Hello and welcome to our new website!
We hope to get our pictures up on the website at some point in the future, but you will get to look at younger, more slender strangers on our home page for the time being. We hope you will notice how the Greeting Party, shown on our Services page, is hard at work resting up for the next tax season.
We plan to use this website blog to communicate to you about issues pertaining to our business and updating you on our continuing education. We will also share any tax articles, blogs, or news that we found interesting and think you might also.
Education News
Because we are Enrolled Agents we have an education requirement. Enrolled Agent (EA) is a credential issued by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Becoming an EA required an exam (a hideous, hideous test neither of us ever wants to take again), a federal background check, and a review of our income tax returns (the three years prior to our passing the Special Enrollment Exam (SEE)). Every three years we have to renew our EA credential. As Enrolled Agents we are required, by the IRS, to obtain 72 hours of continuing education (CE) every three year cycle. This includes a minimum of 16 hours CE per year, 2 of which must be on ethics. The CE must be provided by an IRS approved continuing education provider.
As an aside, we’re assuming mostly non-preparers will be looking at this page. The paragraph above gives you an idea of what the tax documentation preparers get to read looks like. Have your eyes crossed yet? We know that feeling, and the stuff we read is more technical!
For recent education, in September, we attended a seminar on Divorce: Tricks, Traps and Tax Planning Strategies given by Jeff Jacobs for the NY/CT-ATP. Jeff drove home one point – Divorce Attorneys do not know about taxes. If you are divorcing you might want to consult with your tax professional about the things your attorney suggests. What Connecticut and New York divorce law/courts consider alimony does not necessarily square with what the IRS considers alimony. It can make a big difference in your taxes.
In August we completed the CCH IRS Representation Certification Program. Enrolled Agents are one of the credentials allowed to represent tax payers before the IRS, but not every Enrolled Agent chooses to do representation work.
Interesting News to Share
One recent blog that had us both laughing out loud was How To Get Away With Tax Fraud by Kelly Phillips Erb (aka taxgirl). It concerns a Georgia woman who allegedly filed a false tax return with the Georgia Department of Revenue. While many people fudge on their taxes, most aren’t aggressive enough to claim a $94 million refund.
We hope you enjoyed our first blog.
Amy & Rochelle of A Tax Center LLC
