Tax Tip Newsline - October 2016

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TAX TIPS NEWSLINE Proudly Published in the USA

OCTOBER 2016

Produced monthly for Clients & Friends of the Advisory Group Associates.

Our Mission. Sharing Solutions that deliver real value.

This “TAX TIPS NEWSLINE” is compiled by the founder of the Tax & Advisory firms, Frank

L. Zerjav, CPA and team of Professional Tax Associates, and then it is sent by email each

month. The Tax & Advisory firms provide professional services that clients want and value the

most.

The CPA firm engages in Strategic Tax Planning for business and real estate owners,

professionals, investors and individuals. Our clients minimize their tax burden by appropriate

proven strategies, which help them to keep more of what they earn. Advisory Group‟s Tax

Resolution Experts also engage in resolving tax problems with either Federal or State tax

agencies for clients who need these specialized, proven resolution options. Our dedicated

team of Professional Tax Advisors and Tax Resolution Experts do care; our primary

objective is the well-being of clients, their family and their survivors, as well as their

satisfaction with the work we do, while our goal is to be the best, not the biggest firm.

REMINDER, the October 17, 2016 (individual) deadline is very quickly approaching. You

must deliver data and information for preparation of an accurate tax return immediately. As a

reminder, the law allows the IRS to assert a late-filing penalty for Individual (Form 1040) tax

returns not filed by their deadline. Please use the 2015 TAX ORGANIZER that was emailed

January 20, 2016 for processing your tax information more efficiently (or call for an additional

copy of your 2015 TAX ORGANIZER).

Contact Us - There are many events that occur during the year that can affect your tax situation.

Preparation of your tax returns involves summarizing transactions and events that occurred

during the prior year. In most situations, treatment is firmly established at the time the

transaction occurs. However, negative tax effects can be avoided by proper planning. Please

contact us in advance regarding the tax effects of a transaction or event.

Inside this Month’s Issue

Our Track Record

Year-End Procedures – Best Practices

“Accelerated Deductions” For Leasehold Improvements

2017 Tax Planning Considerations

Habits to Eliminate from Daily Routine

Ways to Increase your Bottom Line

Questions to Ask Your CPA

Wide Range of Solutions & Services Offered

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OUR TRACK RECORD

This year, 2016 celebrates over 40 years that quality tax, Advisory, and specialized tax problem

resolution services have been provided. Our accomplishments are directly related to

relationships, confidence, understanding and the loyalty and support of our clients whom we

consider to be our friends. A crucial aspect of our work has been to dispel fears when dealing

with the complexity of tax codes, compliance and administration of taxing matters.

This monthly TAX TIPS NEWSLINE intends to meet our commitment of sharing solutions that

deliver real value. Our responsibility to our clients is to minimize their tax burden by using

appropriate methods, increased knowledge and strategic tax planning.

We will continue to provide professional Tax and Advisory services for our friends for years to

come. We sincerely appreciate encouraging calls from our loyal clients and friends who express

their understanding, support, and continued confidence.

Our core values: To provide quality professional performance and results with high integrity

and compliance. Our motivated team comprises experienced tax professionals who know our

foremost obligation is to serve you and other existing or future friends referred by you. We are,

and will be, here to meet your needs. You deserve true happiness with peace of mind that is

brought about by our team's compassionate, caring attitude and desire to help you actively

overcome any taxing problem.

Professional stereotypes about the accounting industry are alive and kicking; with a new global

survey from Xero revealing that the average member of the public most commonly associate

accountants as suit-wearing “number crunchers” or „bean counters.” At the same time, the survey

revealed that accountants are likely to be seen as a vital part of any business, with the majority of

respondents from all markets surveyed (58 percent) viewing them as trusted advisors. “Xero” is

an international accounting software company similar to QuickBooks.

The research from Xero looks at perceptions of accountants among 3,500 respondents in the

U.S., U.K., Australia and New Zealand, and uncovered a number of insights about people‟s

understanding of the profession. The number-crunching stereotype, shared by 78 percent of

global respondents (and 81 percent of U.S. respondents), underpin the intimate involvement and

knowledge that accountants have of a business‟s financials, and the important role they play in

any business.

