a contractor. The gig economy is not only inhabited by those who work full-time in those gigs, but by those working on the side for some extra money. Often, those people can be under the impression that the money begin taken out of their paychecks at those primary jobs is going to cover their tax obligation. If you have not personally taken into account that you are going to make that money, though, then chances are good it is not being covered. These new tools allow you to put that money into the calculations and keep surprises from happening come tax time.

Unfortunately, many people do not make these adjustments until it is too late. I can’t always fault people for this either. If you’re only working these side gigs to make a few hundred dollars a month, that amount of money helps pay the household bills, but it does not seem like a giant amount that’s wildly going to affect your taxes. When at the end of the year, though, those months add up to a few thousand dollars – well, now you’re looking at a tax hit that could be enough to cause an issue.

So let this stand as a warning/recommendation/compulsion to put these more advanced calculations/estimations to work for you. This way you can make sure that when you file your taxes you don’t’ have to worry about getting an extra bill with it. Or maybe you even want to make sure that you keep getting a refund with it (although let’s also talk about how you can get some money automatically put into an account that will get you some interest and give you access to it for emergencies instead of waiting for a government payout). No matter what, staying on top of things will help you know what’s going on, and that knowledge can be powerful. And as always, we are here to help you arrive at the answers you want to find.

I do suppose I’ve been too nice towards the IRS lately.

(Oh no, did I just get myself on some list by saying that?)

The agency has made moves recently that seemed more taxpayer-friendly.  One of these was its working toward a postcard-sized 1040 form. And if this was really possible, it could be seen as a friendly act. But then there was the fact that the draft wasn’t quite postcard-sized, other forms likely would have had to be involved for a full return, and of course it didn’t actually make the tax rules any easier. This all came out of rhetoric in the wake of the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. No matter how you feel about the content of that act, its claim that it was going to help make tax returns easier takes a big hit now that the plans for this postcard-sized form have been scrapped.

A few weeks ago I wrote about the fact that a new 1040 form was in draft form, but didn’t quite realize at the time that meant the quiet death of that postcard sound bite. My point when writing then, though, was that the tax landscape did not suddenly become simple, and this just confirms that point.

And since things aren’t simple, let this be a reminder for those whose 2018 tax return is on an extension that you are starting to run low on time. I know that most of you in this situation are groaning and saying you still have a couple months left. I’ll counter in a clearer voice, though, to say that if you take it back to February, you’ve had six months to get it done and still haven’t, so two more isn’t that much.

It is not a bad time to remember how difficult the system can be for those looking toward next year, too. It is easy to groan in that situation, too. You filed your tax return months ago and are glad that you don’t have to think about it for months more. But do you know what your tax return is going to look like when it does come time to file again?

If you do, and you are happy with what is going to look like, great, you do get the chance to sit for a few months and not give any more thought to the topic. If you do, and you are not happy with what the return is going to look like, then this is the time when you can still put some plans in place to make it look a little bit better.

And for those who do not know what their tax return is going to look like, maybe it is time to make an appointment and see whether or not you will be happy with what it is going to look like. This is especially important if you have had any life changes that are will affect the return (change in marital status, new job, new salary, new child, etc.).

For this road is never simple, but we can help you travel down 

It is easy to hear people talk about things you can do to make your business work better (and it even happens in this space). It is easy then to agree in your mind that following those steps would help you grow and succeed. It is much more difficult, however, to put these things into action. This can be more easily accomplished with one thing – planning.

One of the biggest problems when it comes to putting those things into action is procrastination. You think that the ideas sound great, you honestly intend to put them into action, but it gets pushed back in the mind to happening after another initiative is implemented or it gets a ‘next year’ appended onto it. When something lives in a mythical time period, actually making it happen is likely to also remain a myth.

So instead, what exactly are you planning?

It is fine if you read a great bit of business advice but are not in a spot to put it into action. That can certainly be a legitimate situation. Are you putting other things into action, though? There can be first steps, but they are only first steps if you actually take them. Forward momentum is critical, but also impossible to accomplish if no steps are being taken in that direction.

