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Income tax season is here. College students and their families should learn about available education tax benefits that can help lower their education costs. On average, families spend $24,000 a year on college. However, just over a third take advantage of federal tax credits and deductions to help make college... Read more

Joining the military means changing your life. Frequent moves, new skills, and overseas deployments all come with the job description. Even taxes change for members of the Armed Forces. That’s why we’re providing military members tax tips. Over the years, the government has created a number of provisions and perks... Read more

The Internal Revenue Service has issued a new consumer alert for tax email scams after noticing an approximate 400 percent increase in phishing and malware incidents so far during this tax season. The emails are designed to trick taxpayers into thinking they are official communications from the IRS or other... Read more

Self-employed workers may have difficulty filing their taxes every year. These workers need to pay taxes on their income in addition to whatever self-employment taxes they might have. However, there are many self-employed tax tips that can help them reduce their tax burdens. Whether workers are fully self-employed or doing... Read more

The IRS is developing a “Future State” plan that it says will transform the way the service interacts with taxpayers. Many parts of the plan may ease the processing of filing returns, the issuing of refunds, and the identification and resolution of problems. But the Tax Advocate Service – an independent... Read more

If you are having trouble paying your bills, it is important to take action sooner rather than later to improve your financial health. Doing nothing leads to problems in the future, whether it’s a bad credit record or bankruptcy resulting in the loss of assets and even your home. If... Read more

Are your social security benefits taxable income? Social security benefits include monthly retirement, survivor, and disability benefits. If you received Social security benefits in 2015, you should receive a Form SSA-1099, Social Security Benefit Statement, which will show the amount. If Social Security was your only source of income in... Read more

Do You Owe the IRS? Not everyone gets a refund. Many taxpayers owe money. It is important to make sure you file timely even though you may not have the money to pay to avoid late filing penalties. There are a number of ways to pay your tax:  Check or money order... Read more

Scammers are preying on unsuspecting taxpayers. Most of these tax scams are obvious . None the less, taxpayers continue to fall victim to scammers every day. Here’s a few simple facts that will protect you from the vast majority of scams: 1) Phone calls, text messages, & emails claiming to be from... Read more

The key, as with hiring any professional, is to ask lots of questions. And not just about how much it’s going to cost. Lots questions also apply when hiring a tax preparer. Here’s a list of 10 questions you should ask before hiring a tax preparer: Do you have a... Read more

A new list of the world’s wealthiest people is here, and it’s really no surprise who claimed the number one spot. Bill Gates, Microsoft co-founder and one of the richest people in history, once again comes out on top, with a net worth of $87.4 billion. Wealth-X, a wealth-tracking website,... Read more

Jesse James Fit client and Flower Mound CPA Beth Williams, Managing Partner at Williams & Kunkel CPAs, placed as a newcomer in the Masters Bikini Division at The National Physique Committee JTF Physique Championships held in Irving on September 26 , 2015. Beth shed the image of what everyone imagines to... Read more

We all know the annual ritual: once January rolls around, you gather your tax documents to file your tax returns by the deadline to avoid back taxes and unfiled returns. Sometimes (or maybe the whole time!) you need an extension. And maybe you don’t meet the extended deadline, and now... Read more

Early in a new year is often the time when would-be entrepreneurs think about going into business for themselves. Self-employment can be a terrific opportunity to be your own boss and do something you love to do. Being your own business also brings with it a special set of tax... Read more

If you start a business, one key to success is to know about your federal tax obligations. You may need to know not only about income taxes but also about payroll taxes. Here are five key tax tips for new businesses that can help get off to a good start:... Read more

How do you know if someone has filed a tax return using your Social Security number to commit income tax refund fraud? And what do you do then? This is happening all the time—the latest General Accounting Office (GAO) report says that IRS paid out over $5.8 billion in fraudulent... Read more

When it comes to starting a new business, most people focus on how they will win and achieve the American dream. But success isn’t something most new businesses experience. It’s important to be aware of entrepreneur mistakes. “The painful truth is that the majority of first-time entrepreneurs who launch a... Read more

Welcome, 2016! As the New Year rolls around, it’s always a sure bet that there will be changes to current tax law and 2016 is no different. From health savings accounts to retirement contributions and standard deductions, here’s a checklist of tax changes to help you plan the year ahead.... Read more

The next-generation worker, aka the Millennial, is a big part of the business landscape and a huge part of the future. In fact, by 2020, Millennials will represent 50% of the workforce and an astounding 75% of the workforce by 2025. It’s important that your company caters to this next... Read more

Managed correctly, workplace conflict can be a positive source of innovation and creativity. Here are five myths about workplace conflict (plus tips on how to harness its power): 1. Conflict is always negative and should be avoided at work. Quite the contrary. When problems are hidden or masked, they aren’t... Read more

Office mindfulness is an increasingly popular notion, with companies such as Apple, Yahoo, Starbucks, and Google using it to their benefit. Google, for example, offers employees a 19-hour course on office mindfulness , which is so popular that thousands of Googlers take it each year. So what exactly is mindfulness? Mindfulness... Read more

The Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015 is a long-awaited legislation which offers a slate of personal and business tax breaks that had expired at the end of 2014. Here’s a quick summary of how the resurrected breaks can affect your 2015 federal income tax return (Form 1040).... Read more

From tax credits and educational expenses to the AMT, many of the tax provisions affecting individuals for 2015 were related to the signing of the American Taxpayer Relief Act (ATRA) in 2012… …tax provisions that were modified, made permanent, or extended. With that in mind, here’s what individuals and families... Read more

Great managers are made by how well they motivate their team members. Here are five proven ways for motivating people on your staff. 1. They take responsibility for the store’s success and failure. Exceptional managers always have a “the buck starts and stops here” mentality. They never blame weather, competitors,... Read more