“The public might not think of accountants as creative people, but creativity is quickly becoming

one of the most important traits in the accounting profession,” said Blake Oliver, Xero

Ambassador. “That‟s because new technology has reduced or fully automated the tedious tasks,

such as data entry and consolidations, that gave accountants a reputation for being “bean

counters.” Rather than dwell in the past, we can now focus on the future. We can spend more

time being advisors—empowering business owners while helping them understand their

finances. Or we can focus our efforts on implementing new accounting technology solutions to

improve efficiency and drive profits to the bottom line.”

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Swiping Right For Accountants

The feedback also revealed that accounting professionals are seen as desirable partners, ranking

higher on the „date-ability‟ scale than other professions including handymen, car salesmen,

artists, designers, and even outranking personal trainers in the United States.

“Before cloud technology, more time was spent on the numbers - drowning in spreadsheets to

come up with the answers that clients needed,” said Amy Vetter, Global VP of Education and

U.S. Head of Accounting, Xero. The technology available today has broken down some of the

walls confining the accounting profession. With time freed up to be more creative and hands-on,

accountants can work with clients in real-time on the solutions that will drive results for the

business. Now, accountants are considered vital to business not just because they are keeping the

numbers in order, but because they can provide meaningful insights that enable businesses to

thrive.

Accountants are vital to the economy: Nearly two-thirds (65 percent) of respondents across the

U.S., U.K., Australia and New Zealand believe these jobs are incredibly important or imperative

to the running of the economy. This number increases in the U.S. to 72 percent.

Word of mouth is king: Referrals from family and colleagues are the most trusted method to

find an accountant. This is the most true in the U.S (59 percent) and New Zealand (59 percent),

compared to the U.K. (55 percent) and Australia (45 percent).

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YEAR-END PROCEDURES – BEST PRACTICES

Are your year-end accounting procedures a mess? If you answered, "What year end accounting

procedures?" You may need more help than you realize! You may find the answer to easier

year-end accounting with electronic accounting software or outsourced accounting for your

business.

Does a visit to your tax professional's office result in frustration for you, your accountant, and

your in house bookkeeper and a hefty tax bill? Were there a lot of surprises on your books? The

year-end trip to your tax accountant's office should be a stress free review of your company's

books, a time to catch up with a trusted tax & business advisor, and maybe even discuss some

new ideas for your business. It should not be a nail-biting time, with lots of head shaking and

sorting through records and paperwork. No one, not you, your bookkeeper, or your tax

professional, should be hearing financial information or learning about the financial state of the

company for the first time in this meeting. It should be just another opportunity to review the

books to make sure everything is in order.

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If your quarterly tax filings were accurate, your balance for taxes come next April, 2017 should

be close to zero refunds from the government, no payments to the IRS. But, if you do have to

pay (or are getting money back), and if your bookkeeper followed accounting best practices, you

should already be able to estimate the amount.

Year-end accounting procedures aren't easy. But your bookkeeping staff should be able to

simplify the year-end tax accounting process and make it as easy as possible. If that wasn't the

situation this year or worse, and it has never been that way for your business, it may be time to

consider outsource accounting now. It's never too late to get your books in order.

Year-End Best Practices: Your year-end tax filings should be preceded by a meeting with

your staff to make sure everything is in order for your tax professional.

Be systematic about keeping records. The key reason taxpayers lose out on deductions is they

don't keep the proper records or their records are in disarray when presented to their tax

professional. You cannot scramble around at the last minute looking for records and you cannot

expect the tax professional to manufacture records to support what you know to be deductible

expenses.

You Have to Present Some Proof. Get into the habit of making, organizing and keeping these

records on a systematic basis. The sooner you start, the more likely you will benefit.

