For most businesses as well as individuals, the tax season usually brings with it a lot of anxiety. This is because they have to appropriately and accurately file all their tax reports as a way to assure the government of their accountability to paying taxes. Business taxes are usually more complex to understand, account for and file than personal taxes. As a result, most people hire business tax accountants without flinching, in order to take care of all these for them. When it comes to personal taxes however, most people usually feel like they can do it on their own.

The misconception on hiring a personal tax accountant is usually that you hire and pay someone else to do for you something that you can do yourself. This is however not true, particularly for those who are self-employed. This is because there are certain complexities that you wouldnt understand as an individual that a personal tax accountant would. There are several deductions, levies and waivers that you might be entitled to which you would not know about but a personal tax accountant would. Taking advantage of these can save you a lot of money. While hiring a personal tax accountant means you have to pay them, which is an extra expense, the benefits they bring to you might outweigh what you would spend on the accountant. The following are some of the reasons why you need a accountant to manage your tax:

You are assured of maximum accountability – A personal tax accountant will follow all the necessary rules and guidelines set up by tax regulation authorities to the letter while filing your tax. As a result, you are assured of no loopholes in your tax activity. Therefore, if you were audited, you will be found to be fully accountable for your taxes and avoid all the hefty penalties they charge people who are found guilty of overlooking their finances.

You avoid anxiety during audits – Having your tax returns audited is usually a huge source of anxiety for both individuals and businesses. However, when you have a personal tax accountant working with you, they ensure correct documentation and account for all your taxes. They can argue for you with the auditors should any loopholes be found in your tax bill. As a result, they save you from a lot of unnecessary anxiety.

They maximise your deductions – A personal tax accountant is usually aware of all the deductions, waivers and levies you are entitled to and will take advantage of them for you. These can usually range from waivered land rates, to small purchases that save you from paying VAT. Your personal tax accountant would identify all of them very fast and factor them into your tax statement. These deductions usually add up to a very large amount as a result, they save you a lot of money that you didnt even know you could save.

These are some of the ways in which you would benefit from a personal tax accountant. It is important have to be very careful when choosing one to work with because not all of them are good at what they do. You must therefore conduct appropriate research on the conduct, years of experience and expertise of each one before settling for the one that would youre your requirements.

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The word audit alone has the ability to cause anyone a huge amount of stress. Many people that pay taxes have horrible dreams about being auditing, how and if they will be able to handle it. If you are one of those individuals that pays attention to the rules and you make sure that you report all of your income and their deductions, then you can be sure that even if you are audited that you will come out not having to pay the IRS because you did everything that you were required to do by law.

Here are lists of things that can trigger an audit when you are filing your return:

Make sure that you are claiming deductions that make sense. Heres an example, you have an old chair that is tattered and torn and you are donating this chair to some sort of charity and you are claiming a $600 deduction for this chair on your income tax return. You need to make sure that you have paperwork that coincides with this deduction and its amount. No matter what deduction that you claim (personal, business or charity), always make sure that you have the paperwork to back up the deduction.

If you have received money from your IRA or other plans early then you want to have whatever you need that proves you are exempt from having penalties. The early distribution should have qualifications that cause them to be exempt from taxes but if you find that they arent exempt then you need to report your early withdrawal on your taxes. More than half of those that receive an early distribution have no idea how to file this information on their tax returns. It is important that you know if this distribution is exempt or not so that you can either claim it as an exemption or pay the taxes on the money that was received.

Report all money that you have made. If you do not report all of the money that you have made; this could trigger an audit. If you have a business that you are doing part time and you make a little over a $1000 a month, you need to make sure that you report this income when you file your taxes. If you choose not to report the income and the IRS finds out about it, they will send you a bill that can go back for at least 7 years or whatever the amount of years are that you have had this extra income. For anyone that has a large income that they have not reported, they can also receive some criminal charges as well.

Important information regarding Florida CPA Ethics courses and accreditation

If you are interested in becoming a Certified Public Accountant in the state of Florida youre going to have to make sure that you move through the entire education and licensing process as outlined by the state.

