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Our News and Events

The Pros and Cons of Filing a Tax Extension

11/26/2019

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The tax season is getting closer and closer as we reach the holiday season. With the ending of the most wonderful time of the year, that also means the end of the last fiscal period of 2019. Are you ready or do you think you might need a little more time? 

Happy November everyone! We hope you enjoyed our most recent blog about safe shopping tips for Black Friday and Cyber Monday! As we are still heading towards all of these wonderful holidays, there is still so much to think about. Taxes need to start making their way to the top of your priorities list. With the end of 2019 looming so close, tax season will be here before you know it. Are you ready for this next tax season or do you think you might need a little more time? There is no problem with needing that extra time - that's why tax extensions can be such a relief. Do you know the pros and cons of filing a tax extension? If you're new to the process, you've come to the right place. In this blog, we will be discussing the pros and cons, which will hopefully help you decide the best route for you before April 15 is here! To begin with, you file an extension request using the IRS form 4868. You fill it out and mail it right to the IRS. 

THE PROS! 
  • It's fairly easy to file a tax return. You can do it on the IRS website. Just make sure to do it as soon as possible! 
  • If you are in the military serving abroad or in a similar situation, you may get an automatic extension due to the nature of the job. 
  • You don't need to explain why you need an extension. 
  • It moves your deadline from April 15th to October 15th! 
  • Filing an extension can help reduce late penalties or avoid them completely. 
  • Filing for an extension can often end up becoming a necessity not because you need time for yourself, but because you've been waiting on tax documents from your employer(s) or you need more time to organize your deductions.
  • Filing gives you more time to file gift tax returns if you've been overly generous that year. 
  • It allows you to still get your refund. You will have to wait for six months to get it, but you'll still get it. If you don't file or file late without an extension, you won't receive it. 
  • It gives you time to decide what you can write off, provide all the paperwork to do so, and if you're qualified for the write-offs you have. 
  • You don't have to rush to fill everything out and you can avoid making mistakes on your paperwork. 
  • Getting an extension can save you money. Fees to pay for someone to file taxes for you close to the 15th gets more expensive the closer you hire time to tax day. After the 15th, their prices will drop back down to a much more reasonable price. 

THE CONS! 
  • The extra time does not mean you have extra time to pay for your taxes, the amount you owe is still due on April 15th. 
  • The extension doesn't give you more time to report on your IRA accounts. Those reports are still due on April 15th. 
  • If you're married and you want to file separately you only have until the 15th to make this switch. 
  • If you don't pay your taxes by the 15th, you will begin to accrue penalty fees that can add up very quickly. 
  • It will delay getting your tax refund. 
  • You might not know how much you owe without filling out all of your paperwork on time. If you miscalculate and don't pay enough, you'll still end up paying penalty fees. 

There you have it! The pros and cons of filing a tax extension. If you have any more questions or need to talk with us, please don't hesitate to pick up the phone. We are here to answer all of your questions and get you ready for the next step in your taxes. 

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Staying Safe during Black Friday and Cyber Monday!

11/19/2019

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It's so easy to get caught up in the sales and excitement of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. But remember hackers and other scams will be out there waiting for you, to prey on this excitement and your joy of wanting to get a jump start on your Christmas shopping. Enjoy all of the great online deals out there, but remember to be safe while doing so! 

Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and for many, the real excitement is in the rush and excitement of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Deals are just waiting to be discovered, picked up, and purchased. One of the best parts? You can do a lot of this shopping from the comfort of your home, still eating Thanksgiving leftovers. But these shoppers aren't the only ones who are excited about the holidays. Hackers, Phishing Scams, and other dangerous lurkers are out there waiting to prey on anyone who will take the bait for a good deal. You should enjoy these opportunities and sales if that's something you enjoy doing. But if you're going to be participating in some of the biggest shopping days of the year, you need to be smart and stay safe while doing so. Please consider this list of tips and things to do as you are reaching for your credit card this year. 

  • Shop on websites that you have known and have always trusted.
  • Make sure to check that you are on a safely connected network and that the website you are shopping on is SSL certified. If the website is not, you do not want to use your credit card on this site! It will be much easier for hackers to get a hold of your information from these unprotected sites. 
  • Don't use your credit card on an open WiFi connection. If you're at a coffee shop or using a similar public connection, this is not the time to be shopping online or entering your credit card information. These open WiFi connections are much easier to hack into and into your system once you're connected. Someone might even be waiting in your favorite coffee shop to prey on people who are connected and shopping, just waiting to steal their information. Also bringing your credit card out in a public place and flashing it around while you're typing in your information is dangerous. Just wait until you get home. 
  • If a website looks suspicious, has a poor design quality, and looks questionable, it probably is. Don't chance it. This website could represent a legitimate business, or not. Having your identity stolen and compromised isn't worth taking the chance to find out. 
  • If a deal is too good to be true on a website that you don't know and trust, then it probably is. Phishing scams are waiting online and in your email to pounce on you during the holidays. Be aware and cautious, even more than you might normally be. 
  • If a website is asking for very personal and unnecessary information to gain a special deal or discount, avoid it. That is a phishing scam waiting to happen! 
  • Make sure your passwords are strong and different for every website, credit card, and bank account that you log into. Change them often and don't leave that information laying around. 
  • If you're shopping on your cell phone, all of these bits of advice still apply. 
  • Social media scams are out there. Make sure to spot them. Again, if the deal looks too good to be true, it will be. If the link to the website or deal looks weird, it is. Make sure to investigate any new website or deal before you start giving away any personal information. 
  • Read reviews and ask questions from those who have purchased or shopped on a website that is new to you. Read and pay attention to anything negative about the purchasing experience. Make sure their website has an FAQ and terms of service page that make sense and has been written specifically for the company. If they looked ripped off from any generic store or website, the rest of the website is quite possibly a front for something else. If something still looks scary but you still want to buy something from the site, call their customer service number. If the company doesn't have customer service or it seems very sketchy, think again. 
  • If everything on the website you're shopping on checks out but you get to the checkout page and it's not secure? Log out and get off of that website right away. DO NOT put in your personal information! 
  • If you haven't already put alerts or turned them on for your credit cards and bank accounts, do so before you start your online shopping.

