Was Your Income Tax Return Selected for an Audit?

Did you know that income tax audits can be completed through the mail or in person? 

The IRS determines how to complete your audit based on certain factors, like how complex the return is. In general:

• Correspondence audits (via mail) are used for simple, individual returns (Form 1040) 
• Face-to-face audits (“office audits”) are held in IRS offices for more complex issues
• Very complex income tax returns are audited at the taxpayer’s place of business

If your return is selected for audit, you can make the process easier on yourself following these tips:

• Always maintain accurate, well organized records
• Respond to all requests for information promptly
• Only provide the requested info
• Be calm and polite

Call us for help on your income tax in the Ann Arbor area. 

Learn more on our website!

Are You Worried About an Income Tax Audit?

An audit of your income tax return doesn’t always mean there’s a problem. Returns can be selected randomly and can also be selected if a partner or investor was selected for audit. 

Even if your income tax return is selected for audit, chances are good the auditor will accept it as is — unless they question part of the return.

If your return is selected for an audit, don’t panic! As a taxpayer, you have the right to be treated courteously and with confidentiality. And, remember, IRS agents are not out to “get” anybody. They are professionals doing their jobs — correcting errors and checking facts — and want the audit to be resolved quickly, efficiently, and accurately.

Need help with an audit in the Ann Arbor area? Learn more on our website!

You May Not Have to Pay a Penalty for Filing Late

Filing your income taxes late often results in a fine, but the IRS recognizes that there are legitimate circumstances that make it difficult or impossible to file on time and may waive the fines in those cases.

You may not need to pay a penalty if the IRS agrees you had a good reason for filing late. Some reasons the IRS accepts include: 

• A natural disaster like a tornado, or other personal disasters like a fire.
• You tried, but were unable to obtain all the records you needed for filing.
• The taxpayer or a family member died, had a serious illness or unexpected absence, or was incapacitated in some other way.

There may be other reasons that kept you from meeting your tax obligation.

Learn more on our website!

Tips for Filing 2020 Income Taxes Late

Working with the IRS can seem complicated and intimidating at times – especially when you’re facing the uncertainty that comes with filing your income taxes late. 

As soon as you know you’ll be filing late, apply for an extension using Form 4868 or from the Free File link on the IRS website. Don’t wait until after the May 17 deadline! 

It’s important to remember that:

• You must apply for the extension by the May 17 deadline. 
• An extension to file does not extend your deadline to pay, if you owe.
• You will need to file an estimate of your taxes. If you estimate owing, you should make a payment towards that amount by May 17 to avoid a penalty.

Taxes don’t have to be scary. Amador Accounting is here to help. 

Learn more on our website!

Is COVID Slowing Down the IRS?

Is COVID affecting your tax return or Economic Impact Payment? 

Although the IRS is open, some of their services have been slowed down by COVID, including: 

• Telephone support
• Paper tax returns
• Responding to mail
• Reviewing tax returns

If you’re wondering about the status of your Economic Impact Payment (otherwise known as the stimulus check) or your 2020 tax return, you can check your status on the IRS website. The website can help you figure out your status, type of payment, and if you meet the requirements to receive the stimulus check. 

Visit our website to learn more about the latest stimulus package.

How Does the Latest Stimulus Affect Your Family?

On March 11, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 was signed into law promising some economic relief to millions of Americans affected by the COVID pandemic. 

In addition to providing funding for a vaccination program, to help schools reopen, and to aid state and local government workers, among other provisions, the new package provides three ways for Americans to receive direct financial assistance from the government. 

Are you wondering how the Act will affect your family? Visit our website for more information.

What's New for 2021 Small Business Taxes?

The COVID pandemic seems to have reached every area of our lives, from work, to school, to socializing, and yes – taxes. In the best of times, taxes can be confusing. The unexpected changes for 2020 filing and the 2021 tax year can make them even more confusing. You don’t have to navigate those changes alone.  