Provide actual records to the preparer. Many tax professional preparers use a questionnaire

or other worksheet to gather the information needed to complete the return. However, many

people fail to complete their questionnaire fully or properly or do not understand all the

questions. For this reason, you should be proactive in requesting that the tax pro actually review

your documents or at least those you are unsure of, to determine whether you have overlooked

something important that could save you money.

Talk with your tax pro. To provide the most thorough preparation service possible, the tax pro

should know about you, your business and a bit about your lifestyle. This way, he knows better

what to look for in the way of deductible expenses.

Stay involved with your tax pro. If you have bad teeth, you can't blame a dentist if you either

failed to follow his advice or failed to consult him for advice in the first place. The same is true

of a tax pro. You have to stay involved with the tax preparer by consulting him for advice in the

first place, and as issues arise.

Look for a tax pro who educates you on the law. It's a lot easier to comply with record

keeping and reporting obligations if you understand the law you're trying to comply with. The

more you understand, the better you'll be able to provide relevant information and interact with

your preparer. Your tax pro should be willing to spend time briefing you or providing written

guidance on the areas of law that are relevant to you so you can better comply. This will help

you tremendously to save time and money in the long run. This monthly TAX TIPS NEWSLINE

intends to help educate you on the law.

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Be aware of changing circumstances. The circumstances of your business and personal life

change often. You buy or sell a house. A child is born or one moves away from home. You

get married or divorced. You buy a business or dispose of one. You move to a new town or

get a new job in the same town. The list goes on. Do not carry out these substantial changes in

a tax vacuum. Be aware of your changing circumstances and get guidance from your pro -

preferably before the changes are final - as to the impact on your tax bill. Very often, a tax pro

can help arrange your affairs to reduce the tax bite or increase the tax breaks incident to the

change.

Go over your return before signing it. You are ultimately responsible for what is in the

return, regardless of who prepares it. You should ask questions about it and make sure you

understand what the tax professional did before signing and mailing it. If you're uncomfortable,

don't file the return.

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“ACCELERATED DEDUCTIONS”

FOR LEASEHOLD IMPROVEMENTS

Finally, you can count on the special accelerated tax deductions that apply to qualified leasehold

improvements. Thank the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes (PATH) Act of 2015.

In the past, leasehold improvements to commercial property (nonresidential property per the tax

code) over an agonizingly long 39 years using straight line depreciation only.

From 2004 through 2015, lawmakers often retroactively passed a one- or two-year so-called

extender that:

• shortened the depreciation period to 15 years,

• enabled Section 179 expensing, and

• enabled bonus depreciation.

The PATH Act made two of the three “qualified leasehold improvement” tax breaks permanent.

The third, bonus depreciation, expires after 2019.

Following is how “nonresidential leasehold improvements” qualifies for accelerated deductions.

QUALIFIED LEASEHOLD IMPROVEMENT. A “qualified leasehold improvement” is any

improvement made to the interior portion of a nonresidential (commercial) building when:

the improvement is made pursuant to a lease by either the lessee, sub lessee, or lessor

(but not if the lease is between related parties), the tenant will occupy the portion of

commercial facilities, and

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the improvement is placed into service more than three years after the date the building

was first placed into service.

QUALIFIED IMPROVEMENTS. Type of improvements that can be made to the commercial

facility:

The tax code doesn‟t define the improvements that qualify for the accelerated tax deductions,

rather it defines what improvements will not qualify. “Qualified leasehold improvement”

expenses do not include any improvements for:

• enlarging the building,

• elevators or escalators,

• any structural component benefitting a common area of the building, or

• internal structural framework of the building (i.e., load-bearing walls, columns, and

beams).

Once the forbidden expenses are eliminated, the Improvements that would make the grade as

“qualified leasehold improvements” include, among others:

• utilities,

• framing,

• walls,

• doors,

• windows,

• pipes and fittings,

• fire protection,

• HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning),

• permanent interior finishes,

• permanent floor coverings, and

• millwork and trim.