So then, do these plans exist somewhere other than in your mind?

It is necessary to have some concept about where you want go in our business, but if it only exists in your mind, then you don’t really have anything to be accountable to. Simply writing it down gives you a visual reminder, though, it forces you to think about the step and adds that extra layer of accountability.

But then, do you have a time period for when it is going to be accomplished?

If you don’t want things to remain ethereal, put a deadline on them. Even if you aren’t accountable to anyone else or anything other than your own written plan, putting dates on that plan will make it more concrete.

And if you really want to make it more concrete, make that deadline earlier than you think possible. If you only do things when they feel comfortable, you will not be accomplishing as much as you could. Comfort is nice, but big steps are more often taken when you are uncomfortable. Would you rather be comfortable now or be even more comfortable down the road because you pushed yourself a bit, tried new things, and found more success because of it?

So push a little bit, make those plans, and don’t be afraid to try new things. The more malleable you are, the more chances you are willing to take and the more adversity you will be able to handle. It is easy to have good thoughts about where you want to go, but you can get there faster than you believe.

Be mindful, be bold. Then even when some parts fail (and yes, they will), you will know that you tried and that is easier to take than wondering what could have been. And it won’t be as painful as it could be, for you will continue following the successful steps.

Running a business involves a lot of work. Running a business should also involve a lot of breaks.

I know when you are in the heat of the action, it never feels like you have time to take a break. I mean, why should you allow yourself down time when your to-do list still has a dozen things on it?  Because taking that time will could actually get you through that list faster than if you force yourself to remain hunkered down.

Those rest points can be difficult because they feel selfish. If you take it as just a thought exercise, however, I would wager that most people believe taking a break when feeling overwhelmed or frustrated can provide a needed reset and help you perform better when you return to the task. Also, I think most agree that they work better after a good night’s sleep. Allowing yourself to get one can be difficult, though, when that to-do list is not finished.

I am not going to pretend to have any experimental data to prove this point, but I truly believe that those rest periods make you more productive and save time in the end. I mean, I’m sure I’m not the only person who has found myself frustrated while fixing my own mistakes on a task I tried to accomplish when a bit worn down.

And now it turns out that small breaks, even ones that can be measured in seconds, help your mind process what you’re doing and learn better. I came across this in an Inc.com article written by suspiciously appropriately named business writer Peter Economy.

This article discusses a study that has found that taking a 10-second break allowed participants to enter a short number sequence they just learned faster than those who did not take a break. It seems the brain really does work better if you give it a chance to take in what you’re doing.

So when you are in nose-to-the-grindstone mode, you may feel like you’re getting a lot done, but you may not really be processing what you’re doing. Sure, this can be fine for some mindless tasks, but for the most part, the more you remember about what you did the better.

Recently I have written about the wisdom of delegating tasks and prioritizing getting help from others when you feel like you are doing too much. That is one way to give yourself a break, but now we also see that is important to give yourself personal breaks within the work you are taking on yourself.

All told, let’s consider this in the mode of self-forgiveness. There is a level of hard work and perseverance that is critical to success. There is also a level of rest and relaxation, however, which is necessary to prevent burnout. This can be small – I mean who doesn’t have 10 seconds? – but just keeping it in mind that not only do you deserve some rest periods, but that they are beneficial, is key to long-term success.

Seeing as the IRS has not received any large increases in budget or staffing, it should not be surprising that the number of audits on individual tax returns continues to decrease. This is a phenomenon that I know I mention from time to time, but seeing as audits will forever be a fear of the taxpayer, it must continue to be addressed.

This is then when I continue to state that the small amount of audits actually carried out by the IRS does not mean that it is worth trying to get away with something on your tax return. Think of this way – if you are facing an audit, do you want to go into it knowing that you legally used the system to your advantage or that there is no way it is going to end without you handing over more money (or worse)?

