CURRENT EDITION

Summertime Marketing in Your Tax & Accounting Firm
Tax season is prosperous, summer is dry until extension season. Do you find yourself in that cycle? Clients are “easy” to get during tax season when taxes are top of mind. Then the direct deposits go dry by June, and you are looking for what’s next. Stop the search, you don’t have to add another service. You need better marketing to highlight the service that you offer and specialize in. This will allow you to have a predictable client pipeline. You can do tax preparation, planning, and or representation all year long.
READ MORESegmenting Your Prospects: A Targeted Approach to Business Development
In the accounting field, where client relationships and personalized service are paramount, understanding and segmenting your client base must be a priority. As the accounting landscape evolves and clients diversify, a tailored approach to client segmentation becomes indispensable. Clients are no longer interested in a one-size-fits-all approach to sales and marketing. Therefore, as an accountant and a firm owner, you must adopt a targeted approach tailored to different customer segments' unique needs and characteristics. In this article, I will delve into the importance of client segmentation within accounting firms and provide insights into implementing this strategy so you can drive growth and enhance your client satisfaction.
Read More10 Ways CTPs Can Use the New Adobe AI Assistant to Analyze PDFs
Launched as a beta in February 2024, the Adobe AI Assistant is a generative AI-powered conversational engine feature within Adobe Acrobat. The app enables you to “chat” with PDF files in natural language and unlock new levels of document productivity. The AI Assistant can be likened to a knowledgeable librarian for digital documents. Just as a librarian assists you in finding the right books, navigating through complex archives, and answering detailed inquiries about content, the AI Assistant helps users navigate, understand, and extract key information from PDF documents. It provides summaries, clarifies content through answers and suggestions, and links to relevant sections, all designed to make your interaction with digital documents as enriching and efficient as a visit to a well-staffed library.
Read MoreWhat Clients Should Know About Innocent Spouse Relief
Some clients marry into tax trouble – and then have no clue how to get out. Others are on the cusp of a separation or divorce and want the uncoupling (at least in the eyes of tax authorities) to start ASAP. Few clients who need the IRS tool called “innocent spouse relief” to unshackle themselves from a spouse’s tax mess (either one that spouse brought to the marriage or one they racked up later) seem to know about it. Here’s what to tell such a client about what this relief does and does not cover and what your client will have to prove before they can qualify – as well as how difficult this relief can be to get.
Read MoreTAX COURT ROUNDUP – June 2024
No dramatic developments this month, but some technical inputs worth noting. A good practitioner is always learning; it's so much better to learn from other peoples' mistakes than one's own.
Read MoreLife Cycle of a Cost Segregation Study
The concept of cost segregation began in the 1960s, when taxpayers argued specific components of real estate had a shorter life than the depreciation tables allowed (39 years for commercial property and 27.5 years for residential real estate). After decades of legal cases, the IRS provided rules and safe harbors in 1996 and 2002. Taxpayers now can use cost segregation and remain compliant with IRS regulations. The real question now is: Does a cost segregation study really reduce a taxpayer’s liability? And if so, by how much?
Read MoreThree Rules for the Augusta Rule
Today I want to talk about the quick question, “Can I rent my home to my business tax free?” The answer is not straightforward. It takes time to look at the specific set-up of that taxpayer's business. It requires a bit of research. You need to know things like: ● What's the fair market value of renting your home? ● How many days will you rent your home to your business? ● Can we substantiate that this rental is ordinary and necessary? Amber Gray-Fenner already did an excellent job of explaining the Augusta Rule in an earlier issue of the newsletter. So, I won't go over all the same points. I want to look at what the Augusta Rule is and how it came about. Then, we'll look at three takeaways for you to remember in your practice and give to your clients.
Read MoreDeath and Taxes: What Clients Should Know About the Death of a Spouse
Even your most financially savvy client isn’t going to think clearly after the death of their spouse. Taxes will be last on their minds. That’s where you’ll come in, nudging them toward tax and money moves both immediate and long-term, from filing returns to budgeting income to taking a step-up in basis. Above all, don’t assume grieving clients know these details or that they’ll remember them in one of life’s toughest moments.
Read MoreLooking Bad for Investors in Syndicated Conservation Easements
Albert Lauber, my favorite Tax Court judge, gave us an opinion in February that paints a detailed picture of the workings of a syndicated conservation easement. In the end, he supports the findings of the Senate Joint Finance Committee that the engine of these abusive transactions is an inflated appraisal. In November, David Gustafson issued an opinion that exposed the financial engineering techniques that promoters engaged in. We’ll take a look at those, but first I would like to give you an overview, because we may need that to figure out the lessons to be learned.
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CURRENT EDITION

Summertime Marketing in Your Tax & Accounting Firm
Tax season is prosperous, summer is dry until extension season. Do you find yourself in that cycle? Clients are “easy” to get during tax season when taxes are top of mind. Then the direct deposits go dry by June, and you are looking for what’s next. Stop the search, you don’t have to add another service. You need better marketing to highlight the service that you offer and specialize in. This will allow you to have a predictable client pipeline. You can do tax preparation, planning, and or representation all year long.

Observations on the House-Passed OBBB
This article focuses on the OBBB from the House offering a variety of observations to help understand the range of changes, relevance to compliance and planning, process considerations and some unexpected provisions. While the final OBBB will not include all of the House provisions or will modify some of them, there are lessons to learn to understand the tax legislation process and results now and in the future.

Client Retention as a Prospecting Strategy: Turning Current Clients into Referral Sources
In the competitive accounting world, where trust and reliability are paramount, client retention is not just a success metric—it’s a vital strategy for sustainable growth. For Certified Public Accountants (CPAs), accountants, and bookkeepers, maintaining a solid relationship with existing clients can unlock new business opportunities, turning satisfied clients into powerful referral sources.