http://askcpasam.com/blog Making Payroll, Tax, Finance, Accounting Understandable Mon, 16 Jan 2012 19:52:15 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 http://askcpasam.com/blog/2012/01/16/making-estimated-tax-payments/ http://askcpasam.com/blog/2012/01/16/making-estimated-tax-payments/#comments Mon, 16 Jan 2012 19:52:15 +0000 CPA Sam http://askcpasam.com/blog/?p=677 Q. I am a 1 person (no employees) sole proprietor.  What would be the best way for me to calculate taxes and make quarterly tax payments (both Fed. and State)? A. This is one of the most common questions I get from self-employed individuals who are just starting out.  Basically, estimated payments in a self-employed [...]

]]> http://askcpasam.com/blog/2012/01/16/making-estimated-tax-payments/feed/ 0 http://askcpasam.com/blog/2010/08/20/fireworks_and_taxes/ http://askcpasam.com/blog/2010/08/20/fireworks_and_taxes/#comments Fri, 20 Aug 2010 14:02:09 +0000 CPA Sam http://askcpasam.com/blog/?p=566 Q. We recently ran a fireworks stand for a business in another state.  They have stands over about 4 different states and they hire people to manage them for them.  This was our first year running the stand.  We sold off of commission.  We were to receive 20-25% of net sales that we took in. [...]

]]> http://askcpasam.com/blog/2010/08/20/fireworks_and_taxes/feed/ 0 http://askcpasam.com/blog/2010/03/16/double-the-tax-fun-2-states/ http://askcpasam.com/blog/2010/03/16/double-the-tax-fun-2-states/#comments Tue, 16 Mar 2010 14:02:59 +0000 CPA Sam http://askcpasam.com/blog/?p=481 Q.  I am having a difficult time trying to figure how much I owe in state tax.  I lived and worked in California from 1/1/2009 through 8/7/2009.  I began living in Colorado on 8/8/2009 through the end of the year and worked from home for the same company I worked for back in California.  State [...]

]]> http://askcpasam.com/blog/2010/03/16/double-the-tax-fun-2-states/feed/ 0 http://askcpasam.com/blog/2010/03/05/yikes-a-big-tax-bill/ http://askcpasam.com/blog/2010/03/05/yikes-a-big-tax-bill/#comments Fri, 05 Mar 2010 13:03:45 +0000 CPA Sam http://askcpasam.com/blog/?p=476 Q. My husband works for a large company, and I receive disability and do not work.  We just had our taxes done this week and got quite a shock!  We had a federal income tax refund of over $4000, but owed state tax of $1000 and local taxes of $600.  We are in PA.  How [...]

]]> http://askcpasam.com/blog/2010/03/05/yikes-a-big-tax-bill/feed/ 0 http://askcpasam.com/blog/2009/12/29/2009-year-end-tips/ http://askcpasam.com/blog/2009/12/29/2009-year-end-tips/#comments Tue, 29 Dec 2009 14:07:02 +0000 CPA Sam http://askcpasam.com/blog/?p=445 As the end of 2009 quickly approaches, it’s important for all tax payers to begin preparing for the filing of their 2009 tax returns. - Have you maxed out your HSA or IRA contributions?  People with these kinds of accounts can actually make contributions for 2009 through April 15.  Maximizing your contribution helps reduce your [...]

]]> http://askcpasam.com/blog/2009/12/29/2009-year-end-tips/feed/ 0 http://askcpasam.com/blog/2009/09/02/what-tax-bracket-am-i-in-2/ http://askcpasam.com/blog/2009/09/02/what-tax-bracket-am-i-in-2/#comments Wed, 02 Sep 2009 13:36:43 +0000 CPA Sam http://askcpasam.com/blog/?p=387 Q. How do I know what tax bracket I’m in?  Where does that number come from? A. This question probably ranks right up at the top of the list of most frequent questions.  First of all, you probably meant to ask what is your marginal tax rate.  Let me explain.  Federal income tax is calculated [...]

]]> http://askcpasam.com/blog/2009/09/02/what-tax-bracket-am-i-in-2/feed/ 1 http://askcpasam.com/blog/2008/10/29/a-mountain-of-withholding-forms/ http://askcpasam.com/blog/2008/10/29/a-mountain-of-withholding-forms/#comments Wed, 29 Oct 2008 13:07:00 +0000 CPA Sam http://askcpasam.com/blog/?p=121 Q. My paycheck is wildly different each time because I am paid commission in the 2nd check and a draw on the first check of the month.  I submit a new W-4 each period to keep my withholding down.  Now my payroll department doesn’t want to accept more than 1 change each month.  Is this [...]

]]> http://askcpasam.com/blog/2008/10/29/a-mountain-of-withholding-forms/feed/ 0 http://askcpasam.com/blog/2008/10/22/tax-and-reporting-free/ http://askcpasam.com/blog/2008/10/22/tax-and-reporting-free/#comments Wed, 22 Oct 2008 17:15:21 +0000 CPA Sam http://askcpasam.com/blog/?p=105 Q. Is there a statement somewhere in the tax laws that states, I can pay someone up to $600.00, tax free to both parties? Or something to that effect? A. Yikes!  Every time I get a question like this it scares me to death.  “There is no such thing as a free lunch.”  “Certainty? In [...]

]]> http://askcpasam.com/blog/2008/10/22/tax-and-reporting-free/feed/ 0 http://askcpasam.com/blog/2008/10/01/live-in-one-state-work-in-another/ http://askcpasam.com/blog/2008/10/01/live-in-one-state-work-in-another/#comments Wed, 01 Oct 2008 16:14:31 +0000 CPA Sam http://askcpasam.com/blog/?p=78 Q. I live in Michigan and just started a new job working in Illinois.  I’ve never been in a situation with two states before.  My payroll department wants me to fill out all these different forms.  What should I do? A. I love multi-state tax situations!  It’s like job security for accountants.  The answer to [...]

]]> http://askcpasam.com/blog/2008/10/01/live-in-one-state-work-in-another/feed/ 0 http://askcpasam.com/blog/2008/09/24/paycheck-deduction-for-employer-taxes/ http://askcpasam.com/blog/2008/09/24/paycheck-deduction-for-employer-taxes/#comments Wed, 24 Sep 2008 20:42:20 +0000 CPA Sam http://askcpasam.com/blog/?p=75 Q. I received a bonus check and the amount that was on the paystub was $500 less than what the bonus came out to. When asking the owner he stated that money was used to pay for the employer’s share of the taxes. On top of that, they took out taxes for my portion as [...]

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