This recent article from Accounting Today gives a quick look at how the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act could be affecting the audit landscape, while also acknowledging it may take a few years before those ramifications are fully understood. It presents an interesting theory that the TCJA may have removed a lot of complexity that could trigger an audit for the average taxpayer and shift the percentage of audits to the wealthy (even though their total number of audits is also on the decline).

One could say this is a good thing because it made the tax system easier for many average taxpayers, which is certainly true in some cases. The system did not suddenly become simple, though, especially in the current financial landscape where more and more people are earning income outside of a regular, full-time job. Having someone who can guide you to make sure you are using the system to your greatest advantage while making sure your tax obligation is satisfied should still remain the best tactic for making sure you do not have to face an audit.

Consider it doing your part to keep those audit numbers down by doing what you’re supposed to do.

Fewer audits is certainly not a way that the IRS is trying to be nicer toward taxpayers, but it is an inadvertent advantage. The agency is doing other things, however, in an attempt to be more taxpayer-friendly.

In the wake of the draft of a widely revamped W4 form, the IRS has also drafted a new tax return for seniors and a draft for a new 1040 form. I don’t know how large an effect these will have as the amount of taxpayers who fill out these paper forms without electronic assistance is ever decreasing, but the aims are good.  Again, simplifying things doesn’t necessarily make them simple.

Also, the IRS recently sent out communication that points people toward their Interactive Tax Assistant, which offers answers to many tax questions. Keep in mind, though, that the best tax answers come from those who know your personal situation, so never be afraid to turn to us when you can’t find answers elsewhere.

Welcome back to the work week after a Thursday holiday that gave many people a four-day weekend.  It felt good, didn’t it? Wouldn’t it be great to feel that way all the time?

That type of feeling is something I hear about occasionally from small business owners when it comes to why they started their business.  That type of feeling is something I hear about constantly, though, from those who are looking to start a new business. A little more freedom and a lot more time off is part of the dream goal.

The fact that that falls off as a consideration among those who are already in the weeds is a telling thing. This decrease is not because those already in their business are so thrilled about what they do that they no longer want time off. Instead, it is because going into business for yourself is tough.

I do not want this to feel dire. Instead, I want this to be a call that you don’t have to do it all alone. Chances are you did not go to school for law. Chances are you never studied accounting. Chances are you find data entry tedious and maddening. Chances are you do not have a nuanced understanding of marketing. Okay, maybe you’re lucky and have some experience in one of these areas. So many small business owners, however, end up doing all these things and more. More … you know, like the thing you really wanted to do and make a business out of in the first place.

If you do all these things, you are putting yourself in a time crunch that will feel unmanageable, and possibly really is unmanageable for there are only so many hours in a day. Enlisting help, however, can feel impossible because most new businesses are also in a financial crunch. But if you don’t get help how are you ever going to get that extra time for yourself?

And sure, maybe you do not have enough funds to bring on an employee, but you probably have enough funds to put out a couple hundred dollars a month and get an outside company to help you in one of those areas. That then will give you more time you can put into other areas of the business, make more money, and then siphon off another of those areas to someone else. Eventually you may then be able to afford an employee who can take some of the load from multiple areas, and just imagine the time savings there.

The vision many have when they start their own business is singular – I am doing to do this. But let me say that the small businesses I work with that are the most successful are the ones who have more tasks being assigned to others. And it is very rewarding to be part of those “others” that is helping them succeed.

So hold onto how good that time off felt and don’t be afraid to make moves to help you get there. And know that we are there to help you out however we can along the way.

I am writing this in the midst of July 4^th week, which means not as many people are going to read this one. But it also means that many of you are looking for something to do that will make it appear as if you’re doing work while sitting at your desk.  So for those people, here are three quick hits so that you don’t have to pay too much attention.

****

In a story that seems to be constant rather than breaking news, the IRS is looking to hire more employees. The steady decrease in the agency’s workforce has been a story for years, leading to fewer audits and longer waiting times when contacting them.

