David Daniel, CPA

This is no joke, if you are a business owner, make sure you are on top of it.

A federal court declared it unconstitutional, but then a federal appeals court reinstated it on Dec, 23. What timing. I'm not a fan of this, but don't recommend fooling around with it. The penalties for not filing are currently $591 per DAY and potential jail time.

Corporate Transparency Act Filing Requirements Reinstated: Act Now The 5th Circuit has reinstated filing under the Corporate Transparency Act and FinCEN has extended the deadline until January 13, 2025. Urgent action is required.

IRS has extended filing deadlines for those affected by hurricanes. This gives straight-forward simple guidance. I hope everyone has managed this disaster OK. It's been a rough go here, but we are all OK.

IRS map shows everywhere tax deadline extended The Internal Revenue Service has announced extended deadlines for taxpayers across numerous states.

It's not just unscrupulous tax preparers taking advantage of people. A veteran called me earlier this year after being sold over $10 thousand in solar panels, after the contractor telling him about "all the energy tax credits" he would get.

It's not that simple, and it's not a refundable credit, so for him, it was money down the drain that as a disabled vet, he didn't have!

Between lying contractors and bad tax preparers, it can be a real mess. Be careful and get a well-rated CPA opinion before major purchases. It's hard to undo some purchases after they are done!

IRS issues nationwide warning A new warning is out from the IRS.

Closed to celebrate Apr 16th day! 🤓

I think we do too! It makes solid tax planning that much more essential.

Americans think they pay too much in taxes. Here's who pays the most and least to the IRS. The U.S. tax system is designed to be progressive, with rich people paying a larger share of their income to the IRS. Here's what to know.

Thank you to everyone visiting and liking this page! I appreciate you!

Every day, I have people trying to reach me to pitch outsourcing services. There are a lot of companies that use these services, and bury the disclosure "in the fine print".

We never outsource our work. If you trust us with your info, then we never share it. It stays within our firm.

The last thing I ever want is to have to explain a data breach on the other side of the planet to a client that has trusted us with their private financial information!

We are an American company and still believe that our word means something.

What does it take to know about taxes?

There are 9,834 sections of the federal tax code. It takes a little over 4,000 pages but can probably be simplified to about 2,600 pages if you pare it down to most current sections.

That's the easy part.

Then you have the Internal Revenue Service's interpretation of this tax law which takes the form of Regulations, Revenue Rulings, Revenue Procedures, Private Letter Rulings, Technical Advice Memorandum, Notices, and Announcements to navigate.

Now before you get too comfortable, it's a good time to share that the IRS has stated you cannot rely on their own publications for guidance! So you must know how to get to what is important.

Now that we have gotten through all of that, then you have the judicial challenges to tax laws, which can go through a variety of courts, get appealed and overruled, etc. You also have different levels of courts ruling differently depending on the region. This is where challenges to IRS interpretations get hashed out. These are in the tens of thousand of pages.

Oh darn, forgot to mention this doesn't begin to include state tax laws that include things like state income tax, sales tax and state employment taxes. And it's all interrelated, of course. Sometimes states follow the federal code, other times it is very different.

To become a CPA, while it varies by state, generally this means that you have completed 150 hours of education. This is basically the hours that it takes to complete a Master's degree, with a requirement for a certain number of accounting courses.

Then, you must work under a CPA for a specific amount of time to gain experience and pass that pesky CPA examination which is four challenging sections with about a 50% pass rate, including those retaking the exam sections (some sections have a lower pass rate than others).

This would get someone to the starting point of a career as a CPA. Then it takes years of experience to further hone your knowledge.

CPA's are also required to keep up with Continuing Professional Education courses (CPEs) to maintain a CPA license, usually 80-120 hours each two year period to stay current with changes.

All this to share my frustration and, well, contempt of when people take 8 week part-time courses and all of the sudden become "experts" and charge ridiculous amounts.

If you are serious about your business and success, choose the right partners. Otherwise, it's not much different from going to a car mechanic for a medical checkup.

Another "if it's too good to be true.." tax story

Hey y'all, if you having fun getting free products from Amazon in exchange for your reviews, just remember those are taxable and they will send you a 1099 reporting the value.

If you are doing this daily for a year, it's probably going to put you up a few tax brackets. Just saying, check it out before jumping in! You don't want a surprise tax bill in the tens of thousands, right?

This isn't necessarily a right or wrong situation, but you need to understand the tax impact from the beginning and make your decisions wisely.

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. At least, do your homework!

A veteran on a fixed income called me this morning. He had been sold a whopping amount for home upgrades that were eligible for the home energy tax credit. The person selling him these expensive upgrades assured him that they would "pay for themselves"

THAT'S NOT HOW IT WORKS! Unfortunately, this is a kind of credit called "Nonrefundable" which means unless you owe taxes, you cannot take advantage of it. There are also limitations on how much you can use in one year. On a good note, you can carry these forward to future years to use.

He got taken, and I felt bad to be the one who had to tell him. The reality, these are a tool in a larger toolbox of tax planning strategies, and should be considered based on an individual's own tax situation.

Be careful out there, it doesn't take long to realize how many people will lie to take your money!

Do you need to hire a CPA? It depends! Great article by Investopedia below.

Why would I post an article that wouldn't promote a sales for my own company? Because we have unique values at Daniel CPA, we do what is best for our clients first!

Do you need an advocate who will help you and not just sell you on another service that you don't really need? Reach out to schedule a conversation to see if our services are right for your business.

Tax Preparer vs. Tax Software: How To Choose A paid tax preparer can provide expert advice and save you time, but doing your own taxes with the help of software will save you money.

There are so many that don't belong in this business, so this is no surprise. My idea of a good CPA is one that doesn't get your client in trouble! But most of these aren't even CPA's, nor even close!

It matters who you choose to partner with. If you are an entrepreneur or business owner who is serious about your success, we are a great company to partner with. Contact us today, limited spots opening for new clients.

IRS to target 'unscrupulous' tax preparers amid crackdown of small business tax credit The IRS has unveiled plans to crack down on tax preparers with "questionable practices" as it elevates scrutiny of a small business tax credit.