Latest News on Denver Accounting & Taxes

Continuing with our series on how to get ahead for your 2015 taxes, we've got some more great tips for the upcoming month of September.

September: September is a great month to take that continuing-ed course you've been thinking about or hone-in on professional skills. It's a great time to sign up for a class at a local community college, as you could be eligible to receive a tax credit on your tuition and/or fees.

If you're self-employed, September is the time for your 3rd quarter estimated tax payment for 2014. That must be in to the IRS by September 15th.

Use the month of September to also rethink your tax help. If you have been unsatisfied with past returns, then please call us at Bloch, Rothman & Associates and we would be happy to provide our services for your upcoming return. We are experienced Denver tax preparers and accountants, and would be honored to have your business!

Call us today: 303.321.7160.
 

At Bloch Rothman & Associates, LTD in Denver, Colorado, we often recieve questions on commonly-used financial and accounting terms and what they mean when it comes to your taxes, bookkeeping, and finances. We wanted to take this time to pinpoint a few of these terms and their exact definition to better assist you when it comes to managing your money.

Amortization - Process of paying off debt in regular installments over a fixed period of time. 

AGI - Adjusted Gross Income. Gross income minus deductions. This is used to calculate your taxable income on Form 1040 when preparing your taxes.

Bonds - Also known as fixed-income securities. Bonds are basically intestments in debt - you are lending money to an entity (usually the government or a corporation) for a period of time at a fixed interest rate. You receive the interest payments over time and get the loaned amount back at the maturity date of the bond. 

Dependent - An individual who is financially dependent on your income, which you can receive a tax credit or exemption for.

FICO Score - This is used by banks and lenders to measure your credit worthiness. The acronym stands for Fair Isaac Corporation. Scores can range from 300-850.

Net Worth - This is the difference between your assets and liabilities.

Stock Options - A benefit to employees that gives them the option to buy their employer's stock at a preset price. This is often used as a management incentive. 

Standard Deduction - An amount based upon your tax filing status that is determined by the government and is used to reduce your taxable income if you decide not to itemize your deductions.

Choosing your filing status for your taxes ultimately determines the deductions and credits you can take. So, what's your best bet? As a single individual, you don't have much choice, but as someone who is legally married, you have two options: married filing jointly, and married filing separately.

These decisions for married couples can be complex to make. Filing together/jointly means you file one return together, and married filing separately means you and your spouse file your own returns and your incomes and expenses are considered separate. 

Filing together as a married couple is a great idea if your income and finances are straightfoward - similar salaries, no large deductions, no plan to itemize. To see if filing separately is for you and your spouse, you shhould both consult an experienced Denver accountant to help you with this major decision. Often times, married filing separately is a good idea if:

1. You have a large amount of deductions
2. You're planning on getting a divorce
3. If your spouse owes the federal government money
4. A lot was earned by either spouse in capital gains and dividends
5. You have unearned income
6. You want to protect yourself legally

These are just some of the reasons why you may want to file separately instead of jointly as a married couple. Regardless, the best rule of thumb is to seek out the help of a Denver tax professional who can assist you in making this complex decision. We specialize in this type of assistance at Bloch, Rothman and Associates in Denver. Call us today and get ahead for your 2015 taxes. Start making complex decisons now so you can be stress-free come tax time. (303) 321-7160.

We ran across an article in an online finance blog/website we subscribe to entitled "11 Things You're Embarrassed to Ask About Taxes" - while we thought the questions were not so embarrassing at all (we get them all the time as experienced Denver accountants), we wanted to take this opportunity to share some of the more common ones we saw in the article and that we hear from clients and potentional clients. The advice from the responder in the article was pretty spot-on, but here's our quick take...

1. Is there a benefit to filing your taxes early?
2. How do I know if I need an accountant?
3. Since I'm a freelancer, none of my taxes are being withheld, so what do I do?

These three questions above are extremely common ones, and yes, there is a benefit to filing your taxes early - you get your refund sooner. Most people can benefit from having a trusted Denver accountant such as us here at Bloch, Rothman & Associates. Especially if you own your own business, are an independent contractor, have stock options and investments, or itemize your deductions. And if you are an independent contractor/freelancer and don't know what to do, definitely seek out an accountant, because you need to withhold a good amount of your income to avoid having to pay the IRS a huge hefty sum with fees and interest at the end of the year.

Contact us today with any "embarrassing" tax questions you may have. We would be happy to lend our Denver accounting and tax expertise. (303) 321-7160.

Continuing with our series on how to get ahead for your 2015 taxes, we've got some more great tips for the third quarter and month of August.

For the month of August: You may be busy on summer vacations and soaking up those wonderful rays as we approach the final month of fun in the sun, but if you asked for a tax-filing extension from the IRS, your deadline is fast approaching!

Spend the month of August gathering the appropriate forms and any outstanding documents and reciepts that you may need in order to file by the October 15 deadline.

Call us today and get ahead for your taxes for 2015: (303) 321-7160