justsqueakingby.com » Taxes

A Rollercoaster Ride on Wall Street

JSB — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 15:11:56 +0000

Wow! What a way to finish out the week. Wall Street has been up and down and all around over the past week. Stocks opened the day about 400 points higher. This due to the news that the government plans to rescue big banks from billions of dollars of bad debt. The bailout would be the biggest ever undertaken by the government.

In addition, the SEC has placed a temporary ban on the short selling of 799 financial stocks.

What’s up next? Only time will tell. For now, please fasten your seatbelts and keep your hands inside the car at all times. Please enjoy the ride!

Tax Payments for September 15, 2008

JSB — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 12:40:56 +0000

I made a quick stop at the post office this morning to send out my 3rd quarter estimated tax payments. This estimated payment is based on the amount of taxes I owed last year for my sole proprietorship. If you, too, need to make these payments, don’t forget to get them in the mail today.

Nobody Likes Owing Money To The IRS

JSB — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 02:20:46 +0000

I stopped by my CPA’s office this morning to pick up my taxes. Unexpectedly, I owe $3,800 to the feds and $500 to the state I live in. At the beginning of 2007, I changed my withholdings with the expectation of offsetting the taxes I would owe. It appears those changes didn’t do as much as I expected them to. I did a few rough calculations before sending my paperwork and tax-related materials off to the CPA and my math showed that I would owe very little, if anything. I must have miscalculated or forgot to include something. To be sure, I checked over the forms tonight when I got home from work and they all appear to be correct.

This is not the first year that I’ve owed a sizable amount to the IRS. Although I have the money to pay the taxes, it still hurts a little to part with it. The main reason I end up owing each year is due to the income I make on the side from Web development work and several Web sites I run. I could lessen the sting each April by making quarterly payments, but I’d rather make the money work for me during the year in a high-yield savings account. I may have to rethink this strategy.

I need to make some time to meet with my CPA to see what steps I can take to reduce my tax bill in the future.

If anyone out there has some tips or ideas, I’d like to hear from you.

Delayed Forms, Procrastination And Taxes

JSB — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 02:17:35 +0000

Tax preparation isn’t a whole lot of fun, but I don’t have to tell you that. In years past, I’ve been able to pull things together in a fairly short amount of time. This year, for whatever reason, has been a completely different story. I guess a combination of late forms and procrastination has delayed the entire process.

At last – I can finally say they’re ready to be shipped off to the CPA.

The whole process has put the spotlight on my less than stellar business record-keeping. I’ve been meaning to get everything that pertains to the business imported and categorized in Quicken. Doing that will allow me to easily get the information together that my CPA needs. It would also allow me to track my business expenses a little more closely.

I have a complete and efficient system for my personal expenses and accounts. The business accounts need the same thing. I guess I know what I’ll be working on next week – or maybe the following week.

Anybody have tips on getting started with a proper system for the business?

Do You Fear These 7 Tax Terrors?

JSB — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 00:40:58 +0000

Bankrate.com has an article that outlines 7 different things that terrify taxpayers. In all honesty, some of the items on the list forced me to find a CPA this year. Here’s the list:

7 reasons taxpayers tremble

1. Afraid I can’t do my taxes myself
2. Afraid I’ll overlook a tax break
3. Afraid I’ll make a mistake that will cost me money
4. Afraid that my tax adviser is incompetent or a crook
5. Afraid I’ll get audited
6. Afraid to e-file because my personal info could be lost or stolen
7. Afraid to file because I can’t pay

It used to be that I did all my own taxes, but a few years ago my filing got a little more complicated. Even after these changes I continued doing my own taxes – surely missing out on tax breaks and paying in more than I should have. I finally came to my senses and decided that I could spend my time doing more productive things than taxes, so I sought out the assistance of a CPA. Shortly after sitting down with him, I quickly learned that there were a bunch of things I had overlooked. It’s his job to keep up with changes in the tax code – so I’m happy to part with some money to save myself time and aggravation.

How about you? Do any of the items on this list make you tremble? If so, will you have someone else prepare your taxes for you?

Mistakes Made – Lessons Learned

JSB — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 02:15:48 +0000

I was over at Consumerism Commentary reading some of the new posts, and I saw a post by Sasha titled, “5 Stupid Financial Mistakes I Made in 2007: Underutilizing Financial and Tax Advisors.” At the end of the post, she talks about not enlisting the help of a tax accountant to look over her taxes – rather she did them herself. I can honestly say that I’ve made that same mistake a few years in a row. I thought that I knew all there was to know. Boy, was I wrong – I missed out on a lot of deductions and always ended up paying in. I decided to change things up this year, so I finally sat down with a CPA and we went over my situation. He opened my eyes to many deductions I could have taken in years past. I should have seen him earlier – I would’ve saved money and been out of debt sooner. Hind sight is always 20/20…

Lesson learned: Sometimes it helps to enlist the help of a professional.