Payroll, bookkeeping, and taxes are our specialty!

Amador Accounting specializes in tax preparation. If you have questions about the tax law changes that affect your 2020 filing or are concerned about the changes moving forward into 2021, contact Lisa Amador.

Visit our website!

Will COVID Affect Your 2021 Taxes?

It’s been a confusing time for most business owners. The pandemic changed our business processes so significantly that many small businesses are depending on assistance from the government to move forward. As we move into the second calendar year of the pandemic, pandemic relief is on every small business owner’s mind. And as we approach tax season, it seems there are more questions than ever.

There have been many tax changes in response to the COVID pandemic. If you’re unsure how they affect your business, you’re not alone. And you don’t have to be! If you have questions, Amador Accounting probably has solutions.

Learn more on our website!

Year-End Payroll is Complicated by New/Changed Laws for 2020

Year-end payroll isn’t only about generating a paycheck – it’s an important time to verify forms, employee information, tax changes, your accounting, and all payments, including anything your employees earned that wasn’t part of your regular pay schedule. 

For a company with one or two salaried employees, it can be a pretty straight forward process. The more complex your compensation, the more complex your year-end tasks may be. For example, bonus pay, handwritten checks, and paid time off can complicate your accounting. Especially if you haven’t processed payroll regularly, because of COVID.

This year, the COVID pandemic created more payroll changes than usual that may impact your small business, including:

• The CARES Act
• A new Form W-4
• FFCRA-qualified leave
• Social Security tax deferral
• State and local changes
• And more!

Experts recommend starting year-end payroll in October to process changes, get up to date on new laws, and give yourself extra time meet deadlines. If you’re already behind, Amador Accounting can get you caught up.

Learn more on our website or call Lisa Amador at 734-330-0907.

Is Year-End Payroll Slowing You Down?

If you’re worried about how new payroll laws will affect your business, too busy running your business to take on the accounting, or just need a hand, Amador Accounting is here for your payroll needs, including: 

• Updating payroll software, rates and elections
• Reviewing and updating PTO balances and rollovers
• Verifying wage and contribution limits
• Reporting fringe benefit information
• Verifying tax rates
• Filing forms with the IRS

We know how important accurate payroll accounting is to you and your employees. When you trust your payroll to Amador Accounting, you can rest easy knowing your records are accurate and filed on time. And when you don’t have to worry about payroll laws and forms, you can focus on what matters most to your business: its future.

Learn more on our website!

Are You Prepared for Year-End Bookkeeping?

For a small business, year-end bookkeeping is a way to wrap up the past year, calculate your tax obligation, and reflect on your business needs moving forward. It’s also one of the most notoriously complex and disliked parts of owning a business. Its complexity is compounded by complicated laws that can change from year to year. Failing to keep up with the laws or with the bookkeeping can leave you in debt or in trouble with the IRS. 

Many business owners just starting out plan to do their own bookkeeping to save money, but often find that bookkeeping involves more than they expected. Year-end bookkeeping isn’t as simple as reconciling a checkbook. It is a multi-faceted process that requires a basic understanding of laws that affect your business. 

Before you begin to wrap up this year, it’s important to take an honest look at your bookkeeping habits, needs, and level of comfort with the tasks you’re about to tackle. Ask yourself:

• Am I organizing my paperwork and accounts efficiently every month?
• Am I confident that I understand the tax laws that apply to my business and how to complete the appropriate bookkeeping?
• Do I have time to do this myself, or would it be more beneficial for me to focus on my business and hire a bookkeeper? 

If you’re not sure, visit Amador Accounting or call Lisa Amador at 734-330-0907.

Don't Leave Year-End Bookkeeping to Chance

There are probably as many different ways to store your business records as there are unique businesses. Maybe you keep your paperwork in an accordion file or drawer in your office. Maybe it’s neatly online, every receipt scanned and filed. Or some variation in between. Whether you’re high-tech or old-fashioned, chaotic or orderly, Amador Accounting can help. Your specialty is your product or service – ours is your bookkeeping. 

