Thompson & McCarty, P.C. CPA - helpful info

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".

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 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!

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.

2009 Standard Mileage Rate

2009-02-02T11:42:55Z

The 2009 Standard mileage rates are:Business Miles - 55 cent per mileMedical Miles and Moving - 27 cents per mile Charity - 14 cents per mile.Keep in mind that to make your mileage deduction bullet proof in an audit you need a good mileage log.

Big Company Customer Service Really Isn't Customer Service At All

2009-01-14T11:16:27Z

I recently wanted to check and see if I could save enough money to warrant refinancing my home. I thought that it would be easier to call my current mortgage company than to call a new mortgage company or originator. My first attempt to contact my existing mortgage company was on the internet. After making multiple attempts to log in I realized that they had changed their log in process and my old user name and password were not valid. So I attempted to change them and the system notified me that my access had been blocked due to invalid input. I would have to contact customer support to reset the system. After an hour and 15 minutes of trying I got frustrated and gave up for the evening.

IRS Debt Relief - It Is Possible

2011-08-11T04:40:36Z

You can hear the commercials on most any syndicated talk radio show in America. The pitch goes something like "Settle Your Debt With The IRS For Pennies on The Dollar". Is it possible? Yes it is. It happens all the time. But there are many factors that determine when an IRS debt can be settled.The method used to settle debt for pennies on the dollar with the IRS is called The Offers in Compromise Program. It is a program offered by the IRS so that honest taxpayers can settle debts that they can not afford to pay. Let me reiterate. The program that can be use to settle debt with the IRS for "Pennies on the Dollar" is called the Offers in Compromise Program. It is designed for honest taxpayers to settle debt that they can not afford to pay.You have to be able to prove that you lack the ability to pay in order to qualify for this program.

Identity Theft - Some Sage Advice From An Attorney

2008-02-27T05:16:34Z

This is a reprint from an email I received. It is supposedly advice from an attorney and whether true or not I can see the wisdom in the advice so I am sharing with all that will take the time read.ATTORNEY's ADVICE - NO CHARGE Not A Joke!! If you dislike attorneys..... You will love them for these tips.Read this and make a copy for your files in case you need to refer to it someday. Maybe we should all take some of his advice! A corporate attorney sent the following out to the employees in his company.1. Do not sign the back of your credit cards. Instead, put 'PHOTO ID REQUIRED.'

The Final Details For Rebate 2008

2008-02-25T05:36:46Z

The Final Word On Tax Rebates 2008The tax rebates for 2008 will happen and the IRS has stated that they will begin sending checks in early May. That is sooner than first projections of late May or early June so give the IRS credit on this.Rebates will be keyed to tax liability. Married Couples will get a maximum rebate of $1200, single people will get get a maximum of $600. Filers with dependent children under the age of 17 will get an additional $300 per child. Married Couples with at least $3000 in income will get $600 and singles with at least $8750 will get $300. Dependents of another will not receive a check.

EMPLOYEE POSTERS SCAM

2008-02-27T06:20:16Z

I have clients that call and ask me about employee poster requirements in Alabama. It seems that every so often someone that is LESS THAN HONEST sends out a mailing that SCARES the crap out of Employers because the letters look official and they are intentionally trying to make you think that you need the posters to comply with the Alabama tax laws. Well crap, Who could blame you? With all the stuff that employers have to do to comply with Governmental interference, no wonder they get scared that they have possibly missed something. Well I have good news....I just saved 15% on my car insurance. ;-) JUST KIDDING!

The Candidates - What They Intend To Do

2008-02-27T05:17:47Z

What Do The Presidential Candidates Have In Mind On TaxationRegardless of who we elect for President there is no question that the President elect will have a significant impact on taxes. The tax cuts that President Bush signed into law will lapse in 2011. That includes the income tax rate reductions (we are all paying less tax than we were), estate tax relief (my personal pet peeve of a bad tax – it's double taxation at its worst) and the lower rate on long term capital gains and dividends (a provision that encourages investment and wealth accumulation). I think that we need to make these permanent but the issue is what the candidates think.

Tax Rebates 2008 Are Now The Law

2008-02-14T04:52:43Z

Tax rebates are now the law of the land. They come as a welcome boost for some and create a sore spot for others. It seems that Congress wanted to include those on Social Security and Disbled Veterans in the rebate program but they didn't take into account the administration of the rebates. In short, people that have had no reason to file for years will now need to file a tax return in order to receive the rebate check they are entitled. Be sure and tell your grandmother that she will need to file this year if she wants the rebate. I have included the entire story from WebCPA below and here is a link to the story on their web site CLICK HERE

SPEED UP YOUR WEB BROWSING

2008-03-28T09:05:32Z

A client's web browser was set up such that it did not have a navigation bar available in Internet Explorer (IE), the web browser. The navigation bar is the bar where you type the address of the web site you wish to visit. Many people just use search engines and seldom type an actual web address, known as a URL.I am shocked that anyone thinks this is a good idea. Don't misunderstand me, I love using Google to search for various and broad subject matter. But, to set my browser up so the only way I can surf the web is to type a keyword at Google's website [when I know the address] is a tremendous waste of time. For example, if I want to go to Google's site I type in google.com and almost instantly I'm there. This is a bad example because the tool that took away the navigation bar (I'm certain it is a setting that can be changed) was Google Tool Bar. To give you a good example my web site is tmicpa.com. The way this client's browser was set up we had to search through Google then scroll through the results to get to my website... instead of just typing in tmicpa.com.