Thompson & McCarty, P.C. CPA - Biggest, Fastest, Refund Allowed and a PEACE OF MIND accuracy guarantee!

2012 Mileage Rates

2012-01-12T07:17:09Z

Standard Mileage rates for 2012.For business use of an automobile remains at 55½ cents per mile.For medical or moving expenses, it is 23 cents per mile. For services to charitable organizations is 14 cents per mile.

Be sure you keep a good mileage log to protect your expenses.

Tax Changes That Took Effect Janaury 1, 2012

2012-01-03T03:26:28Z

I have come to expect that taxes will change virtually every year. 2012 is no different. I ran across a good article that summarized the changes in the Journal of Accountancy. So instead of writing my own article I decided to share the link with you. http://www.journalofaccountancy.com/Web/20114954.htm There is a little change for every body but the biggie for business is the drop in bonus depreciation form 100% to 50% beginning in 2012. Individuals that receive earned income credit can expect more questions and signature papers this year as the government places a larger burden of compliance on the tax preparer by increasing the penalties associated with not meeting the due diligence requirements. Just let us know if you have questions about any of this and have a great 2012.

Purchasing a Web Site

2011-11-01T07:59:53Z

Do you realize that similar to any other business a CPA is in business too. I have to make decisions about vendors just like any other business. What I learn from my business experiences is one way I gain information to share with my clients. Purchasing a web site is an area where I have learned some important things to share with you.What a user sees, hears, or buys (including shopping) at a given web site is the user experience. For example, the user goes to the website, looks through the inventory or searches
it, drop the items they want in the shopping cart, and then check out
using a credit card. What it takes to create that experience is usually multiple services or products.

Disaster Recovery, You Can't Afford To Plan It Wrong

2011-06-17T03:01:07Z

On April 27th, 2011 a tornado hit Cullman, AL and destroyed many things. It swept through the downtown area and destroyed businesses, homes, infrastructure such as power lines and telephone lines and more. My office was spared a direct hit but the effects were substantial none the less. We were without power for 6 days and phone and internet services for 8 days. I had a disaster recovery plan. I thought that we were ready to quickly reestablish a computer network complete with backed up data. I learned that I was not nearly as ready as I thought and I hope that this message will help someone avoid my mistakes.

Trouble For First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit

2011-02-02T07:14:48Z

We have seen several issues related to the new homebuyer's credit. The first problem that we experienced was legitimate credits denied without further substantial proof being submitted to the IRS. The main reason this happened was due to rampant fraudulent claims. The most recent issue is the systemic failure of the IRS to properly treat the $8,000 credit for those that purchased a home in early 2009. This credit did not have to be repaid but the IRS has many of these in the system as repayable credits. To get to a basic understanding of what we are now seeing let's look at the history of the "New Home Buyer's Credit".

2010 Filing Delay

2010-12-28T05:27:17Z

It is now official. Due to the late action by our Congress three different groups will have to wait until mid to late February to file their income tax returns. The groups that will be affected are:

Itemized filers
People claiming higher education deductions (Not the education credits)
Those claiming educator expenses

Here is the official IRS announcement . It is a failure of our Congress to act in a timely manner so feel free to let them know what you think about their lack of responsibility. For those that have children in higher education, the deadline to submit your tax returns for financial assistance is March 1. See what great stuff the government does for us.

2011 Mileage Rates

2010-12-06T02:57:29Z

For
business use of an automobile after Dec. 31, 2010, the rate is 51 cents
a mile; for medical or moving expenses, 19 cents a mile; and for
services to charitable organizations, 14 cents a mile.The key to making your mileage deductible is keeping a good log and when possible have third party verification of your mileage. A good way to keep this is to maintain a logs (receipts with mileage) of your oil changes. If you use a commercial oil changing business that keeps computer records that is even better.

The Ant and Grasshopper Two Tales

2010-07-15T07:20:17Z

THE ANT AND THE GRASSHOPPER This one is a little different.... Two Different Versions................. Two Different Morals OLD VERSIONThe ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away.. Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed. The grasshopper has no food or shelter, so he dies out in the cold.MORAL OF THE STORY: Be responsible for yourself!MODERN VERSION

2010 Contest Winners

2010-05-06T08:03:33Z

Our 2010 referral contest was once again a tremendous success. I don't mind sharing with you that dollar for dollar comparisons to any other advertising that we have ever tried, your referrals are the best value. The results are final and the grand prize winner was Tanya Bender. Tanya won a 42" HDTV. Second place through 14 place all had the same number of referrals so a drawing was held. Second place ($200 gift certificate) went to Kevin and Rachel Holland and Third Place ($100 gift certificate) went to Thomas and Christina Shipp. We look forward to the 2011 filing season. If you have prize suggestions for us drop us an email or give us a call.

In support of Rodney Long

2010-04-07T04:30:32Z

Many years ago a young man named Rodney Long was a team mate of mine at Southside High School. Rodney was an all around super individual and was respected by everybody. He was killed by gun fire at point blank range by David Frye in his Freshman year at college on February 11, 1982. His reward for giving David Frye a ride. David Frye has an upcoming parole hearing and my High School Football coach, Randy Ross, is asking folks that knew Rodney to write to kimberly.gentry@tn.gov to keep this cold blooded killer behind bars. He was, after all, sentenced to life in prison for this brutal crime. There is a Facebook page group with comments about Rodney, contact information for the parole board, our plans to attend the meeting to help keep this murderer behind bars and more.

Why Incorporate And Then Do It Incorrectly?

2010-01-27T08:17:04Z

There are many different reasons for choosing to Incorporate your business. The best reason is typcially liability protection for personal assets. I see and hear stories of all kinds of poorly formed and or operated corporate entities which do little to protect the owners when they need it. Here is a well written piece from a business associate and friend that has a very good feel for this issue. The bottom line is don't do it if you do not intend to maintain the correct form which means following processes that will limit the way you conduct business.

2010 Mileage Rates

2010-01-27T08:02:04Z

The standard mileage rates for 2010 are:50 cents for business miles16.5 cents for medical miles and moving miles14 cents for charitable milesPLEASE! PLEASE! PLEASE! keep that mileage log so your tax deduction will be bullet proof!

Highlights of Changes for Individuals 2009

2010-01-15T04:45:41Z

Incentives for IndividualsTax breaks and credit enhancements for individuals include a refundable “making work pay” credit, an increased firsttime homebuyer credit, enhanced earned income and child tax credits, a deduction for taxes paid on new vehicles, and an improved education credit. Also included in the Recovery Act is a one-year AMT patch.

IRS Notice Is 10 Pages Long For Missing W-2

2009-07-28T04:10:58Z

My office has recently received two notices from the IRS
concerning a missing W-2 on a tax return. In both cases the
notice was 10 pages long and the explanation section (page 7 see pdf
below) fails to foot and cross foot per their own schedule.
This is something that is common in the computer world among
programmers that don't understand accountability and cross checking
one's work. This is not something that is acceptable in basic
accounting circles much less tax notices from the IRS.

How We Reduce Errors For Tax Preparation

2009-04-30T10:53:36Z

It may seem strange to some that I would be willing to share one of our internal business processes. I really feel that I have nothing to hide from clients or anyone else so I am very open about what we do and how we do it. In fact, I am proud of what we do and how we do it. Sharing these processes with clients simply serves to affirm what we do and educate them as to how to allow us to provide the level of service that we aspire to deliver.