Skylar Dubrow CPA On How Having a Tax Strategy Wins Out
October 7, 2015
Skylar Dubrow, CPA
Blog
October 7, 2015Skylar Dubrow, CPABlog
As I’m writing this, chances are good that we are headed towards yet another federal government shutdown of some sort, due to Congressional disagreement over a host of different funding and tax related items. (Forbes just bumped the probability from 67% to 75%.) And if doesn’t happen October 1, it may be happening in December.
Gotta love those lawmakers.
Snarky comments aside, I will say this: there is a certain genius in the system of checks and balances envisioned by our founders. It’s a good thing that we don’t typically have a “ruling party” situation, wherein one particular group wins power and simply shoves through all of their pet provisions without any check from different branches of the government (whether it’s judiciary or executive or legislative).
I’m glad for that. But it doesn’t make navigating through the labyrinth of their decisions any easier!
Which, I suppose, is why we have jobs around here — and why (I hope!) you are grateful to have us by your side. We pay attention to this stuff so you don’t have to!
I think it was former Congressman Barney Frank who said, “Government is just another word for the things we choose to do together” — in which case, well, we may need to work on becoming a little less dysfunctional … together!
Speaking of government deadlines — allow me to remind you, if you are working with us on an extended return, that these are due in about two weeks — on October 15th. Most of our clients have given us all we asked for … but if you haven’t yet, consider this to be another little “bump”!
And, well … as we’ve been working on extension returns, it made me remember something that I really like to communicate to ALL of my clients whenever possible: A tax return is a report, not a strategy.
Here’s what I mean…
Skylar Dubrow CPA On How Having a Tax Strategy Wins Out
“You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don’t try.” – Beverly Sills
It’s true — there are certain people for whom this Note doesn’t apply. There are those who are perfectly fine paying the amount of tax they pay every year, thank you very much.
However, since YOU have chosen to invest yourself in our services (or at one point considered it), you are probably in the second group: those who would love to pay less in taxes, THIS year.
If that’s the case, well there are two main things which you need to understand:
Dubrow CPA’s Irrefutable Fact #1: Our tax system is not fair.
It is too true — the Donald Trumps, Warren Buffetts, Barack Obamas, Mark Zuckerbergs etc. operate under a vastly different system than most “regular” taxpayers. This is NOT because they are politically-connected (though they are), but because of the people they have who do wonders on their behalf.
And the sooner you quit complaining about those who *seem* to be connected … and make the decision to JOIN their ranks, the sooner you will pay less in taxes.
Because all of those people, and other people like them, understand the second fact …
Dubrow CPA’s Irrefutable Fact #2: A tax return is a report, NOT a strategy.
Yes, we’re pretty good at coming behind with our magic brushes and cleaning up the mess made by many of our clients in their finances and taxes. But there is a much better way to fly.
It’s called tax planning, and it’s essentially comprised of three parts:
1) Strategic review:
Assess the current situation, and identify short-, mid-, and long-term strategies to lessen your taxes, and grow your income.
2) Implementation:
This can be a little tricky (especially if you do it yourself), because there are bound to be accounting and local regulatory questions which arise. We recommend that you stay with your same team who developed the tax strategy so they make sure you’re doing what you need to do.
3) Proper compliance:
There are plenty of people out there who will give you “the secrets to paying less taxes!!!” — but are they willing to put their name on a dotted line and defend it? If not, RUN from these people. They are hype artists. Or worse, they know that their advice will lead to a fraudulent return.
The main thing to understand is that in order to REALLY get your tax situation improved, you MUST plan ahead with a team and have a solid tax strategy in place.
Otherwise, you’re just cleaning up a mess that was already made (and can’t be fixed) when filing your tax return.
The good news is that there is still plenty of time to do some great work on your 2015 taxes, even now that we are in the final quarter. We have a pretty full two weeks ahead of us with extension returns, but we can still schedule a time to talk about ways to better your tax strategy now, so that we aren’t just cleaning up after a mess.
Drop me a note, and let’s set a time to talk.
Warmly (and until next week),
Skylar Dubrow CPA
(818) 889-7285
The Dubrow Group, CPAs
Preparing a correct and accurate tax return is our priority. We proudly stand behind our work and if a mistake does happen that is our fault, we will immediate correct the mistake and gladly refund your money if requested.
If any penalties or interest are incurred due to our mistake, we will do everything we can to fix the problem and cover any penalties should they arise.
We feel so confident in our processes to account for all deductions and uncover hidden deductions that we guarantee that you will pay the lowest amount of taxes legally possible. We spend a good amount of time correcting and fixing other so called tax pros mistakes and oversights.
We are so committed to giving out clients the best service. We do this by taking thte time to understand our clients situation and asking the right questions to make sure every deduction is accounted for. And remember we work for you, NOT the IRS.
Not only do we prepare an accurate tax return, we will inform you of tax saving strategies and best record keeping practices should we see fit.
Starting January 1, 2017, all our returns come with our “Silver” Stress Free Audit Insurance, FREE with paid tax preparation. Our Silver package includes our full support when handling IRS and State Notices for the 2016 tax year. If you receive a notice, send it to us and we will work with you to organize the required documentation and we will respond to the IRS on your behalf.
“Many tax experts are predicting an increase in IRS audits (because of the system automation), as well as an increase in audits by the state”
Our Gold Package adds our representation for an actual IRS audit for the current year. Whether it be an “audit by mail”, or an actual audit at one of the IRS locations, we will work with you to compile all the necessary documentation and represent you in front of the IRS for no additional charge. Our fees to represent our clients in an audit scenario can range from $1000- $2500 & up depending on time and complexities.
Our Gold option is an optional add on service & not included with regular tax preparation. Gold protection covers the current tax year only regardless of when you get audited.
The IRS and state authorities are behind in auditing tax returns and matching reporting documents to tax returns.They are currently working on 2012 & 2013 years.
Our Platinum level package covers you for a period of 7 years. It Is just like our Gold package, but it includes the currtent year and 6 prior years. We will provide audit coverage for prior years tax returns, even if we did not prepare them.
How is that for taking care of our clients! Once the Platinum level package is purchased, only the gold level will be required in future years as the previous years have been protected by the one time Platinum purchase.