Being hacked, opening and falling into a phishing scam, or getting your identity stolen should be the last thing you need to worry about this holiday season. But you need to be proactive and prepared to make sure you don't fall victim to these things. Use this list as a guide to stay safe, protected, and be able to enjoy your cyber shopping without fear of someone ruining the best part of the year! 

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The Easy Failings of Bookkeeping

11/1/2019

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Running a business is hard, anyone can acknowledge that.  Today, one of the biggest downfalls of any company is its bookkeeping. Simple mistakes and errors can not only make the running of the business difficult but it can also be its downfall. Try and avoid these easy bookkeeping mistakes to make your business run smoothly.

Bookkeeping is something that all businesses, big or small, have to do. The pen to paper bookkeeping for many is a thing of the past thanks to amazing online programs and applications, like Quickbooks, that do a lot of the hard work for you. For some, making and keeping a note of everything by pen and paper is still preferred. But your bookkeeping and how you handle it is just as uniquely personal as your business model and strategy. But the biggest factor, however you decide to do your bookkeeping, is to avoid some of the most simple and common mistakes out there. Today we will be discussing how to avoid these common mistakes to keep your small business working smoothly no matter what!

The First Steps
When it comes to the point where your small business can grow and expand, that is so exciting! But it's so easy to overlook the important steps of your full bookkeeping to successfully make those steps. Many new business owners will just do the bookkeeping themselves. They rush the process, they don't account enough time or attention to the process, and completely mess up a good chunk of all of it by doing so. Our first recommendation is to work with a professional. If you don't want one full time or on staff, at least learn from them how to properly do everything that needs to be done. Take more classes, attend seminars, or even bend the ear of professional bookkeepers. Or hire someone like us at Hoods, who can help you understand Quickbooks and how to properly use it for your company! Most importantly when you sit down to do your bookkeeping, take your time and breathe.

Budget Time
This might be obvious, but it still needs to be said. You have to budget for your small business or the outcome could be a disaster! You raised and created the fund to create the company in the first place. So you know that your bank account doesn't have unlimited spending for the year or years to come. You need to plan how the money of the company will be spent, or in other words, what will your budget be. A budget will help you track your accounts and records, any issues can be corrected quickly, you can plan for any emergencies, keep the company running, and pay your employees. In 2018 alone, 61% of small businesses didn't create a budget. How scary is that? A lot of young companies don't have a full appreciation of what a budget can do for the company itself. Without one there is no way to evaluate the performance or even the goals for the company. You also can't continue to develop the business without one, and you can't see any growth either.

The Paperwork
One of the most important steps in bookkeeping is the reconciliation of your books. This is making sure all of the bank accounts, credit cards, and all the reports match and you have proof to show that they do. This is a huge step when it comes to paying your taxes based on how much the company made, how much was spent, and how much was paid to the employees. These factors will all factor in how much you owe the IRS come tax season. Not doing this properly can lead to over or underpaying your taxes. This might have you re-doing your taxes, owing more, and possibly accruing late fees. Not to mention the hours spent on the phone and in front of your computer to fix these issues. You can also become a victim of fraud, have bank withdrawals that were not authorized, several other bank errors, and the disappearance of money you can't account for.

It Doesn't Mix
Many small businesses start in garages or home offices. Some of the greatest companies of all time have started this way. But don't make the mistake of mixing your home and business bills, expenses, or taxes. Make sure you know exactly how to write off business expense items and what they are before doing so. The IRS is very well versed in what you can and cannot call business expenses from your home, so don't try and fool them. Even if you make an honest mistake, it can still hurt you come tax time. Separate your credit cards, your living space from your workspace, your landlines, and cell phones. Keep meticulous records of expenses and receipts, mileage, and time. Don't muddy or blur the lines between home expenses and business expenses. This will make your life and dealing with the IRS much simpler!

There are a lot of small moving parts to bookkeeping, but all of them have to be well oiled to keep the machine running. Don't rush, make sure you know what you're doing, and never be afraid to ask for help. We are here to offer you the best tax services for your business and to help you do your bookkeeping with Quickbooks. Don't let your small business become prey to these easy mistakes. Take the time to educate yourself and keep your bookkeeping focused and accounted for.

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