If you’re searching for tax and accounting services near me and aren’t finding what you need near you, a solution to your problem is available if you keep reading. For tax services San Diego and the surrounding communities can depend on, you need an experienced professional willing to provide courteous, personalized service.

So which is the bookkeeper and tax preparer San Diego businesses can trust? Which company can provide the service of a CPA San Diego can rely on without the high cost of an accountant? The answer may surprise you.

Skill, Technology And More

The right bookkeeper brings together a strong background with numbers and the best technology to provide customers a top-level experience at a price that makes sense. Expect the bookkeeper you choose for your small to mid-sized business to help you decide between single-entry and double-entry bookkeeping and use QuickBooks or a similar software package to keep track of credits, debits and provide the information necessary for tax preparation. The right choice also has references and testimonials.

Services in addition to tax services in San Diego that you can expect from your CPA alternative and bookkeeping tax preparer include:

• General accounting and bookkeeping
• Record-keeping to help prevent and deal with IRS tax problems
• Advice and consultation services
• And more.

What You Should Expect From Your San Diego Bookkeeper And Tax Preparer

When you make a smart choice of bookkeeper to handle your records and tax prep, you should expect:

An enjoyable experience. Above all else, the right person to work with you is one that’s pleasant, gets along with your team and understands your needs. You won’t have to worry or micromanage when you make the right choice.

Smart advice. In addition to efficient and effective transaction recording and tracking, expect a good bookkeeper to provide useful, honest advice in good times and bad. Your bookkeeper can help you see potentials risks and avoid them if possible.

Professional expertise. An experienced professional should know how to manage your accounts with skill and precision. And more than that, they should be experts at navigating the technology necessary to keep books in today’s world.

When you depend on your San Diego bookkeeper for your tax preparation services as well, expect an updated understanding of tax compliance and the latest tax regulations that impact your business. Regulations and expectations change every year and sometimes multiple times within a year, and you don’t want someone whose knowledge is from last year or worse.

Your bookkeeper should also provide the flexibility of handling services when and where you like, compliance with privacy laws and be open to your questions, feedback and concerns. No matter what’s happening in your business, theirs or the world, you should also expect smooth and secure communication too.

Will The Best Choice Surprise You?

So what’s the best choice for tax services San Diego businesses can afford and rely on? What’s the smartest company to choose when you need an alternative to the expensive CPAs who operate in San Diego? Which tax preparer can meet the needs of your San Diego business?

Perhaps the answer won’t surprise you at all. It’s AD Bookkeeping Services, a company founded on a decade and a half of professional experience that you can put to work for you. Affordable monthly packages are available at a flat rate so you always know what you’re paying.

When you put your business finances and tax preparation in the hands of AD Bookkeeping Services, you’re making the best choice for affordability, quality of service, professionalism, friendliness and flexibility. You’re also making the best choice for the future of your business.

Today’s gig economy brings with it good news for independent contractors considering what’s deductible and what isn’t: Write-offs for 1099 contractors abound. If you’re a freelancer, you need to be in the know so you can get all the deductions you deserve.

An independent contractor is anyone – person or business – that offers goods or services to some other entity, either under written contract or through a verbal agreement. This category of workers includes professionals from web designers and writers to real estate agents, truck drivers and more. All these people and many others need to keep invoices and receipts to prove deductible expenses at tax time.

What Can I Deduct As A Contractor?

So what expenses can I deduct as a 1099 contractor? The list is long. It generally includes all the ordinary and necessary expenses related to doing your work. Some of the specific items an independent contractor may be able to deduct are:

