Florida Society of Enrolled Agents Install New Board of Directors

July 6, 2011

Kissimmee, FL- The 2011 Florida Society of Enrolled Agents Annual Conference was just held at the Gaylord Palm Hotel & Convention Center. The conference provided the members with the opportunity to network with other Tax Professionals, enhance their various skills and expand their knowledge on current tax legislation, emerging issues and changes in their profession. On Friday, July 1, 2011 the FSEA installed the new slate for the coming year.

From left to right: Immediate Past President, William Weidenbach, EA, Treasurer, Sue Anne Curd, EA, Secretary, Twila Midwood, EA, President- Elect, Ana Magda Guillen, EA, President, Anita Manuel, EA, and Vice-President, Jeffrey Schneider, EA,

The Florida Society of Enrolled Agents (FSEA) is the professional society representing Enrolled Agents (EAs) in Florida. Members are licensed by the U.S. Department of the Treasury to represent taxpayers before all administrative levels of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), including examination, collection and appeals functions. For more information, please visit the website, http://www.FSEAonline.org. The FSEA is an affiliate of the National Association of Enrolled Agents (NAEA) and they urge all tax practitioners to consider the benefits of joining.

The National Association of Enrolled Agents (NAEA) is a national association of independent, licensed tax professionals called Enrolled Agents (EA). The association is dedicated to helping its members keep up the highest level of knowledge, skills and professionalism in all areas of taxation, so that their members may most effectively represent the needs of their clients.

Have you ever considered how history shifts on small decisions?

Image via Wikipedia

What we celebrated on the 4th was the bravery of men who said [I paraphrased] : “If you’re going to tax me, I need a representative. And, since you won’t give me THAT … well, we’re free anyway. Government doesn’t give us our rights; our Creator does. So, we declare that we are, in fact, independent.”

Imagine if, before this point, the King of England had said: “Alright, I’ll allow a representative from each colony a seat in the Parliament.” I mean really — it’s not like we wouldn’t have been taxed up the wazoo with representation … the votes would have been something like 250-13 to tax the colonies to high hell!

But at least there would have been representation! [Historians point out that Washington, Adams, Franklin and others, at first, wanted only the same rights as other British subjects. Only until the British remained stubborn did they opt for full independence.] Instead, the British lack of imagination helped birth the greatest experiment in freedom the world has seen over the last two+ centuries (IMHO).  It may just be that you need to have your own little declaration of independence. Here’s what I mean…

True Freedom … From The IRS
Well, the dream of freedom, birthed on the 4th , does still live. But let’s face it–our government (especially the IRS) is ready to become a deeper, larger influence in our lives. And it’s ironic, this month of Independence, to see how much power the IRS now has as probably one of the most powerful organizations in the USA. Solely responsible for collecting Federal taxes and imposing related penalties, the IRS poses one of the biggest financial threats to individuals and business owners. They have unique information resources, legal standing, and roles as a law enforcement agency.  On top of all this, the IRS has the authority to issue legislation and the freedom to make mistakes without consequences (they’re protected from penalties for false tax accusations)!

So what can we do to protect ourselves from the IRS’ power and potential for financial wrath???  … Well, if there were a concrete answer for that, the IRS wouldn’t be the intimidating and widely feared agency it is today.  But there is one thing each of us can do  to keep them off our back: Keep Records! (I know, a bit lame … but it’s true!)
Our best defense against audits and false accusations is keeping accurate, detailed records of the flow of all money into and out of our lives.  Now, depending on your situation, this could be complicated and time-consuming!  Where do you begin?
A great place to start is by calling our office; we can help you decide where to focus your record-keeping efforts, and help you develop a strong wall of defense around the “castle” of your finances.  Generally, the better and more accurate your records, the better your chances are for surviving an All-Out IRS Battle! 

Give us a call today (spending a little today, could save a lot later)! 
Email info@sfstaxacct.com  or call us (561-868-1868 or 772-337-1040) now!

If you  are NOT a subscriber to our weekly “Real World” Personal Strategy Email series, you may go HERE to  subscribe: http://jeffreyschneider.mylocaltaxpro.com/

DO YOU KEEP TRACK OF YOUR STUDENT DEBT?

As the school year comes to a close, many college seniors are attending financial aid exit interviews. But, we’d like to remind all college students – whether you are graduating or not – to take stock of your student debt at the end of every school year. We’ve heard horror stories from graduates who were shocked to see how much they actually borrowed over the course of college. Keep track of it now so you will be prepared when it comes time to repay your loans.

If you still need to settle your bill for this semester, or are already looking ahead to next semester, please visit our website; http://www.sfscollegeplanningspecialists.com and click on the Need a Student Loan? button.

Here are some tips to help you manage your student loan debt:

• Gather you loan details at the end of each year – Pull together the details for all the loans you took out, including loan servicer total amount, APR and first payment date.
• Keep track of your debt and update it yearly – Once you’ve gathered all of your loan details, pull all this information into a spreadsheet and track it on an annual basis.
• Update your loan servicer – Be sure to notify your loan servicer when you graduate, withdraw from school, transfer, or change your name, address, email or phone number.

As you wrap up your loan details for this past year, remember to think ahead to next semester.  It’s never too early to get a head start on planning for your next tuition bill.

Have a great summer.

 

Can you take the tax deduction?

Do you have a closet full of stuff that you would love to get rid of? Is your garage full to the point of exploding with your now married children’s toys and clothing? What do you do with all this “junk”. You can donate to the various charities (Goodwill, The Salvation Army or Am Vets to name a few), receive a tax deduction (if you itemize) and save about $20-$30 in real taxes or sell it.

Many people conduct periodic garage sales. You sell your stuff and pocket the change. If you have enough stuff, you can pocket a couple of hundred dollars and most of it is tax-free as the cost of the items sold are much more than what you sold it for. The other side is that you can not take the loss (sales price minus cost) as these transactions are considered personal, not business and personal losses are not deductible.

Other people take selling their unwanted toys and clothing to the internet using Ebay and Craigs List, amoung others. If you sell items on an occassional basis, you have tax free income via the new age “internet garage sale”. But what happens if you conduct hundreds of these transactions in any given year? In a recent court case, the IRS prevailed when they wanted to tax the seller on the gross income received from activity on EBay. Their case stemmed on the fact that the individual conducted hundreds of sales transactions in each of two years. They argued and the court agreed that this was a business and that the gross revenue received from each and every sale was income. The court did not put a number as to how many transactions constitute a business. In reading the case, it has more to do with a continuous and ongoing activity that was the deciding factor.

The good news is that the cost of every item sold is a deduction against that income and any fees incurred in the selling of these items are deductions.

The bad news: Who keeps receipts of a childs toy or article of clothing from a few years ago, not to mention 10 or more years. So if you want to conduct numerous transactions on any of these sites, make sure that you have documentation as to the cost of the items sold or the IRS may, not only attempt to subject the revenue to the income tax, but as a business, the self-employment tax.

Please contact SFS Tax, Accounting and College Planning Services before you begin anything that may be construed as a business so you can plan accordingly and limit your potential tax expoure. Our website is http://www.sfstaxacct.com or call us at 561 868-1868 or 772 337-1040.