We don’t mind sorting through your boxes of receipts or investigating the errors in bookkeeping software, and we know exactly how to close out your year end.

When Amador Accounting takes the bookkeeping off your hands, you can focus on your business knowing we’ve got your back. Learn more

COVID Slowed Down the IRS! Amador Accounting Can Help

COVID-19 has affected the day-to-day operations of the IRS just as it’s affected our lives at a more personal level.

If you’re concerned about a paper payment, your tax return, or correspondence you mailed or received during this pandemic, you might be tempted to call the IRS immediately. We recommend you wait. Call volumes are very high right now as many others are in the same boat and are calling with their concerns. Rest assured that the IRS is working to get all the mail opened and processed, and all taxpayer accounts updated.

However, if you haven’t received your Economic Impact Payment (otherwise known as the stimulus check) you can check your status on the IRS Get My Payment web page. The web page can help you figure out your status, type of payment, and if you meet the requirements to receive the stimulus check. 

As the country moves forward into the new normal, the IRS will continue to assess and respond to the impact that COVID has on taxpayers and on the health and safety of its employees. 

If you have questions as you move forward, you can call Amador Accounting for help, at 734-330-0907. 

For more information, visit our website.

COVID Creates a Backlog of Mail at the IRS Affecting Tax Services and Stimulus Checks

Did you receive a late notice for a tax payment you know you mailed on time?

Are you wondering what happened to your COVID relief stimulus check?

You’re not alone! COVID-19 has affected the day-to-day operations of the IRS just as it’s affected our lives at a more personal level. During the height of the pandemic, the IRS took measures to protect the health and safety of the public and of IRS employees the same as many of our own employers, schools, and other services did. Telephone assistance, tax services, processing of paper returns, and answering correspondence were all impacted by stay-at-home orders.

While health and safety are paramount, the result was a backlog of unopened paper returns, payments, and other correspondence – and a great deal of anxiety for the public wondering about payments, penalties, and services.

Don’t worry! Now, as the country slowly returns to some kind of normal, the IRS is also taking steps to ensure the backlog is caught up as soon as possible and that the public is not penalized because the IRS couldn’t open its mail.

Visit Amador Accounting for more information.

When to Report Your Tax Specialist to the IRS

Are you worried you didn’t go through a legitimate tax preparation office to file your taxes?

Do you think your information may have been compromised?

Do you suspect your tax preparer of wrongdoing?

If you suspect any misconduct by your tax preparer, you should report them to the IRS immediately. For example, you can report a tax return preparer for:

• Embezzling your refund.
• Altering your tax return documents.
• Filing a return without your consent.

For more tips, continue reading here.

Looking for More Information?

Contact Amador Accounting today! Lisa Amador is the best tax specialist in Belleville, Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, Saline, Canton and the surrounding areas. If you have a problem and need a solution, Lisa Amador can help you get organized and provide immense value to your business. (734) 330- 0907

How to Find a Good Tax Specialist in Belleville

Having a hard time finding a good tax specialist in Belleville, Michigan?

Are you worried about compromising your personal information?

What are traits you should be looking for in a good tax professional?

According to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), you should do the following to ensure you’re working with a professional tax preparer.

1. Check the preparer’s qualifications using the IRS directory.
2. Check the preparer’s history.
3. Ask about service fees.
4. Ask to E-file.

For more tips, continue reading here.

Looking for More Information?

Contact Amador Accounting today! Lisa Amador is the best tax specialist in Belleville, Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, Saline, Canton and the surrounding areas. If you have a problem and need a solution, Lisa Amador can help you get organized and provide immense value to your business. (734) 330- 0907

How Will President Trump’s New Tax Reform Affect You?

Your tax bracket could change! See the tax brackets here for single filers verses married taxpayers filing jointly. 