• Advertising and operating expenses, including web hosting costs and other internet services, phone lines, business cards and other promotional expenses
• Materials and supplies, including electronics, cameras, printers (depreciation rules may apply to some of these) plus pens, paper, ink greeting cards sent to customers and business-related newspapers, magazines and books
• Home office expenses, as long as the room or area is not used for any other purpose and you follow the rules about what percentage of home expenses like mortgage, homeowner’s insurance, repairs and remodeling can be deducted for a home office
• Travel, including hotel, airfare and usually 50 percent of meal costs (but remember that more days must be spent for business than pleasure and that this category may be heavily scrutinized during an audit)
• Coffee and snacks provided to employees while working when there is a business reason why you need to be eating at work (and there are rules on whether food, which does not include meals, is 50 percent or 100 percent deductible)
• Limited business entertainment if food is included in the price of the ticket, but itemization of what the ticket includes is required (most business entertainment is not deductible)
• Cleaning services for a home office or rented office, and this can sometimes include paying a reasonable amount to a relative to do it
• Childcare for each employee up to $5,000, which can benefit you personally if you have children and your spouse is your employee
• Medical costs, including health insurance, which is deductible for all independent contractors, as well as out-of-pocket costs for glasses, hearing aids, medications and more
• Retirement plan contributions when you choose the right plan and contribute according to specific rules
• Car mileage using the standard deduction or itemizing actually expenses like tolls, parking fees, repairs and more (as long as you really do travel by car as part of your work).

Remember, the IRS won’t correct your return if you fail to claim a deduction to which you’re entitled. Instead, you’ll simply pay more.

A Bookkeeper Is A Great Idea

Every small business – no matter how small – can benefit from the assistance of a bookkeeper in determining what expenses you can deduct as a 1099 contractor and in keeping track of your independent contractor expense account. To make sure you’re on the right track with your deductions, be sure to do your own research or let a bookkeeper or other professional help you make smart decisions. The most important thing is to keep good records, no matter who handles them.

For San Diego bookkeeping services tailored to meet the needs of your business, reach out to AD Bookkeeping Services now. It’s the right decision to keep you well-organized and help you stay on the right side of tax intricacies.

The IRS online tax payment system is called the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System – or EFTPS. All new businesses get an EFTPS letter through the mail in a real IRS letter envelope. Your business will get this letter even if you aren’t required to make estimated tax payments or pay electronically. The letter contains valuable information you may need if you need to make payments in the future.

You will need to set up an EFTPS account if you have to pay estimated tax, corporate tax, self-employment tax, payroll tax or excise tax. Keep in mind that this system should not be confused with Direct Pay, a system that is for paying individual taxes. Both individual taxpayers and companies can use EFTPS for certain tax payments.

So what is EFTPS? It’s an electronic system for paying taxes – which is something businesses must do in many cases, including if they pay salaries or wages to the owner or any employees. If your business expects to owe $1,000 or more in federal income tax this year, you may need to make quarterly estimated payroll tax payments through this system.

Wondering if the letter or email you got is real? Keep reading. You can also visit eptps.gov to reach the EFTPS site directly or search for it at irs.gov.

The IRS And Email

As we said, a letter in the mail in a real IRS letter envelope when you first open a business is to be expected and is likely real. If you get an email, however, you have reason to be suspicious. The IRS does not make unsolicited contact with people or businesses by email, text message, social media or similar means. Any email you receive from the IRS regarding problems with your EFTPS payment is likely bogus. An EFTPS letter by email isn’t something you should expect or interact with.

In fact, the IRS has a notice on its website (although not a recent one) that warns of scam emails related to the EFTPS. These emails say that tax payments made through the system have been rejected and ask the recipient to visit a bogus link to report the problem. When you click the link, according to the IRS notice, malware may infect your computer. This malicious software sends personal information, including financial information already on your computer, to the scammer.

In this case and as always, you should not click on any links or open any attachments in emails that claim to be from the IRS, EFTPS or the Financial Management Service, which is the U.S. Treasury department that operates EFTPS. You should also resist the temptation to reply to this or any unsolicited email since this simply verifies to the scammer, who may have sent millions of emails, that your email address is active. That might open you up to more fake emails or other scams.

Get A Professional On Your Side

If you get an email from the IRS, your best bet is to ignore it. If you get a real letter in a real IRS envelope, you’d better take a look. It might be your EFTPS letter, which is something you should expect.

If you’re still wondering “What is EFTPS?” or are confused about any aspect of your company’s financial or tax situation, you need expert help from a bookkeeper who knows about these things. For bookkeeping San Diego small and mid-sized businesses can depend on, contact AD Bookkeeping Services. You’ll speak with an experienced professional who can provide unmatched skill in bookkeeping services and advice that can help you grow and track your business.