Brotman Law Featured in Inc. Magazine - Fastest Growing Law Firm in California

10 Common Tax Filing Mistakes And How To Avoid Them

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Key Takeaways

  • Mistake No. 1: Miscalculations in Math
  • Mistake No. 2: Errors in Deductions or Credits
  • Mistake No. 3: Name Errors
  • Mistake No. 4: Incorrect Account and Routing Numbers
  • Mistake No. 5: Failing to Report Additional Income

It is time once again for that annual rite of passage for every taxpayer: getting the tax return and payment to the IRS on time.

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Frequently Asked Questions About Tax Attorneys

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The only people who like taxes are those who collect them, right? But every year most taxpayers fulfill their civic duty, knowing that their dollars support federal, state and municipal infrastructure, healthcare, social security, schools and universities, our veterans, national defense and more. 

Even so, most people still dislike paying taxes, but some of us are outright afraid of the tax agencies, both federal and state, and not without reason.

The questions that weigh heavy on the minds of those who are dealing with tax problems usually include whether to hire a tax attorney or a CPA, when to hire a tax attorney, and how to find a good one.

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How to Work with Brotman Law on Your IRS Collections Case

How to Work with Brotman Law on Your IRS Collections Case

Key Takeaways

  • The biblical tale of David and Goliath is certainly inspiring and does much to instill the belief that you can overcome any opponent, no matter how much they out-size, out-weigh or out-spend you.
  • Unfortunately, this is not a fair comparison to use for someone going nose-to-nose with the IRS.
  • I am not saying that you should just roll over and play dead if the IRS informs you that you owe taxes with penalties and interest tacked on.

The biblical tale of David and Goliath is certainly inspiring and does much to instill the belief that you can overcome any opponent, no matter how much they out-size, out-weigh or out-spend you.

Unfortunately, this is not a fair comparison to use for someone going nose-to-nose with the IRS.

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How to Get Free Taxpayer Assistance

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It is my firmly held belief that everyone should have access to good, top quality legal representation. However, even by charging the absolute minimum that I can for legal services, there are some taxpayers for whom even my services are too costly.

Although I take on and handle a significant amount of pro bono projects during the course of the year, I wanted to provide more information for those looking to get free taxpayer assistance and the ways to go about getting assistance. You can get help through a number of avenues, either through the Internal Revenue Service or other third parties.

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Common Tax Issues for Small Businesses

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Key Takeaways

  • Business Ownership and Tax Considerations
  • Underpayment of Taxes and Poor Record Keeping
  • Misclassification of the Business and Related Issues
  • An Ounce of Prevention

Small businesses, of which there are thousands in California, spend the highest percentage of time of any business entity preparing and submitting taxes. Federal, state, and local tax requirements are extremely complex and change every year.

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Tax Help for Seniors: How Taxes Change as You Get Older

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Taxes may be certain, but they are not immune to change. As you age, your tax situation will alter. Understanding the myriad rules around senior deductions, eligibility for various credits and the ways in which pensions and investments are taxed can be daunting, but a little knowledge goes a long way to ensuring that your golden years are comfortable and financially secure.

Key Takeaways

  • Introduction
  • Deductions
  • Credits
  • Income
  • Investments

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What Is the Difference Between a Tax Attorney and a CPA?

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So we get asked this question a lot and a lot of taxpayers struggle in understanding what I do versus what a CPA does. In our firm we have tax attorneys who are both. We have tax attorneys who are attorneys and they are CPAs as well. Just to highlight why somebody would do that I want to draw the distinctions between what a CPA is and what a tax attorney is. So let’s start with a CPA. CPA stands for certified public accountant and what a certified public accountant is by definition is they’re somebody who is certified to provide financial statements and to the public that is what the term CPA stands for. When you go to accountant school and when you go through the process of getting your CPA license, the focus of your CPA license is naturally on reporting and preparing financial statements. It’s taking information, translating it to a financial statement and having the public have confidence in that statement. So within that process the focus is really on compliance. Accountants make sure that things are filled out and that they’re compliant so that’s why you go to an accountant to prepare your taxes every year. The accountant is charged with taking your information, putting it on a tax return, making sure that tax return is accurate and turning it in and that’s the basic function of what an accountant does. On the other side of things attorneys are focused on advocacy. When we go to law school, we learn about the law. We learn about how to argue, then learn about how to apply facts along and so there’s more of a back-and-forth with an attorney then there is in a compliance setting. With compliance, you are just focused on getting the right answer. On the advocacy side, oftentimes there’s not always a right answer so the two schools of thought are different between compliance and advocacy. Now that’s not to say that CPAs don’t advocate for their clients, although it’s a very rare characteristic.

Key Takeaways

  • So we get asked this question a lot and a lot of taxpayers struggle in understanding what I do versus what a CPA does. In our firm we have tax attorneys who are both. We have tax attorneys who are attorneys and they are CPAs as well.
  • A lot of CPAs just focus on filling out the forms and getting it done and you’d be surprised – the CPAs that we work with in our firm have that advocacy focus, they’re focused on saving their clients money.

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Brotman Law Featured in Inc. Magazine - Fastest Growing Law Firm in California