Tag Archives: Mahtomedi

Happy Fourth of July!

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Happy Fourth of July from everyone at Ramsay & Associates. We hope you have a safe and wonderful Fourth!

Happy Fourth of July, Ramsay and Associates, CPA, Mahtomedi, MN

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.

Summer Is Passing Quickly

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Winter this year seemed to hold on extra hard, then we had a month of torrential rain, and just as the weather is getting nice, it’s already time for the State Fair.

This also means that corporate, partnership, trust and estate tax returns that are on extension are due in a mere three weeks. If you’ve not gotten started putting that information together, now is the time to start.

As fall approaches, this is also a good time to consider tax planning for the year. With more than half the year passed, projections now can provide great insight both into how your taxes will look come next April, as well as reveal tax saving possibilities with time to get them implemented.

Lastly, if you have kids going off to college this fall, know that there can be some great tax breaks to dull the pain of college expenses. Keep your receipts for required books and fees, and those, along with a 1098-T that the college will send in January, will allow your CPA to get the most out of education tax savings.

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.

Independence Day – From Taxes?

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If you look at the founding of America, lots of things were at play, but one of the main sticking points was “taxation without representation”. King George III of England had been imposing taxes on all manner of things in “The Colonies” without allowing the colonists to be represented before his government. Anyone recall the Boston Tea Party from high school social studies?  It was a tax thing. Since our founding, taxes and freedom have been closely linked.

Each year, The Tax Foundation, an independent tax policy research firm, calculates what it calls “Tax Freedom Day”.  By Tax Freedom Day, the whole of America has earned enough to pay its tax bill for the year, including federal, state, property and sales taxes. Basically, all the money earned prior to Tax Freedom Day pays taxes, and what comes after is what we get to keep.

In 2014, that date was April 21 on average.  Each state has its own based on its tax rates; Minnesotans worked until April 29th to cover their taxes, while our neighbors in South Dakota cleared their tax burden on just April 4th.

This way of looking at the information puts both taxes and government spending into sharp focus.  You can find the article here to see how your state ranks.

From all of us, have a safe and enjoyable Independence Day!

 

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.

Do You Have A Job Or A Business?

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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

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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.