My Tax Guy in Houston LLC

07/25/2023

If you receive a letter or notice from the , make sure to read the letter carefully and take any requested action. Remember, first contact from the IRS usually comes in the mail. Watch out for scammers requesting payment over social media or text message.

Learn more: https://ow.ly/uHVJ50PbW5m

04/17/2023

If you haven't yet filed your extension, try using one of the self-preparation software platforms or search for extension e-file providers (and be prepared to pay a fee)

04/11/2023

The tax filing deadline is swiftly approaching! (A week from today)

While the return is due on the 18th (a long story, but basically because the 15th falls on the weekend), the PAYMENT is due BY the 15th.

This leads us to the age old question - how do I know what I owe if I haven't done my return yet?

Here is a helpful tip -

To avoid penalties and interest, you need to pay in at least 90% of your 2021 total tax bill (unless your income went down).

Look at page two, line 16 of your 2021 personal tax return - multiply that number by .9 (90%). If you've paid in that much, and your income was flat year over year or went up, you can avoid paying a penalty on the 2022 balance IF you submit that payment electronically by April 15, 2023.

DON'T MAIL IN A CHECK.

Easiest way to do it is to navigate to irs.gov/payments, complete the information and have the payment withdrawn from your bank account by ACH. There is no fee to do this.

Be sure to select "2023" and "extension payment (form 4868). You'll get a proof of payment notice which you should keep and provide to your tax preparer, or use that information when you complete your self-prepared tax return.

Pay your taxes, view your account or apply for a payment plan with the IRS.

03/21/2023

Spring has sprung, the grass is riz - I wonder where your tax stuff is….

01/31/2023

01/31/2023

Have you found an appealing video or post on social media about your taxes? Maybe the one with the enthusiastic guy claiming that you can "write off" 100% of your new car purchase PLUS gasoline PLUS insurance PLUS PLUS PLUS?

Just remember - those who can, do. Those who can't have a social media channel.

Ask an actual professional who knows what they're doing, rather than follow some one who's trying to get "clicks" and eyeballs.

A couple of years back, a client who had sold a bunch of crypto was dissatisfied with the tax return we presented to him; he felt he should have been able to use a "like/kind exchange" analysis (which was specifically prohibited). Two years later, he came back to me with an article written by "a tax lawyer" who wrote online that crypto traders should try to use "like/kind exchange" rules to reduce their tax burden from digital assets.

If one scrolled all the way to the end of the article, there was a disclaimer that the author didn't guarantee the IRS would accept that method, and that the reader was running a risk of penalties and interest if the IRS rejected his reasoning.

He wasn't accepting clients.

Today, you can find someone speaking authoritatively about absolutely any subject, and to support absolutely any position. The Earth isn't flat, we did land on the moon in 1969, and you cannot write off 100% of the value of your car in most circumstances.

Don't believe everything you see.

01/02/2023

An reminder to parents who share custody of a child: Only one person may be eligible to claim the qualifying child as a dependent. Avoid errors and delays by learning more today: http://ow.ly/MpCR50K9oUF

12/29/2022

I don't know about your Facebook feed, but mine has been swamped with advertising suggesting that I can avoid paying any tax at all, or even get the IRS to give me money! Don't fall for these marketing traps and this video explains why.

12/28/2022

Many people hear the phrase "tax loss harvesting" and don't know how it works, or how to do it. Here's a short primer about all of that.

12/27/2022

Avoid IRS penalties! The most common penalties are for underpayment or late payment. Understand how those are triggered and how to avoid them in this short video.

12/14/2022

The US Trademark office has issued a trademark on My Tax Guy in Houston (tm)