According to MSN Money, “In 2017, the standard deduction for a single taxpayer was $6,350, plus one personal exemption of $4,050.

The House plan would combine those into one larger standard deduction for 2018: $12,200 for single filers and $24,400 for joint filers. Under the Senate proposal, these would be slightly lower, at $12,000 for single filers and $24,000 for joint filers.”

Taxpayers will have to pay more, eliminating most itemized deductions like school loans, moving expenses, theft loss of valuables, and electric vehicles. Learn more!

Looking for More Information on Income Tax Filing in Belleville?

Schedule a free consultation with Lisa Amador, Enrolled Agent! She’ll walk you through the entire income tax filing process and will be able to customize a plan that fits your needs. Do you need help with tax preparation? She can help you organize your files and help prepare you for tax season. Call today! (734) 330-0907

What You Need to Know About Filing Your Taxes in 2018

Do you need to file?

It depends! In 2017, if you’re under age 65 and single, you must file a tax return if you earned $10,400 or more, which is the sum of the 2017 standard deduction for a single taxpayer plus one exemption. Do you meet these requirements? If so, you must file your income taxes.

Looking for More Information?

Schedule a free consultation with Lisa Amador, Enrolled Agent! She’ll walk you through the entire process and will be able to customize a plan that fits your needs. Do you need help with tax preparation? She can help you organize your files and help prepare you for tax season.

Income Tax Filing in Belleville and the Surrounding Areas.

Contact Amador Accounting today! Lisa Amador is an expert in income tax filing in Belleville, Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, Saline, Canton and the surrounding areas. If you have a problem and need a solution, she can help you get organized and provide immense value to your business. (734) 330-0907

Red Flags for the IRS that May Trigger an Audit!

Even if there’s no funny business going on, the IRS may still run an audit on your business. Its best to be prepared as possible, and know what they are looking for, including:

• Making a lot of money
• Failing to report all taxable income received 
• Taking higher than average deductions
• Deducting large charitable donations
• Deducting business meals, travel and entertainment expenses 
• Not reporting a foreign bank account 
• Claiming 100% business use of a vehicle 
• Failing to report large gains from gambling or claiming big losses in gambling
• Claiming the home office deduction 
• Claiming the foreign earned income exclusion 

Nobody wants to be audited! Even if you’ve done everything right, you can still miss important aspects that might lead to an audit. Taxes are confusing! Don’t miss out on the chance to keep your money, get more of it back, and achieve that feeling of safety. When you hire Lisa Amador to do your taxes, she won’t miss a thing. 

Tax specialist in Belleville and the surrounding areas

Contact Amador Accounting today! Lisa Amador is the best tax specialist in Belleville, Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, Saline, Canton and the surrounding areas. If you have a problem and need a solution, Lisa Amador can help you get organized and provide immense value to your business. (734) 330- 0907 

What has changed since last year?

Taxes are ever changing, and often it’s hard to keep up with what’s new and what no longer applies. 

Here are some changes to look out for:

• Late refunds- An act passed in 2015 says that the IRS cannot send out refunds until February 15^th when the Earned Income Tax Credit or the additional child tax credit is claimed on the return. 
• Deductions for Senior Medical Expenses- to claim a deduction for medical expenses, the expenses must be greater than 10% of your adjusted gross income. 
• Threshold adjustments - phase out for Traditional and Roth IRA’s will both rise $1000 in 2017 for single tax payers ($2000 for couples filing jointly). 
• Exemption amounts for the Alternative Minimum Tax rise to $54,300 for individual filers and $84,500 for married couples filing jointly who claim three or more qualifying children.

Tax specialist in Belleville and the surrounding areas

Contact Amador Accounting today! Lisa Amador is the best  tax specialist in Belleville, Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, Saline, Canton and the surrounding areas. If you have a problem and need a solution, Lisa Amador can help you get organized and provide immense value to your business. (734) 330- 0907