A tenant will also have a number of improvements such as movable partitions and carpeting that

are not part of the building or its structural components. They are neither “qualified leasehold

improvement” property nor 39-year property. Generally, these are depreciated items over five or

seven years.

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ACCELERATED DEDUCTIONS. The great thing about leasehold improvements is that they

qualify for accelerated deductions. Instead of 39-year depreciation, the three following

deductions allow a write off for qualifying leasehold improvements super-fast,

1. Immediate Section 179 expensing

2. Immediate bonus depreciation

3 15-year depreciation on the remainder

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2017 TAX PLANNING CONSIDERATIONS

With the upward penalty adjustments, the cost of noncompliance for taxpayers again increases in

2017, but individuals and businesses also can look forward to potentially lower tax liability

because of higher deductions and credits.

“The trend toward tougher penalties continues as Congress passed legislation that may revoke

the passports of taxpayers with seriously delinquent tax debt” said George Farrah, Bloomberg

BNA Tax & Accounting Editorial Director. “For business taxpayers, Congress has provided

some degree of certainty by returning to predictable annual increases for the business property

expensing limits.”

Increased Penalties

The Internal Revenue Code imposes a host of penalties for failure to file returns, failure to

furnish information returns, and failure to pay tax. These penalties affect individuals, companies,

trusts, and estates. Congress recently tied several of the penalties to annual inflation adjustments

and dramatically increased a few, raising the specter of increasing costs for noncompliance in

future years.

Individual 2017 Income Tax Brackets

Because a higher Consumer Price Index (CPI) pushes the definition of the brackets upward and

also increases the standard deduction and exemption amounts, the taxes due on the same income

decrease from year to year. For example, suppose married taxpayers filing jointly figure tax on

$233,000. In 2016, they were in the 33% bracket and paid $52,303 in tax. In 2017, the brackets

are adjusted for inflation, and our taxpayers are now in the lower 28% bracket and will pay

$52,124.50 in tax, „saving‟ $178.50 compared to 2016.

High-income taxpayers will enjoy a measure of relief in 2017 as well, because the top 39.6% tax

bracket is projected to begin at $470,700 for married taxpayers filing joint returns and at

$418,400 for unmarried individuals. This represents an increase from $466,950 and $415,050,

respectively in 2016.

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Bloomberg BNA has projected the 2017 income tax rate tables shown below:

Married individuals filing joint returns and Surviving Spouses

If Taxable Income Is: The Tax Is:

Not Over $18,650 10% of the taxable income

Over $18,650 but not over $75,900 $1,865 plus 15% of excess over $18,650

Over $75,900 but not over $153,100 $10,452.50 plus 25% of excess over $75,900



Over $416,700 but not over $470,700 $112,728 plus 35% of excess over $416,700

Over $470,700 $131,628 plus 39.6% of excess over $470,700

Unmarried Individuals (other than Surviving Spouses and Heads of Households)

If Taxable Income Is: The Tax Is:

Not Over $9,325 10% of the taxable income

Over $9,325 but not over $37,950 $932.50 plus 15°/s of excess over $9,325





Over $418,400 $121,505.25 plus 39.6% of excess over $418,400

Personal Exemption and Standard Deduction

Most taxpayers are entitled to claim a personal exemption for each member of their household.

For 2017, the personal exemption amount is projected to remain at unchanged from 2016 at

$4,050. The personal exemption is phased out for high-income taxpayers.

When calculating their deductions, taxpayers may choose to take the higher of their itemized

deductions or the standard deduction. The standard deduction amount varies depending on filing

status. The standard deduction amounts for 2017 are projected to increase slightly from 2016.

Filing Status Standard Deduction

Married Filing Jointly/Surviving Spouses $12,700

Heads of Household $9,350

All Other Taxpayers $6,350

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Estate and Gift Tax Exclusions

Bloomberg BNA projects that the estate tax basic exclusion for decedents dying in 2017 will be

$5.49 million. The exclusion amount was $5.45 million in 2016. The annual gift tax exclusion

remains $14,000 in 2017.