It’s a problem I can’t quite wrap my mind around if I think about it too deeply. This is clearly an institution that the government needs to ensure it is funded and able to function. It seems to be an afterthought when it comes to budgeting, though, with a constant need for increased staff.

So what my mind always comes back to is don’t expect any changes to come about in how the agency runs until the story is that the government is making a significant effort to actually move it up the priority list.

***

Also this week came news that there has been some outreach from the financial community to the IRS stating that the new W-4 form is overly complicated and does not represent an upgrade for workers. Also add this to the things that I cannot quite wrap my mind around.

Is it more complicated, yes, but why does this have to be a bad thing? I mean this is the agency actually reacting to an issue and doing something that directly addresses the issue.

The draft version of the form we have seen certainly will take longer to fill out than the current one. Those who have complicated tax situations may even have to confer with a tax professional to get full answers. But does anyone ever say that tax planning is a bad idea? There is just going to be more information and more ability for more people to allow their withholding to satisfy their tax obligation.

Work is not something one should shy away from when it leads to better outcomes.

***

Finally, the IRS put out some information this week for those who make money through a hobby. The line between a hobby and a small business can be tricky. No matter on what side of that line you fall, though, if you are making money, the IRS wants to know about it.

That information can be found here.

This is one of those areas where things can be really gray. Like do you really need to report if you made something for a friend who paid you $20 for it? I’ll simply offer a shrug here as a noncommittal answer, but if you’re doing something that could become a significant sideline business, these are issues you at least want to think about.

But not until after burgers and fireworks. So enjoy your holiday!

Keeping yourself safe from potential identity theft and watching out for scams remains important even removed from tax season. The IRS knows this and is taking steps to keep your information safe.

Last week, the agency announced that it would stop faxing tax transcripts this month. It also plans to stop third-party mailing of tax returns and transcripts in July. The IRS has found that criminals can impersonate taxpayers or authorized third parties to get those transcripts and use them to file fraudulent returns. This doesn’t mean that you can never get a legitimate transcript if you need one.  In fact, it is still easy for a taxpayer to do it themselves online by verifying their identity.

At the same time, the IRS is also raising the alarm on a couple of new scams aiming to get your personal information. Two of biggest are claiming that your social security number is going to be suspended or canceled and demands from a Bureau of Tax Enforcement.

We will take on the SSN one first.  Let this be the most giant red flag you can ever encounter when it comes to scams.  If someone wants your social security number, and you aren’t 100% sure who they are and that they should have it, don’t give them any information.

These demands are often coming through frightening robocall voicemails. They talk of potential punishments that sound awful, and they would be if they were true. But if these calls come out of nowhere and speak vaguely of things that you cannot connect to legitimate information that is because they are not real.

Another trick that I like to do with these calls is do a Google search of the number these calls come from. A large percentage of the time this will return a list of people at least searching for the number if not labeling it as a scam.  Either way, that should make you feel more confident that you can ignore it.

As for the Bureau of Tax Enforcement, it sounds real legitimate, doesn’t it? Well, it doesn’t actually exist. When you get a letter in the mail, though, that threatens a tax lien or levy because of delinquent taxes, paying money to the Bureau of Tax Enforcement sounds like a valid way to keep that from happening.

This one feels extra dangerous because it bypasses some of the warnings that are often put out for how to avoid schemes. One is that the first contact from the IRS will come through the mail and not via phone, email, or social media. Well, they bypassed that.  It also seems to be seeking a legitimate way of payment.  You’re sending a check to a seemingly legit organization and not wiring money, buying odd gift cards, or using any other unorthodox form of odd payment. The money is also not demanded quickly.

This shows how scammers are always trying to stay a few steps ahead of knowledge getting out to the public. They are not simply going to be defeated in one arena and then give up. So be sure you also stay ready to take in new information and remain diligent when something doesn’t feel quite right.

How you feel about the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act at this point probably largely has to do with how your tax return looked this year. The numbers from a country-wide standpoint said that things largely remained unchanged from the government’s standpoint. That does not, however, mean that there were not some big changes on a personal level.

