Don't Forget to Pay Quarterly Taxes

To contact us Click HERE

File a 1040ES

by Roger Chartier:
 
If  your self employed , and you think you will owe more than $1,000.00 for a quarter in taxes, your Uncle Sam wants his cut up front.
That's right, pay now ! Cough up the dough.

Do it by filing a 1040ES with the payment.


The 1040 ES is the estimated tax form for the IRS.

 Go to the IRS 1040ES form page and see the dates for the periods  and the filing due dates for each quarter.

If you are a wage earner, during the year you can also submit a new W4 form to your boss.

Fill it out to increase your tax amount that is withheld.

Can't pay your IRS taxes on time?

To contact us Click HERE

6 ways to avoid some IRS late payment penalties and interest .

1. Read the webpage  Tax Troubles

The  tax trouble webpage  can be helpful as well for understanding what to do

2. Don't wait until you have all the money.

File your taxes on time and pay as much as you can when you file. Now you don't get a late filing penalty.
You will get a late payment penalty but it will be lowered as well as the interest and other charges.

3. Don't wait for the IRS to demand payment

Get in touch with the IRS and ask to set up an installment agreement. The sooner that you do that the better because you will pay less in charges, penalties and interest

4. Borrow the money

if the interest rate would be lower than what the IRS interest and charges and penalties would be.

5. If you get an IRS bill

call ASAP to straighten it all out and set yourself up to your best advantage.

6. Set up an extension to pay later

There is a thing called the "Fresh Start Initiative" that you should ask about where if you qualify you can avoid all penalties.

Who's Afraid of the Big Bad W9 form?

To contact us Click HERE

Oh No! I don't want to sign an IRS Form W9!

So you are approached by the company that is paying you as a private contractor to a do a job with the landscaping or outside cleaning services etc.
. He/She has a W9 form in his/her hand and tells you that if you want to get paid you are going to have to fill out the form.

Evil bastards! You have already done half of the job and have agreed to do a lot more in the future so what can you do. They have you by the cahones.They are not really evil bastards but they are just covering their butt, tax-wise.

 So you sign the form knowing that now they are going to send you a 1099-MISC form with the amount that they paid to you and a copy to the IRS just for them to take your costs to them as a tax deduction.

Fight back on the taxes!

The cure is that from the beginning of each year you should keep track of all expenses. I mean everything including mileage allowance and your home office expense.
Use every legitimate deduction that you can to reduce the taxes that will be due. It is your right to do so.

When you take the mileage deduction and you pay for gas you can save more on gas with a few tricks.
Use the free mileage log (courtesy of  www.2012-mileage-allowance.com/ )

 Deduct uniforms and every supply that you use and get more information.
 Let me suggest these sources.

1. www.whatistax.org/


2. www.taxman123-blog.com/


3. www.printw9.com/


4. www.tax-write-off-donations.com/


5. www.1040-forms.com/


6. www.downloadw9.com/


7. www.2012-mileage-deduction.com/


8. www.1099forms.org/


9. www.freew9form.com/


10. www.w9form.biz/

Form W-2 When 100% of Pastor's Pay is Designated as Housing Allowance

To contact us Click HERE
Question:

A minister currently receives only a housing allowance from his church. Are these amounts reportable on Form 1099-MISC or Form W-2?

Answer:

The answer to this blog post can be found in a February 3, 2009 blog post:
http://ministrycpa.blogspot.com/2009/02/form-w-2-when-100-of-pastors-pay-is.html

While it is true that this blog post is several years old, the information contained within the post is still accurate and relevant today.

Fringe Benefit to Teachers of Christian Schools: Children's Education

To contact us Click HERE
Question:

A church has a school affiliated with it and part of the compensationfor the teachers is free tuition for their children. Is this a taxable fringebenefit? If yes, is the school required to pay FICA tax on the value of the tuition?

Answer:

According to the IRS's Taxable Fringe Benefit Guide,

"Free or reduced tuition for employees of educational institutions may be excludable to employees. The term "qualified tuition reduction" means a tax-free reduction in tuition provided by an eligible educational institution. At the undergraduate level, the education need not be at the same institution where the employee works. Whether a tuition reduction is a qualified tuition reduction, and therefore excludable from income, depends on whether it is for education below or at the graduate level. The qualified tuition reduction must not represent payment for services." (An important point that we will address below).

Further, "a qualified educational organization is one which:

• Maintains a faculty and curriculum, and
• Normally has a regularly enrolled student body on site."

Schools must assure that tuition benefits are provided on a non-discriminatory basis, in addition to and not as a substitute for standard compensation for their services.

According to the IRS, "generally, a qualified tuition reduction cannot discriminate in favor of highly-compensated employees (for 2012, employees with total compensation exceeding $115,000)."

Also, "a fringe benefit is a form of pay (including property, services, cash or cash equivalent) in addition to (ouremphasis) stated pay for the performance of services."

Should a school provide tuition-free education as the only source of compensation for services or as a benefit on a discriminatory basis, it will be in violation of IRS rules unless it treats the fair market value as both income taxable and FICA tax wages.

Didn't get an IRS W2 Form Yet?

To contact us Click HERE

No W2 form yet?

Did your employer fail to send you an IRS W2 form yet?
You do know that it is no excuse for not filing on time.
You should get on his/her case and call to let them know.
You don't want to aggravate the IRS.
Maybe your employer or the secretary screwed up but you should have gotten it by February 14, 2012 for tax year 2011.
You can still file with a Form 4852 but it is more of a pain in the butt than filing with  the W2 Form in the first place.
In the event that you have to file for an extension read about the handy handy IRS form 4868  for an extension to file.
If you get your W2 form after you filed you will have to file an amended return by filing the 1040X, the amended Individual Tax Return.
Read more about the IRS form 1040X.

Don't Forget Your Earned Income Tax Credit

To contact us Click HERE
by Roger Chartier:

Take the earned income tax credit!

Depending on your income and if you have one or more children you could qualify for the earned income tax credit.

Don't miss out on this money from the government.


 Lot's of people don't look into it and come tax time they get screwed. 

For the  2011 tax year the limit is $3,050 for one child and the maximum of $5,666 for three children.

Check the link here to see the charts for more detailed information such as earnings limits etc. for the IRS Earned Income Credit.

It is simple enough remind your tax preparer to be sure to look into it otherwise you lose.

So pay attention if you are less than wealthy and have kids.