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HABITS TO ELIMINATE FROM DAILY ROUTINE

“You are the sum of your habits. When you allow bad habits to take over, they dramatically

impede your path to success. The challenge is bad habits are insidious, creeping up on you

slowly until you don‟t even notice the damage they‟re causing.” According to author Dr. Travis

Bradberry and co-founder of Talent Smart, who offers the following ideas:

“Chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken.”— Warren

Buffett

Breaking bad habits requires self-control - and lots of it. Research indicates that it‟s worth the

effort, as self-control has huge implications for success.

Using your phone, tablet, or computer in bed. This is a big one that most people don‟t even

realize harms their sleep and productivity. Short-wavelength blue light plays an important role in

your mood, energy level, and sleep quality. In the morning, sunlight contains high concentrations

of this blue light. When your eyes are exposed to it directly, the blue light halts production of the

sleep-inducing hormone melatonin and makes you feel more alert. In the afternoon, the sun‟s

rays lose their blue light, which allows your body to produce melatonin and start making you

sleepy. By the evening, your brain doesn‟t expect any blue light exposure and is very sensitive to

it.

Most of our favorite evening devices, laptops, tablets, and mobile phones, emit short-

wavelength blue light brightly and right in your face. This exposure impairs melatonin

production and interferes with your ability to fall asleep as well as with the quality of your sleep

once you do nod off. As we‟ve all experienced, a poor night‟s sleep has disastrous effects. The

best thing you can do is to avoid these devices after dinner (television is OK for most people as

long as they sit far enough away from the set).

Impulsively surfing the Internet. It takes you 15 consecutive minutes of focus before you can

fully engage in a task. Once you do, you fall into a euphoric state of increased productivity called

flow. Research shows that people in a flow state are five times more productive than they

otherwise would be. When you click out of your work because you get an itch to check the news,

Facebook, a sport‟s score, or what have you, this pulls you out of flow. This means you have to

go through another 15 minutes of continuous focus to reenter the flow state. Click in and out of

your work enough times, and you can go through an entire day without experiencing flow.

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Checking your phone during a conversation. Nothing turns people off like a mid-conversation

text message or even a quick glance at your phone. When you commit to a conversation, focus

all your energy on the conversation. You will find that conversations are more enjoyable and

effective when you immerse yourself in them.

Using multiple notifications. Multiple notifications are a productivity nightmare. Studies have

shown that hopping on your phone and e-mail every time they ping for your attention causes

your productivity to plummet. Getting notified every time a message drops onto your phone or

an e-mail arrives in your inbox might feel productive, but it isn‟t. Instead of working at the whim

of your notifications, pool all your e-mails/texts and check them at designated times (e.g.,

respond to your e-mails every hour). This is a proven, productive way to work.

Saying “yes” when you should say “no.” Research conducted at the University of California in

San Francisco shows that the more difficulty that you have saying no, the more likely you are to

experience stress, burnout, and even self-control challenge for many people. “No” is a powerful

word that you should not be afraid to wield. When it‟s time to say no, emotionally intelligent

people avoid phrases like “I don‟t think I can” or “I‟m not certain.” Saying no to a new

commitment honors your existing commitments and gives you the opportunity to successfully

fulfill them. Just remind yourself that saying no is an act of self-control now that will increase

your future self-control by preventing the negative effects of over commitment.

Thinking about toxic people. There are always going to be toxic people who have a way of

getting under your skin and staying there. Each time you find yourself thinking about a coworker

or person who makes your blood boil, practice being grateful for someone else in your life

instead. There are plenty of people out there who deserve your attention, and the last thing you

want to do is think about the people who don‟t matter when there are people who do.

Multitasking during meetings. You should never give anything half of your attention,

especially meetings. If a meeting isn‟t worth your full attention, then you shouldn‟t be attending

it in the first place; and if the meeting is worth your full attention, then you need to get

everything you can out of it. Multitasking during meetings hurts you by creating the impression

that you believe you are more important than everyone else.