That’s why in the time since the tax season ended I have written a bit about being proactive and making changes to help your own situation. It would take some huge surprises for the rules to change again before next year. So you need to do what you can to leverage your situation underneath the current system.

Possibly in an actual bit of surprise, though, the IRS may be helping with this.

Over the last week, the agency has issued a draft of a new W-4 form. Remember that form you filled out when you started your job to say how you wanted your taxes handled and then never thought about again? Yeah, that form.

The changes here are largely due to the TCJA, so allow me to get a little tax jargon-y for only a paragraph. That W-4 form you may still vaguely remember was based on withholding allowances, which was tied to the amount of the personal exemption. This is why it had a little questionnaire about your family and life situation to help you determine how you may want to fill out the form. This worked pretty well for most people. The revamped rules, though, have led to a more complicated form, but one that will be better at actually taking into account your personal situation.

First, let me state that this new W-4 is a draft only.  The real form will only come out later this year. Also, it will be for the year 2020 so any changes you want to make for this year must be done on a current form. It is still worth looking at the changes made, though.

One of the new things on the draft version of the form is the ability to account for multiple jobs. This even includes if you are married filing jointly and both you and your spouse work. This is key because your total income could be much higher than what you earn at the job for which you are filling out the form.

In the same vein, there will also be spots in include income earned from other areas and possible deductions. This is a much fuller version of your total tax picture than was seen on the W-4 form in the past (although you also had the opportunity to withhold additional amounts of money if you so chose).

This new form is a bit more complicated and will take a little more work to accurately fill out. This may feel daunting, and it could even be argued that it will increase the chance of errors. The idea, however, is that it is designed to give a fuller picture and more accurately report what should be withheld form one’s paycheck to fulfill your tax obligation. These are only good things.

Accomplishing good things aren’t always something you can do on your own, though, so as always we remain here to help you make your tax picture work to your best advantage, even if that involves filling out some new forms.

Maybe you can blame this on my mind being a little scattered now that tax season is over.  I, however, will frame it as my mind is more open.

Either way, here is a little take on three news stories I saw earlier this week that I thought had lessons in them that were worth passing along.

First off, Pizza Hut’s original pan pizza is being remade. Whether or not there is then any value left then in the “original” moniker can be debated, but if the goal is to make a better product, that can’t be too bad, can it?

Beyond that, this CNN article was actually more interesting than I thought it would be, describing how Domino’s, Papa John’s, and Pizza Hut are in a tug-of-war competition to stay relevant, have new offerings, and embrace new technologies.

On the surface, it may seem like this is too much work for the companies. I mean those are three names that everyone knows, and everyone knows what they offer. It does, however, go to show that even when you reach a high level of success you cannot just rest on your laurels.

There is value in having a traditional offering. There can be greater value in realizing when your traditional offering needs to evolve if you want to continue holding your position (remember Kodak?). Be great at what you do - and we don’t have to get into a discussion here about what makes “great” pizza, these companies are still great at what they do - but also do not remain stuck in your ways. Only then can your famous name carry on.

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Speaking of iconic names …

The brand and intellectual property of Sports Illustrated was sold recently for $110 million to Authentic Brands Group. That sentence has to be framed like that because Meredith Corporation, the former owner, will continue to publish the magazine and website under the Sports Illustrated name. What this means is that Sports Illustrated brand is worth more than the magazine that began the brand.

Names can stand for something beyond your current work, so be sure you’re standing for the right things.

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And speaking of standing for something …

MacKenzie Bezos joined the rank of the world’s wealthiest people following her divorce from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.  She recently committed to giving at least half of her estimated $36.6 billion worth to charity.

Do you read stories like that and think about how nice it would be to have that amount of money with which to do good? Then I urge you to still do what you can with what you have. When it comes to how you spend your money, there is value in the feeling you get from helping others that can outweigh the pleasure of purchasing goods.

With changes from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, making charitable donations became less of a tax issue for many, so I wanted to take the chance to close this week with that reminder that it’s still worth doing.

