Is working experience in the tax authority valuable in the private sector for tax accounting?

March 9th, 2010



Any practical work experience in that field or something related is valuable. Why? Because you have some working knowledge of the industry and how things work.

And if you have experience in the same job as say an IRS Auditor, then you could pretty easily transfer that to the private sector, say Corporate Auditor. Auditing is auditing, and the only difference is where you’ve done it and who’ve you audited. Yet the principles are the same.

What is the journal entry for accounting service tax paid for labour charges in our books of accounts?

March 6th, 2010


I should do the service tax related job. Kindly brief m

Don’t know what you mean, so I’ll give you some possibilities:

When you pay your peeps, this is what you enter:

wages expense…1000 (dr)
fica tax payable…77 (cr)
fed withholding…100 (cr)
cash in bank…….823 (cr)

payroll tax expense…277 (dr)
futa tax payable…80 (cr)
suta tax payable…120 (cr)
fica tax payable…77 (cr)

The first entry pays out your cash, the second entry records employer taxes.

(Damn, you’re in India. I should have looked first. The first answer looks right.)

What is the difference between depreciation for accounting purposes, and depreciation for tax purposes?

March 3rd, 2010

Is it because you can write off more in your accounts, than technically claim in your company tax return?

Depreciation for accounting purposes is designed to reflect the economic life of an asset and so spread its value over that life. It is based on the principle of matching income with expenses incurred in the same period – so if you used 1/5 of the ‘value’ or ‘life’ of an asset then the idea is that you charge 1/5 of its cost to that financial period.

The tax regime is driven by political and economic considerations, and as such any ‘allowable depreciation’ (called capital allowances in the UK) is designed to reflect different emphases – such as the desire to encourage investment by certain types of business incertain types of asset. For instance in the 2008 tax year in the UK companies can claim an Annual Investment Allowance of up to £50,000 for investment in assets regardless of their estimated life in one go (put very crudely, and with the usual caveats that things are never quite that simple). In this case, for instance, you can claim back more through the tax allowance than you do via your accounts – in the year of purchase – but less in later years until it balances out.

how to figure out net of tax in accounting?

February 28th, 2010

how to figure out net of tax in accounting

Here’s the formula

Description $ %

Gross Sales 100 100

Cost of Goods Sold 50 50

Gross Profit 50 50

Expenses 40 40

Profit before Tax 10 10

Taxes 5 5

Net Profit 5 5

It’s the percentage of Gross Sales

I need some ideas for a clever, yet professional tax prep/accounting office?

February 25th, 2010

I want something catchy, not boring and normal.

In accounting, catchy doesn’t fly. Accounting is expected to be boring, staid, conservative and professional. I want to puke every time I see the "cyclops" or "money suit" tax prep ads and the ones with the "green presidents" who don’t know an exemption from a deduction have convinced me that that’s a company that I don’t want to do business with. Stick with competence and professionalism.

Can Roth & Standard contributions be commingled? Are there accounting/tax problems with that?

February 22nd, 2010

Earlier this year, I began contributing to a Roth 401(K) that my employer offers, and to which I have made previous contributions (pre-tax). However, in viewing my account, the pre-tax (old 401(k) and post-tax (roth 401(k) investments appear to be commingled.

Is this a problem? Would I ever need to "back" out my Roth contributions?

I’ve searched the IRA website to no avail.

Thanks!

I have a 401k with both pre and post contributions. The statements advise you of both and I have taken out just my post tax contribution with no problems in the past.

In accounting, would Tax be considered a liability?

February 19th, 2010

Taxes are technically accounts payable, right? All "payables" are liabilities. So would tax affect the basic accounting equation? (assets=liabilty + owners equity) Or is tax a completely different thing in the world of accounting? This isnt a HW question btw, i would just like to know

Taxes could be a liability or an asset depending on the company’s results. A tac liabiltiy will ocurwhen the company is profitable and has recognized tax expense. The liability represents the amount of tax owed to the government. An tax asset can exist if the company is losing money and entitled to a tax refund.

How much should an accounting business charge in annual accounting/tax prep fees?

February 16th, 2010

I’m doing a little research on accounting & consulting fees. I work for a nationwide niche firm that has about 1,500 accounting clients (including tax prep) averaging about 700-800K per year in operating revenue. I believe we are undercharging for our services. Our average accounting fees are about 1% of revenue or 7-8K per year on an average client. We do perform some other services like collections, payroll, financial planning, etc. on some clients raising the total amount to 1.2-1.3%. Do those seem like appropriate percentages? I’m curious what type of benchmarks others have in their accounting and tax businesses or if anyone knows of a good source of information for this type of thing. Any input would be much appreciated as I am looking to possibly buy this business in the future.

I can only tell you about business management – taking in all of the money and paying all of the bills, in addition to doing all of the tax work. The percentage that I am going to give you also would include insurance services (taking care of the insurance needs of the clients, such as automobile insurance, insuring valuables, etc.) These firms do not sell insurance; they handle all of the insurance matters for the clients, including dealing with insurance companies, brokers and agents, etc.

I know of firms that charge 5% of earned income – not net income. Some clients are also charged a minimum fee in addition to the five percent. Minimums can vary from $1500 per month and up (sometimes less for smaller clients who may not pay any minimum at all).

I am not familiar with your particular situation, in terms of exactly the types of services that you provide. I can tell you that what I have described above is accurate.

I hope that this helps.

At what level would a CPA with 3 years of corporate accounting (non-tax) experience start out in an IRS job?

February 13th, 2010

I have passed the CPA exam. I do not have tax experience other than doing my own tax returns, but I am very interested in tax and read a lot about taxes in my free time. I would like to apply for a tax job at the IRS, but I am a little concerned about a possible pay cut. At what pay level would someone in my situation typically start? Thanks.

I believe your education and CPA title qualify you for at least GS-7 government job but then again the IRS does not pay too well. They do have great benefits so that may offset the pay cut. Oh, at GS-7 you are probably looking at about $48000 a year.

Do I have to remit/charge sales tax on accounting and tax services?

January 31st, 2010

I’ve decied to start my own business but I was wondering If I needed to charge/remit payments to my state for sales taxes. If so, what would my rate be? I live in Utah.

Services are not taxable. Goods are taxable.

Each state has its own website, on it will be a link to its Board of Equalization, or sales tax department. If you are buying and selling any goods along with your service, apply for a permit. They will send you your SBOE number. You use this to omit paying sales taxes for the business goods you purchase, and you use it to file monthly with the state for any sales taxes you collect on goods you sell.

The rates across the nation are changing now.