Gossiping. Gossipers derive pleasure from other people‟s misfortunes. It might be fun to peer

into somebody else‟s personal or professional faux pas at first, but too over time, it gets tiring,

makes you feel gross, and hurts other people. There are too many positives out there and too

much to learn from interesting people to waste your time talking about the misfortune of others.

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WAYS TO INCREASE YOUR BOTTOM LINE

Running and managing your business should be fun. Working IN and ON your business should

be something you love and enjoy. But for some business owners the fun and enjoyment of

having their own business is overshadowed by financial stress and worrying about how to

improve their bottom line. For some business owners the stress can be almost paralyzing. So

here are simple ways you can add to your bottom line and reduce money stress:

Talk to More People!

Get out there and build relationships.

Be Proactive!

Don‟t just sit back and wait for clients, referrals, and money to come to you. Take action and

make it happen.

Have Clear Positioning!

Build a reputation for being the best at one thing and soon people will seek you out and refer

new business to you over and over. If your audience isn‟t crystal clear about what you‟re the best

at, they won‟t refer their contacts to you.

Stick to Your Budget!

Create a yearly budget with your accountant and know your numbers. Review it monthly to stay

on track and make tweaks here and there to support your income goals.

Be Frugal!

Look for deals and don‟t be afraid to ask for savings, deals, or discounts.

Don’t Wait to Bill!

Stay on top of your billing and invoicing. Remember the squeaky wheel gets greased, so if your

clients go past 30 days be the squeaky wheel and make sure you get paid. If you can‟t do this,

hire someone who can.

Create Retainer Relationships!

Review how much your clients are spending with you on average each month and invite them to

transition to a retainer-style relationship with you at a savings.

Accept Credit Cards!

Make it easy for clients to work with you and buy from you by accepting all credit cards.

Overtime!

Eliminate absolutely all unnecessary overtime. Just ten minutes of overtime a day is the

equivalent of an extra week of work each year, at time-and-a-half. Yikes!

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Office expenses!

You pay your bills on time, but do you pay with a “rewards” credit card when possible? You can

earn frequent flyer miles, free shipping, and other “income proxies” by paying Company bills

with a rewards credit card.

Pretax it!

Talk with your accountant about expenses that can be paid with pretax dollars to increase your

take home pay including: cell phones, ipads, laptops, vehicle use, home office, etc. the list is long

and you should be pretaxing everything you do.

Improve Cash Flow!

By improving cash collections and delaying cash payouts you have improved cash collections.

And, if you still need to improve cash, consider factoring your receivables.

Save Pennies!

Reduce costs wherever you can. With a business, you have five major areas of costs: 1) Labor;

2) Rent; 3) Inventory; 4) Equipment; 5) Marketing. Save on the operation costs like rent and

equipment, and you have more to spend on the things that make you money — inventory and

marketing.

Before you spend a lot of money on fancy offices, fixtures or state-of-the art technology,

consider other, less expensive ways. Fixed expenses don‟t make you money!

Your 800 Number!

Consider a toll-free telephone number for customer service or to tie locations together

seamlessly.

E-Mail Rather Than Telephone! Use e-mail rather than paying unnecessary long-distance telephone charges. Make sure your

company‟s e-address is on your stationery, business cards, invoices, shipping papers, advertising

and anything that reaches the outside world.

Shop Your Banking!

Banks are continually adding fees to try and recover their costs. You should carefully review

your accounts. Consider asking for bids on your banking business every three years, as you

would your suppliers. You may have grown, and need a new type of banking relationship.

The IRS, Pay Or Fight?

When you get hit with an IRS additional tax levy, consider fighting it. According to IRS‟s

statistics, of 40,000 tax cases sent to appellate level, 75 percent were settled by agreement. There

are two methods of appeal: 1) directly through the IRS‟s administrative process, or 2) directly to

litigation in the courts. The second course of action is rarely chosen because most disputes are

settled at the appellate level. If agreement can be reached at this level, a court challenge is still

available.