Potential professional CPAs will have had to go through at least 80 hours of Continuing Professional Education (also referred to as CPE), and of that 80 hours at least 20 hours have to include training regarding accounting and auditing, at least four hours of a Board Approved Florida CPA ethics course (something we will touch on in just a moment), and no more than 20 hours involving behavioral subjects.

These course requirements are a little bit more stringent than in many other states throughout the US, but certainly arent the most overwhelming or overbearing by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, many applaud Florida for going to such great lengths to be sure that each and every one of their CPAs have gone through a rather rigorous certification process before they are allowed to hang out their professional shingle.

Florida does not recognize course credits regarding ethics from ANY course not approved directly by the Florida Board of Accountancy

But the major focus of this journey has to be on the unique Florida CPA ethics requirements. Youll have to be 100% certain that you move forward with your CPA certification process with a training program or educational organization that has already been approved by the Florida Board of Accountancy or there are going to be problems.

You see, Florida law does not allow for professional CPAs to obtain any ethics credits from any organizational or educational body and count them towards their licensing unless that organization or educational body has been approved directly by the Florida Board of Accountancy.

Even educational organizations that are recognized and accepted by other jurisdictions throughout the United States need to move through this Board of Accountancy approval process or the credits simply will not count.

A breakdown of approved ethics course providers in Florida

This is why youll want to be sure that you choose from amongst the approved ethics courses as outlined by the Board of Accountancy here in Florida. These are the only kinds of credits that will count towards your accreditation and your license, and thankfully there are plenty of them located throughout the state.

If youd like a complete breakdown of all the Florida CPA ethics courses that are recognized by the state of Florida youll want to go to this link:
http://www.myfloridalicense.com/dbpr/cpa/documents/ApprovedEthicsProviders2016.pdf

This information is kept up to date on a year-to-year basis, and provides you with all of the details you need to know about approved Florida CPA ethics courses as well as how to get in touch with these organizations so that you can get your four hours of training and education in as expeditiously as possible.

Hopefully that helps!

Migrating to Xero cloud accounting software makes good business sense and here’s why.

• You save time and resources.

With Xero your data is automatically updated via overnight bank feeds. This means no more double handling of your financial information. This minimises the risk of error, ensuring businesses get accurate bank reconciliations in a timely manner.

Especially when small businesses are involved, resources can be limited and the little available are precious, so wasting time can be extremely costly. This system ensures more efficient use of your bookkeeping and accounting resources.

• Do business quicker

Online invoicing means you can send and receive invoices faster. You see when invoices have been opened and get paid a lot quicker.

• Great for Teamwork

Xero facilitates collaboration allowing an unlimited amount of users to access your data. You can share information with your employees, bookkeeper, accountant, financial advisor or business partners. But that doesn’t mean that your data is in jeopardy. The security of your information is of the utmost importance and Xero has invested heavily in this. Also you decide which members of your team see what information, with different levels of access.

• Forget the Hassle

Once you make use of the Xero software, you can forget about the really annoying parts of cloud accounting such as installing software, updating software and keeping backups. With Xero these are all automatic.

• Access Your Books Anywhere, Anytime

Accessibility is one of the greatest benefits of cloud accounting and Xero in particular. You can use any device to access your accounts, anytime – night or day from anywhere in the world. So even if your bookkeeper or accountant is in another country, they can access your data and advise you as necessary. It’s so convenient being able to do bank reconciliations from wherever you choose, even from your office or couch. You can also make payments, send invoices etc. while you’re on the go.

• Faster Payroll

There’s a quick pay run functionality available. With automated superannuation payments, your fledgling company saves time and money. There are also automatic tax updates so no need to bother with time consuming and often costly software upgrades.

• Makes File Storage Simpler

With Xero you can attach multiple source documents as well as important files to transactions, so everything needed is in one place. You can also keep them in customised document folders within the Zero system, easy to store and access whenever, this is one of the reasons people with limited understanding of accounts favour this system.

• Syncs with Other Applications

Xero software can be connected to other apps. By integrating Xero with other cloud applications, businesses are able to sync their client information, financial details, sales data etc. The system is just so much easier to understand and use, even if accounting has never been your strongpoint.

If you’re looking for a Xero Accounting Firm to start your migration, NBC can help. They provide unrivalled training and support and have been ranked in the top 5 Xero Gold partners in Brisbane for good reason.