Category Archives: General

General

Do You Have A Job Or A Business?

Posted on
by

Most people that start their own businesses do it because they are good at what they do, they enjoy it, and want the challenge and opportunity to put their individual spin on what they do every day.  In addition, many believe that owning a business leads to having more freedom both financially and in how you spend your time away from work.

Unfortunately, many people who run their own business end up with a job and not a business.  Sure, they probably have employees that work for them, an office or storefront, and their name listed as the owner of the business.  But in many cases, the business would cease to function without the daily interaction of the business owner.  The owner is the only one who knows how to do everything, and insists everything be done as well as they can do it themselves, which usually means they end up doing a little of everything.

One of the keys to building a business that can work well without your constant interaction is to become OK with the idea of having something done 80% as well as you can do it yourself.  Hiring the right people and training them well can put them in the position of being able to do what you’re doing almost as well as you do, which will then allow you to work more on your business rather than in your business.  It will also allow for better balance between running your business and your personal life.

About the author

Brady is the owner of Ramsay & Associates. He specializes in financial statement preparation and personal, fiduciary and corporate tax and accounting.

His professional experience includes seven years' experience for local and national CPA firms before joining Ramsay & Associates in 2006.

He has a Bachelor of Accounting degree from the University of Minnesota Duluth. He is a Certified Public Accountant, a member of the Minnesota Society of CPA's, an Eagle Scout, as well as an active volunteer in the community.

Best Practices for Organizing Your Tax Documents

Posted on
by

As we approach the middle of January, many people have already begun to receive documents used to prepare their taxes.  We see people employ all kinds of different way of organizing documents to bring to us, some are great, while others could use a little nudge in the right direction.

Below are some best practices to use when you’re getting ready to see your tax preparer, or to prepare your taxes yourself.

  • Group documents by type, such as W2s, 1099’s, Mortgage Interest Statements (1098), etc.
  • Remember in some cases that your forms 1099 from investment companies may be included with your year end statement.
  • If your tax preparer provides an organizer, take the few minutes to fill out at least the question and answer section, as well as to check the demographic information to be sure it’s still up to date.
  • Take a few moments and summarize your charitable contributions into two totals, one for cash contributions and one for non-cash items, like clothing and household goods.  Be sure that you have receipts for the donations, but in most cases your tax preparer won’t need to see them.  The same can be done with medical expenses.
  • If you’ve gotten any tax notices during the year that you’ve not provided to your tax preparer, be sure to include a copy with your information.
  • You won’t need the statements from your employer-provided retirement plans, like 401(k) and 403(b) accounts.

By following the few simple tips above, you’ll make the preparation of your taxes, whether by a professional or yourself, a much smoother and more efficient process.

About the author

Brady is the owner of Ramsay & Associates. He specializes in financial statement preparation and personal, fiduciary and corporate tax and accounting.

His professional experience includes seven years' experience for local and national CPA firms before joining Ramsay & Associates in 2006.

He has a Bachelor of Accounting degree from the University of Minnesota Duluth. He is a Certified Public Accountant, a member of the Minnesota Society of CPA's, an Eagle Scout, as well as an active volunteer in the community.

Happy Holidays From Ramsay & Associates!

Posted on
by

As we enter the last week of the year, we’re busy working on year end tax projections and wrapping up other projects before the New Year dawns and brings with it the 2014 tax season.

We wanted to take a moment and thank all of our clients and the great communities of Mahtomedi and White Bear Lake for their support and patronage during 2013.  We’ve had a front row seat for the ups and downs of the economy over the last five or so years, and it’s great to see that things seem to be, at last, turning for the better.

There have been a bunch of changes around here over the last year; we spruced up the building, made a slight change to our name and a big change to our website, which is now found at ramsaycpa.com.  We have a couple new team members, and are poised to make 2014 even better than 2013, which was pretty great already.

From all of us at Ramsay & Associates, have a great holiday and a prosperous New Year.

About the author

Brady is the owner of Ramsay & Associates. He specializes in financial statement preparation and personal, fiduciary and corporate tax and accounting.

His professional experience includes seven years' experience for local and national CPA firms before joining Ramsay & Associates in 2006.

He has a Bachelor of Accounting degree from the University of Minnesota Duluth. He is a Certified Public Accountant, a member of the Minnesota Society of CPA's, an Eagle Scout, as well as an active volunteer in the community.

Tax Breaks for School Expenses

Posted on
by

As summer begins to draw to a close, students of all ages are preparing to head back to school, and parents are shelling out money for everything from school supplies to tuition and fees.  This presents a great opportunity to summarize the various education-related tax benefits that are in place for these and other expenses.  Even though this benefit won’t be seen until tax time, it’s nice to know all this spending may result in some tax breaks.

Minnesota K-12 Expenses

Minnesota offers two different benefits for K-12 expenses; a subtraction (deduction) from income, and a credit against tax.

The subtraction allows for up to $1,625 of K-6 expenses and $2,500 of 7-12 expenses per child to be deducted from income before calculating Minnesota tax.  Some of the items allowed for the subtraction are listed below, though this is not a complete list.

  • Private school tuition
  • Fees for all-day Kindergarten
  • Music lessons
  • Tuition for summer camps which are primarily academic in focus, such as fine arts or language

For some, claiming a credit against tax would provide a greater benefit.  The credit is allowed for those with incomes between $37,500 and $43,500, depending on the number of children in the household.  In this case, the same expenses above that qualify for the subtraction qualify for the credit, with the exception of private school tuition.

As always, we’re here to help with areas like this, as we have been for nearly 40 years.

Keeping Your Best Employees

Posted on
by

As the economy continues to show sluggish signs of improvement, more businesses, including small businesses, are seeing their employees move on to other opportunities.  This can cause a big issue of those leaving are the ones you count on to be the current and future leaders of your business.

Inc. Magazine gives some great methods to keep your best and brightest engaged and present in your organization.