Thompson & McCarty, P.C. CPA

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

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.

Well it is 2008 and time to update the standard mileage rates again. Gas keeps going up and so does the standard mileage rates. The 2008 rates are:

• 50.5 cents for business miles prior to 07/01/08 and 58.5 cents a mile after 6/30/08.
• 19 cents for medical and moving miles before 07/01/08 and 27 cents a mile after 06/30/08
• 14 cents for miles driven for charitable purposes

You should keep a mileage log if you want to deduct mileage and if you do a good job keeping up with your miles the deduction can be substantial.

Well I am a little late getting this information posted but better late than never. The following rates are the standard mileage rates for 2007.

• 48.5 cents for business mileage
• .20 cents for medical and moving mileage
• .14 cent for charitable miles.

In case you need the official release of code reference you can fin it here.

I have spent a great deal of time writing two reports titled "How To Choose A Tax Preparer" and "How To Choose A CPA". I have never published either of these reports in whole but pieces of these documents have been published in various parts of our site and in a few ads that we have run over the years. I will publish these and make them available to my web visitors and email subscribers some day. However, I ran across a site that says most of the things that I think are important to you in selecting a trusted tax advisor. It is published by a CPA named Kerry M.

My name is Barry S. Thompson and I am a CPA. My office is in Cullman, AL but I have clients as far away as Carson City, Nevada. I have clients that I have never met face to face. How is this possible? First and foremost my relationship with these "long distance" clients started because they found me on this web site. Most asked questions which I promptly answered and they developed trust in me. They requested that I prepare their income tax return and I agreed to perform the service. I directed them to the "Tax Return Check List" which they print and use to organize and collect the data needed to prepare their return. They mailed me their information and I prepared the return. These clients often write that this is much simpler for them and less time consuming than dealing with a local person where they have to visit the office multiple times. That is my shameless plug now on to the "5 Secrets Professionals Usually Don't Share With Their Clients".

I often here the phrase "everybody cheats on their taxes". Well I have never believed this to be true and often debate such statements. I see way too many people that are scared to take advantge of deductions that they have the legal right to take and should be taking. Still others are not getting the dedcutions they deserve becasue they are getting their return done on the "cheap" or they do them themselves and don't have the knowledge needed to take advantage of all legally allowed deductions. Now I have the GAO to back me up. The GAO estimates that 2.2 million lazy people took the standard deduction when itemizing would have saved them an estimated $473 million in taxes.

Fraud is something that almost every business owner will encounter. It may be a simple skimming scheme or an elaborate check cashing scheme. There are some important steps that one can take to help prevent fraud.

If you are not engaged in fraud prevention then you are asking your employee to steal and they will. Here are 10 Steps to help prevent fraud. I am a Quickbooks Advisor and the 10 steps below are written from that prospective.  They are pertinent even if you are not a Quickbooks user.

I am going to get straight to the point on this one. Use your kids in your business and SAVE TAXES. You can employ your child in your business and if they are under the age of 18, or a full time student under 21, they are not subject to FICA or FUTA. Three test have to be met to take advantage of this tax break.

1. The work must be performed in connection with the parent's trade or buisness. (Parent have a business).
2. The child must actually render the service. (Put the kid to work)
3. The payments must be made. (Write the Check)

This applies to sole proprietors and partnerships and their children. If the earnings are capped at the proper level then the child will not be required to file a federal return and pay taxes but the parent still gets to deduct the expense. Note that the maximum payment may be different at the state level of taxation.

Income tax simplification is a subject that comes up every year. People are always asking me what I think about a flat tax, fair tax, one tax, etc., etc. Well, I will go on record right now as being a proponent of fair tax. This is Not in addition to our current wealth redistribution system. NO, not hardly, never. Repeal the income tax as we know it and replace it with fair tax. Now I do not believe that this or any other form of real tax reform will happen. My partner is in total disagreement with me on this if that makes you feel better.

My opinion is based on a couple of different things. First of all, I have been working in the tax preparation business since 1989. During that time I have seen the tax system become more and more complex. The people that are making this more complex (Congress) are the same people that would have to decide to make it more simple. There are many reason that the tax code keeps getting more complex. Most all of them are political. Taxes are designed to raise revenue for the government and the less the people most affected by the tax know, the better.