Practice Management

The Internal Revenue Service has added new lines to the Schedule M-3 for research and development costs and Section 118 exclusions.

Cohen, Doren, Addeo & Co. has joined Fazio, Mannuzza, Roche, Tankel, LaPilusa LLC, expanding Fazio Mannuzza’s presence in New Jersey to Jersey City.

The Internal Revenue Service has released a draft Form W-2 for 2011, which employers use to report wages and employee tax withholding.

The Internal Revenue Service has issued final regulations under a law change that will require reporting of basis and other information by stock brokers and mutual fund companies for most stock purchased in 2011 and all stock purchased in 2012 and later years, making it easier for investors to report their gains and losses next year on their tax returns.

The average U.S. state sales tax rate increased to a record average of 5.52 percent in the first nine months of 2010, the highest level since at least 1982, according to a new report.

The Internal Revenue Service continues to prepare the rollout for the registration of return preparers, with the first step being Preparer Tax Identification Numbers, followed by testing and continuing education requirements. Although the rules with respect to practice before the IRS as set forth in IRS Publication 947 are not changing, there continues to be a great deal of confusion, which will only be increased by the new registration requirements.

CALIFORNIA

The numbers tell the story and it all boils down to time management. If you bill for your time directly or on an hourly basis, diligent timekeeping is something you must do in order to get paid for all of the work you perform for clients. If you bill on a fixed-fee basis, accurate time records help determine how profitable specific clients and projects really are - and if they're unprofitable, time records help us realize the viability of a client for the long term.

When given the opportunity to get in front of a prospective client, the expected and unfortunate inclination of most accountants is to try to impress the client with how great their firm is, and make every effort to convince them to engage.

IRS RELEASES HEALTH CARE TAX CREDIT FORM