Celebrating 35 YEARS
of EXCELLENCE
Coralie S. Cross, CPA is here for
the people of San Ramon
Tax Prep & Planning
While a computer software program may help find deductions, there’s no substitute for the quality of service and advice you’ll receive from an experienced tax professional.
Here are a few of the benefits you’ll reap when using our service:
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We’ll prepare all of the appropriate forms and record all figures and calculations accurately.
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We’ll make sure that you receive all of the deductions and credits to which you are entitled.
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We’ll file your return electronically to speed delivery of refunds.
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We’ll work with you to adjust your payroll withholding to make sure you send the right amount to each tax authority – no more, no less.
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We’ll show you how to adjust your finances to take advantage of tax benefits on future returns.
Are you a sole proprietor? Have you been so focused on your business that you haven’t paid close attention to your books? No worries! We'll tidy things up and prepare your Schedule C as part of your personal income tax return. Then we'll help you set up an easy system to keep your books current going forward.
Strategies
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Splitting income among several family members or legal entities to take advantage of lower income tax brackets
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Shifting income or expenses from one year to another when it can yield a lower tax rate
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Deferring or eliminating tax liability through use of tax-advantaged investment vehicles
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Tracking all expenses eligible for itemized deduction
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Taking advantage of tax credits
- Adjustment of payroll withholding
Tax Problems
Even if you have not been targeted for an IRS Audit, you may be aware of problems that will catch up with you eventually. Common examples include:
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Missed tax filings for one or more years
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Insufficient funds to pay the tax liability when due
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Failure to remit payroll taxes
We’ll work with you to review your prior tax years and make sure that all of your tax filings have been submitted accurately. If you don’t know what’s included in your tax record, we’ll help you get copies from the tax authorities without raising any "red flags." We'll assess your tax liability and the associated interest and penalties. Then, we’ll work with you on an approach to negotiation.
It is far better to face your problems than to wait for them to land on your doorstep. We’re here to help in any way we can.
Resolution Strategies
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Settle your tax debt for less than the full amount owed if the tax authority deems your offer to be the most they might collect within a reasonable time period.
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Payment Plan to resolve debt. This approach protects you from asset seizure to settle your obligations. It may be possible to secure relief on penalties and/or compound interest.
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The IRS provides Innocent Spouse Relief when for an aggrieved party when his or her spouse or former spouse failed to report income, reported income improperly, or claimed improper deductions or credit.
- If circumstances do not lend themselves to a negotiated settlement, then it may be necessary to seek protection through a Bankruptcy filing.
International Tax
Within the recent past, international tax issues were important to a rather small circle of tax specialists, primarily the tax practitioners of multi-national corporations and their antagonist a small group of government officials. As countries around the globe have increasingly become integrated through technological breakthroughs, and the proliferation of international trade among small to mid-sized companies, these issues have grown. With this increase, international tax has become increasingly important to taxpayers, governments, and practitioners alike.
The growing importance of international tax issues is matched by its difficulty. International tax rules are the most technically difficult provisions within a country’s tax system. Tax practitioners must be acquainted with an ever-increasing amount of information including international treaties, monetary law, trade law, and tax schemes used to minimize taxes. Moreover, the problem is exacerbated when the practitioner must also be thoroughly acquainted in other areas of tax law noted for technical complexity. Areas such as thin capitalization rules, indirect foreign tax credits, and controlled foreign corporation rules are a few of the most technically challenging areas of tax law.
The intersection of domestic tax law and foreign tax law is one of the most challenging features within the international tax practice. This juncture of domestic and foreign law often extends beyond tax into an area that has a corresponding legal issue to resolve before a tax consequence can be determined.
For more information about specific your tax issue and how they may impact another countries tax law please contact me via this website.
Small Business Accounting
Businesses of all shapes and sizes depend on accurate, insightful financial information to manage their day-to-day operations, capitalize on opportunities, and sustain profitability. We lend our expert support to meet your accounting needs so that you can focus your time and energy on building a strong business.
We’ll create and maintain a chart of accounts to capture all of your financial transactions, provide the right information to manage your business, and prepare federal, state, and local tax returns. Through periodic internal audits, we’ll identify and resolve discrepancies (e.g., double billings, unrecorded payments) to ensure that you have a complete and accurate picture of your financial position.
While a clean set of books is a key objective for every accountant, it’s also important to match the accounting records with the monthly bank statements. Our bank reconciliation services ensure that every deposit and withdrawal aligns with entries into your accounting records. This assessment enables us to identify lost deposits, lost checks, unauthorized transactions, and inappropriate bank fees. It triggers investigation into any fraudulent activity (identity theft, forgery, embezzlement, etc.), and expedites restitution. And it gives you a clearer picture of your cash position for addressing planned outlays and investments.
When you use our professional accounting services, you get more than a collection of records and reports. You get the benefit of our skills, experience, and expertise. We’re happy to invest the time to make sure that you understand and utilize all of the information we provide. Call us whenever you have a question or concern.
QuickBooks
Set-Up & Conversion
Although QuickBooks is very easy to use, it takes a bit of expertise and foresight to design the system for maximum benefit and effective control. Moreover, a new system set-up or conversion presents the opportunity to address long-standing gaps, inefficiencies, and annoyances. You don’t do it often, so you might as well do it right!
Although we tailor each engagement to each client’s needs, here is a list of QuickBooks Set-Up services that we offer:
- Enter transactions since the start date using tools to import multiple transaction types and large quantities of data
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Assess accounting and reporting requirements
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Establish hardware and software specifications
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Install the accounting software
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Design and implement the chart of accounts, loading balances as of the start date
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Record outstanding accounts receivables and payables
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Enter ending statement bank balances and outstanding checks, deposits
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Compare trial balances from the old and new systems to ensure that all data was transferred correctly
Tune-up & Training
A QuickBooks Tune-Up is a great way to prepare for tax time, an important meeting, or a periodic review of your business strategy. In a few short hours, your QuickBooks professional can review transactions, clean up stray entries, balance the general ledger to subsidiary ledgers, and adjust the chart of accounts to reflect changes in your business model. A Tune-Up can help you make better decisions, minimize the ill-effects of undetected errors, and keep money flowing in the right direction,
Whether you’ve engaged us to help with your implementation or you simply need a refresher course on the system, we can provide training on using QuickBooks to manage your business. We conduct sessions at your location and adapt the course content to your set-up and business issues.[No need to spend time on capabilities that you won’t use!] We’ll spend as much or as little time as you need on each topic, and respond to any questions and concerns.
Estate & Trust
· How should I invest for retirement?
· How should I invest to pay for my children’s college?
· Should you have a will?
· Should you have a trust? (Revocable or Non-Revocable)
· Should you gift items to your children?
· What are the tax consequences of inheriting assets?
· Do you need long term care insurance?
· Should you buy an annuity?
· Should you buy life insurance?
· Is a conservation easement the right solution?