Tax Planning Is for Everybody

Not everybody considers taxes as something to be planned for - either you pay it in full, pay it less than what you owe the government, or skip it altogether and face the consequences later. Tax planning then seems like a waste of time and hiring the best Rochester accountant for it seems like a waste of good money.

The reality, however, is significantly different than the above mentioned unplanned payment of taxes. Every taxpayer from individuals to for-profit and non-profit organizations must engage in effective planning for taxation purposes. The reasons are many including:

• Taxes are expenses that lessen the net income earned by individuals and businesses. Planning to minimize the amount of taxes paid will maximize the net income earned; for example, you will defer income declaration for the next year in order to lessen your tax burden in the current year.

• Non-payment of taxes has surcharges and penalties that, more often than not, exceed the amount of taxes that should have been paid in the first place. The possible sanctions also make it necessary - nay, crucial - to engage in effective tax planning to avoid these regulatory penalties.

• Tax credits should be taken advantage of every year. These represent substantial savings since the items are non-taxable. Businesses use tax credits to their advantage such as the case with the Marriott Hotel with its alternative fuel plants and Bank of America with its affordable housing tax credits.

Tax planning is not just a one-time, year-end deal, far from it. The best Rochester accountant will strongly encourage his clients to engage in planning for taxation purposes on a year-round basis. This is to ensure that any new legislation, policy and rules affecting the remittance of taxes can be considered and changes can be made. For example, the so-called Obamacare - a health care reform law under the Obama administration - will increase taxes in the coming years. Your company should take these changes into account in, say, planning your employee benefits program.

Again, it must be emphasized that the main purpose of tax planning is to maximize income and minimize expenses. It must then be an integral part of the overall planning process for your business (i.e., marketing plan, sales plan, and business strategy plan). Taxes, after all, affect every facet of your operation from the sales taxes to the investment taxes.

It must also be noted that tax planning should be undertaken under the guidance of an experienced Rochester accountant. Said professional has the right set of knowledge, skills and aptitude to undertake the complex processes and papers involved. Think of the money paid for his professional fees as money well spent in order to gain greater amounts of tax savings. There is also the fact that there is no one-size-fits-all taxation plan since every business is unique in every way. Hiring an experienced accountant for the job means a tailored taxation plan that will, indeed, answer the goals of tax savings for the entity - yours, for example.

So, don't wait for the tax season before starting on the first steps of tax planning. Do it now! Read more about tax planning click here.

Dealing with Taxes Alongside the Best Rochester Accountant

Taxes are the bane of individuals especially during times of economic crisis. These payables to the government specifically the Internal Revenue Service can be considered as business expenses and, thus, lessen the net profits. Fortunately, the best Rochester accountant can provide expert assistance on all matters related to taxes, be it the corporate income tax or the monthly sales tax.

But to deal with taxes in a successful manner, you must work well with the accountant, too. Keep in mind that an accountant’s job is limited to certain tasks in the taxation process including identification of the taxable and non-taxable items, computation of the tax liability, and tax planning. Your job is to prepare the documents, assist the accountant when necessary, and pay the tax liabilities as well as become involved as an active participant during the tax planning process.

As we have always emphasized, the best Rochester accountant will only be the best when he has the full cooperation of his client – you, for example. Without your full cooperation, no amount of work on the tax-related documents including receipts, invoices and ledgers will be successful. You, after all, are in charge of these documents!

Thus, the first rule of successfully dealing with taxes is to gather all the pertinent documents before your appointment with the accountant. You will most likely be provided with a tax organizer, which is a checklist of all the necessary documents, the deadlines for submission and other remarks. Just follow the instructions on the tax organizer and you should be fine.

You may also present other documents containing information excluded from the tax organizer. These documents can be used to support non-taxable donations, for example, which the Rochester accountant can consider as such. Examples include payments on estimated taxes and cancelled checks.

Then, you must be ready with a set of questions to be asked of the accountant. Don’t worry about being seen as a pesky client – it is well within your rights and responsibilities to ask questions, to clarify issues, and to learn a few more important things. In fact, if you are walking out of the accountant’s office with little to no improvement in your knowledge about tax-related matters, then you are not getting your money’s worth.

You may think that there’s no need to learn about tax-related matters that accountants are already knowledgeable at. You can, after all, just pick up the phone and set up an appointment with the accountant to ask your questions for the nth time. But since you are paying for the expertise of the Rochester accountant, you may as well as learn a few things. In the end, it is your business, your money and your reputation at stake when you file the tax returns – not that of the accountant.

Most important, be forthright about your business. With honesty come trust, confidence and respect, all of which are the pillars of a successful working relationship with the best Rochester accountant. And don’t even think about asking your accountant to engage in dubious business – you will be rebuffed because of legal and ethical concerns.