Don’t Make These Costly Tax Mistakes

Don’t Make These Costly Tax Mistakes

Don’t Make These Costly Tax Mistakes

Everyone works to get paid. Money is important, no matter what you use it for. If you’re like most people you prefer to use your money how you want. That means you want to give as little money to the government as possible. Paying taxes is our civil duty and our country couldn’t be run without taxes. But that doesn’t mean you should give any more than the law requires.

Save Yourself From Overpaying

The ironic thing is even though many people do everything they can to pay as little tax as possible, many people end up paying more than they should because of simple mistakes. So are you making these mistakes? Are you costing yourself additional income because you don’t know what to look out for when you file your taxes? One way to avoid this is to hire a professional, experienced accounting firm. They take care of the mistakes for you. But there are some things you can do to avoid these mistakes, as well. First, you need to know what they are. Knowing is half the battle.

1. Not Using Tax Advantage Accounts–there are numerous types of accounts that can help you save on taxes, including retirement accounts. In addition, Coverdell ESAs and 529 plans offer nice tax breaks while you pay for educational expenses, including tuition. Health savings accounts offer another great way to lower your tax bill. These are all tax-advantage accounts that can help you save big.

2. Selling Investments at the Wrong Time–investments are a great way to make money. However, a big part of that is selling at the right time. When your investment increase in value you want to sell when tax rates are lower. If you sell your winning stock before you’ve owned for a year you’ll pay a much higher tax percentage: 37 percent. But wait to sell it for a year or longer and your percentage drops to 20 percent. That’s a huge savings.

3. Missing Estimated Taxes–if you pay estimated taxes, it’s vital not to forget them. If you do miss one, then make up for it on your next payment. It’s also important to pay the right amount. You don’t want to underpay, or overpay. So make sure you accurately determine the amount to avoid paying penalties, or overpaying and losing disposable income.

4. Not Keeping Tax Records–this seems like such a simple thing. Yet, so many people don’t keep proper tax and financial records. If you end up getting chosen for an audit the best way to survive it and come out on top is by having a record of everything. Even if you don’t get audited, having all your records safely stored makes the filing process so much easier. Plus, you’re more likely to avoid errors or miss any important payments and deductions.

Trust GROCO With Your Taxes

Of course, these are not all the mistakes people make when it comes to taxes. That’s why it’s always a smart idea to hire a qualified, trusted tax accounting firm to take care of your taxes for you.

 

We hope you found this article about “Don’t Make These Costly Tax Mistakes” helpful.  If you have questions or need expert tax or family office advice that’s refreshingly objective (we never sell investments), please contact us or visit our Family office page  or our website at www.GROCO.com.  Unfortunately, we no longer give advice to other tax professionals gratis.

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Alan Olsen, CPA

Alan Olsen, is the Host of the American Dreams Show and the Managing Partner of GROCO.com.  GROCO is a premier family office and tax advisory firm located in the San Francisco Bay area serving clients all over the world.

Alan L. Olsen, CPA, Wikipedia Bio

 

 

GROCO.com is a proud sponsor of The American Dreams Show.

 

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The American Dreams show was the brainchild of Alan Olsen, CPA, MBA. It was originally created to fill a specific need; often inexperienced entrepreneurs lacked basic information about raising capital and how to successfully start a business.

Alan sincerely wanted to respond to the many requests from aspiring entrepreneurs asking for the information and introductions they needed. But he had to find a way to help in which his venture capital clients and friends would not mind.

The American Dreams show became the solution, first as a radio show and now with YouTube videos as well. Always respectful of interview guest’s time, he’s able to give access to individuals information and inspiration previously inaccessible to the first-time entrepreneurs who need it most.

They can listen to venture capitalists and successful business people explain first-hand, how they got to where they are, how to start a company, how to overcome challenges, how they see the future evolving, opportunities, work-life balance and so much more..

American Dreams discusses many topics from some of the world’s most successful individuals about their secrets to life’s success. Topics from guest have included:

Creating purpose in life / Building a foundation for their life / Solving problems / Finding fulfillment through philanthropy and service / Becoming self-reliant / Enhancing effective leadership / Balancing family and work…

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MyPaths.com (Also sponsored by GROCO) provides free access to content and world-class entrepreneurs, influencers and thought leaders’ personal success stories. To help you find your path in life to true, sustainable success & happiness.  It’s mission statement:

In an increasingly complex and difficult world, we hope to help you find your personal path in life and build a strong foundation by learning how others found success and happiness. True and sustainable success and happiness are different for each one of us but possible, often despite significant challenges.

Our mission at MyPaths.com is to provide resources and firsthand accounts of how others found their paths in life, so you can do the same.

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