Quite often, while doing tax preparation in Las Vegas, I get asked the question by small business owners, "How can I reduce my taxes?". Almost always, the most important thing that they forget is that they don't keep their receipts so that they can deduct all the expenses that they pay. It's important, for tax preparation, that the Las Vegas business owner keeps track, even if you just take an envelope and put the receipts that you paid for (whether cash, or by credit card) in that envelope every single day, and at the end of the year, or at the end of the month you just add those up and put those on the expense sheet - that's a huge way you can save, and quite often, small business owners will just throw away the receipts (or they can't find them when it comes time to do their tax return)
Some of the most common areas where people forget their expenses are in the materials or the supplies that they might pay for. If they're a contractor for instance - they may run to a local hardware store and pick up some small supplies they need for a job, but they forget to keep the receipt, or forget to put it in that box or envelope at the end of the day. As well, there are office expenses, or meal and entertainment expenses. If they take employees out to lunch, or pay for a dinner with current clients or customers, and then they forget that, "Oh, that was something that I need to go ahead and deduct on my tax return".
Therefore, if you want to save on taxes, one of the key tax preparation methods in Las Vegas is to keep track of the expenses that you pay.
I'm a Las Vegas CPA who just came out of a meeting with a bunch of students. They were down at a recruiting visit down in Southern Utah. And one of the things we told them when they're looking for an employer is to "find your fit". And that is an absolutely important tip I can give to any business owner as well: When you're looking for an advisor - your attorney, your insurance agent, your Las Vegas CPA - these are people you're going to have to trust an awful lot with the personal details of your life and with the success of your business in some case, and so you need to take the time to interview people and see whether you relate to them, and whether it's somebody that you can trust, someone you can get on the phone and talk to, and someone who shares your values.
Maybe they have a similar appetite for risk. You may not be as cutting edge as your CPA wants to be on taxes, and that may make you uncomfortable. Or, your CPA may be more conservative than you want to be. So it's very important that you spend the time on this relationship at the front, because it's much easier to spend it then, than to change CPAs every 2 or 3 years. So, "find your fit" when choosing a Las Vegas CPA.
As a Las Vegas accountant, one of the things that I get asked a lot is, "What should you ask an accountant in Las Vegas if you are considering hiring one?". One of the most important things is there licensing (their credentials, exactly what they have other licenses in). You should contact their state board of CPAs and the American Institute of accountants to see whether or not there has been any disciplinary actions put against them, and also check out their licenses - they usually do have them posted in their offices.
One of the other things that you should ask a Las Vegas accountant about is their fees: how do they charge you, is it an hourly billing, is it a value billing, what exactly will they charge you for phone calls, what type of meetings can you have with them on a regular basis? You want to make sure that you understand that before you hire an accountant. Additionally, you want to ask them how you could reduce your fees. Do you charge me less or more if I bring in a box of receipts? Could I possibly do some of the work and keep my fees at a minimum? One of the last things that I would consider asking them is 'what their strategies are with their financial statements and their tax returns?'. Are they aggressive, or are they conservative? You want to hire someone who is exactly like yourself. If you're aggressive and you like to take an aggressive strategy on your tax return, you want to make sure that an accountant is willing to look at that without disobeying the laws.
Some of the most common areas where people forget their expenses are in the materials or the supplies that they might pay for. If they're a contractor for instance - they may run to a local hardware store and pick up some small supplies they need for a job, but they forget to keep the receipt, or forget to put it in that box or envelope at the end of the day. As well, there are office expenses, or meal and entertainment expenses. If they take employees out to lunch, or pay for a dinner with current clients or customers, and then they forget that, "Oh, that was something that I need to go ahead and deduct on my tax return".
Therefore, if you want to save on taxes, one of the key tax preparation methods in Las Vegas is to keep track of the expenses that you pay.
I'm a Las Vegas CPA who just came out of a meeting with a bunch of students. They were down at a recruiting visit down in Southern Utah. And one of the things we told them when they're looking for an employer is to "find your fit". And that is an absolutely important tip I can give to any business owner as well: When you're looking for an advisor - your attorney, your insurance agent, your Las Vegas CPA - these are people you're going to have to trust an awful lot with the personal details of your life and with the success of your business in some case, and so you need to take the time to interview people and see whether you relate to them, and whether it's somebody that you can trust, someone you can get on the phone and talk to, and someone who shares your values.
Maybe they have a similar appetite for risk. You may not be as cutting edge as your CPA wants to be on taxes, and that may make you uncomfortable. Or, your CPA may be more conservative than you want to be. So it's very important that you spend the time on this relationship at the front, because it's much easier to spend it then, than to change CPAs every 2 or 3 years. So, "find your fit" when choosing a Las Vegas CPA.
As a Las Vegas accountant, one of the things that I get asked a lot is, "What should you ask an accountant in Las Vegas if you are considering hiring one?". One of the most important things is there licensing (their credentials, exactly what they have other licenses in). You should contact their state board of CPAs and the American Institute of accountants to see whether or not there has been any disciplinary actions put against them, and also check out their licenses - they usually do have them posted in their offices.
One of the other things that you should ask a Las Vegas accountant about is their fees: how do they charge you, is it an hourly billing, is it a value billing, what exactly will they charge you for phone calls, what type of meetings can you have with them on a regular basis? You want to make sure that you understand that before you hire an accountant. Additionally, you want to ask them how you could reduce your fees. Do you charge me less or more if I bring in a box of receipts? Could I possibly do some of the work and keep my fees at a minimum? One of the last things that I would consider asking them is 'what their strategies are with their financial statements and their tax returns?'. Are they aggressive, or are they conservative? You want to hire someone who is exactly like yourself. If you're aggressive and you like to take an aggressive strategy on your tax return, you want to make sure that an accountant is willing to look at that without disobeying the laws.