There have been a lot of changes coming to QuickBooks Online recently. I know that this only affects a limited number of people directly, but some of the issues it raises reach further than QBO users. So I promise I won’t get too in-depth on just the QBO stuff in this space, for no one wants to read THAT much about bookkeeping software.

To give it some attention, though, QBO is based on a tier plan, essentially meaning you pay more the bigger your business is, which is pretty reasonable since you’ll be taking up more online space. The price has gone up, though, and you can also be forced into a higher advanced tier if your company uses more than 250 chart of accounts listings and/or 40 locations and classes.

250 listings on a chart of accounts could sound like a lot of things to track, but it is certainly not a ridiculous number, and some types of businesses don’t even have to get THAT large to get there. A lot of times, though, this is a place where we see businesses having some extra stuff that is just pushing that number up, cluttering up a profit and loss statement, and really serving little purpose.

Remember that one debit from three years ago that you weren’t sure how to classify and you started a new category for it? Of course not, but your chart of accounts does and that category thus still exists.

So if you are worried about the rising cost of a QuickBooks Online subscription and want a little personal guidance on how you fall within the programs rules, let us know and let’s set up an appointment.

This type of checkup, though, to see if your bookkeeping and reporting is really tracking and reporting what is most important to you can be a good idea no matter what platform you are using to track it. The issues that can keep you from working at an optimal level can be many:

Did you have a professional set up our bookkeeping when your business started?

Has your business grown since you started?

Are you offering different products and services than when you started?

Are you tracking similar expenses in separate accounts?

Do you know what each line on your P&L means?

Do you understand what transactions are going onto each of those lines?

Having good answers to these questions will let you know what level of a program like QuickBooks Online is necessary for your business. Having good answers to these questions will also help you understand how your business is working and help you make better decisions.

No matter what software you are using for bookkeeping (even if it’s an Excel spreadsheet or receipts in an envelope), having a hold on tracking it all correctly is necessary for optimal performance. And no matter how you are doing it, you may have questions on how to do it better. So you, too, let us know and let’s set up an appointment to discuss those things.

In speaking with a colleague this week, I realized that I may have missed some pieces in my last blog aimed at people thinking about starting new businesses. It’s not that anything I said was wrong, but that there are some other points that business owners (and potential business owners) need to think about that deserved a little more spotlight. So here is my attempt to shine that light.

A slight word of caution first.  None of these notes are intended to be, or should be taken as, advice for your particular situation. In fact, one of the biggest takeaways should be that every situation and every business is different.  The key is that you want to address these things to make the decisions that are right for you and your business.

One of these decisions that have to be made is what type of business you are going to be from a legal perspective.  I don’t want to use this space to go deep into LLCs, C Corps, S Corps, etc. - I mean, we’re still early here, you don’t want to go to sleep already. Suffice to say that there are differences and things such as whether you are going at this alone or have partners and how you will pay the taxes for the business (to be probably too simplistic, whether you account for it with a separate business return or on your personal return) all come up at this point.

Another key thing is going to be how you define success. If this is only something you ever envision to be a side gig, success could simply be not losing money. Then again, you may want that side gig to pay for a vacation for your family each year. And is that something that could be accomplished in the first year or will it take two or three to bring to fruition?

But then, what do you have to do to make that happen? Are you producing a product? If so, how many of that product will you need to produce (and sell) to get there? Are you providing a service? If so, how many clients will you need to serve to get there?

Then again, you may be looking to start a business that is immediately going to be what you do full-time. Defining success can be very different there. How many customers will you need to get enough money to get by? How many customers will you need to make enough money to get to a higher, thriving level? Will you be able to handle that time commitment? At what point will you be able to bring in new or more employee(s) and continue to grow?

Being a little bit deliberate in these areas will help you move you toward those success benchmarks. And you can’t be expected to have all these answers – or even know how to arrive at them - from the start. I could never claim that we will have all these answers for you. I am confident, though, that we can provide some of them and point you in the direction of where to find the ones we can’t.