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QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR CPA

A certified public accountant (CPA) is a trusted advisor who can tip you off to potentially

irreversible financial missteps and brand new tax savings opportunities that you might not know

exist.

When you do invest in the services of a Tax Professional, it‟s important to know what to ask and

when - - not only to be sure you‟re getting your money‟s worth, but also to ensure he or she

helps you do what‟s best for your business and your bottom line.

What’s the best way to contact you and how often should we be in touch?

This might seem like too simple a question, but clear, effective and frequent communication is

the key to a healthy, beneficial relationship with your trusted advisor. Establish early on how

often you‟ll connect, either in person, on the phone or online. Decide together if you‟ll meet

weekly, monthly or bimonthly.

How can you help me prepare for (and survive) tax season?

Untangling the time-sucking tedium of tax prep is often the number-one reason business owners,

professionals and investors and individuals hire a tax professional in the first place. You‟ll want

to ask yours which tax credits and deductions you should claim. Also ask him or her if there are

any new tax laws you should take advantage of to maximize write - offs.

What are some considerations I should consult with a tax professional about on an ongoing

basis?

A skilled a tax professional trusted advisor should get to know you and your business well

enough to regularly keep you aware of - and swiftly and appropriately reacting to - an array of

factors that could affect your bottom line, for better or for worse and should be well-versed in

several disciplines.

He or she should also be open to assisting you in weighing the financial ramifications of certain

decisions, like whether or not to hire an independent contractor or a full-time employee, buy or

rent an office space, or rent or lease a company car and much more.

Your trusted advisor should also work collaboratively with you in a way that makes it easy for

you to consider and understand which actions you need to take now and in the future, ideally

without the usual confusing accounting jargon.

To grow, you must start with a financial model that is “honest and built on a granular basis from

the ground up.” Remember to update your plan on a monthly basis with actual results. Doing so

can help you hone in on opportunities for growth in your market.

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How can you help me clamp down on my cash flow?

Properly projecting your business‟s cash flow is as essential as creating an effective mission

statement and living up to it. Tedious, detailed flow projections aren‟t easy to wrangle, but that‟s

why you have a professional to help.

Your trusted advisor should be able to help you develop an organized, effective cash flow model

that allows you to adjust your operations in ways that help you survive shortfalls, as well as

improve receivables and manage payables.

What is my break- even point?

Your trusted advisor should be able to analyze a number of metrics to calculate whether your

business is making a profit or a loss. Knowing your break-even point is crucial to determining

your business‟s pricing structure and profitability. Once you identify yours, you should have a

strong estimate of how many products or hours of service you have to sell to cover your costs.

Can you assess the overall value of my business?

Your trusted advisor should be up to the task of estimating your company‟s Fair Market Value

(FMV).

Your advisor can help nail down your business‟s value by deeply understanding what you do and

the industry in which you operate, and in so doing, an advisor can help the entrepreneur

understand which aspects of the comparable companies drive their value, and can work with the

entrepreneur to steer the company toward maximizing those aspects of their business.

What are some special considerations for my particular industry?

Businesses in different industries come with their own unique tax and accounting issues. Your

advisor should be knowledgeable about the various ones that specifically apply to yours.

For instance, if you own a startup that builds wearable tech, your advisor should be well-versed

at identifying tax opportunities specific to the emerging technology industry, like potential R &

D tax credits, as well as applicable manufacturing and sales tax exemptions, etc.

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TAX ACCOUNTING ADVISORY

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Comprehensive Accounting Solutions including data and payroll processing.

Representation for Resolution of Tax Problems involving levy, liens, audit defense,

payment plans, un-filed tax returns, penalty abatement and offers in compromise.

Tax Return Preparation for Business and Real Estate owners, Professionals, Investors,

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Our experienced team of dedicated Professionals are committed to providing personal attention,

quality work, reliable proactive, helpful services and solutions to make complex accounting and

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allows you more time to focus on growing your enterprise.

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Tax Tip Newsline - October 2016

Economy & Finance

Transcript of Tax Tip Newsline - October 2016