The Blog

I woke up Monday morning, after the wonderful holiday weekend … and I had a realization: there are only THREE days left in 2015. Obvious, yes … but it carries implications for your wallet, if you are wise with these days. The VERY good news is that we’ve been able to clear out four appointment slots this week for fast-acting … Read More

It’s Monday the 21st today, as I put this post together. We’re hard at work, digesting all of the tax provisions in the huge omnibus spending bill (http://onforb.es/1QFX5J5) that was passed on Friday. We’ll be taking a few days to break, and be with our families for some holiday time together, but as you may understand, these next few months … Read More

I’ve finally discovered the real secret of these holidays. It is the one common thread through every faith this time of year, and it is one of the most unifying factors in our Western culture. Shopping. I say that with a good helping of eye-rolling. Whichever faith tradition you hold dear, it’s likely to have become extremely commoditized and “product-ized” … Read More

Well, communication and requests are now coming across my desk in a way that we haven’t seen for a few months, but I’ve come to expect it for this time of the year. We are in our intense “preparatory” stage for tax season AND so are our (smarter) clients. I absolutely love what I get to do … but it … Read More

As is my habit, this post is being composed on Monday … and today happens to be good ol’ Cyber Monday. I say “good ol” because, well, the days are long gone when the actual rationale behind it was true: remember — everyone had dial-up at home, and Monday was the first day after the holiday weekend that most people … Read More

You know how Thanksgiving as a federal holiday got its start, don’t you? I’m not talking pilgrims here … but more about why we all have a few days off this week. Smack in the middle of horrendous civil war, President Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday of November as a national day of Thanksgiving which should take place every year. … Read More

I think there are two components to our shared reaction about the events in Paris on Friday. On one hand, we have the grief… Seeing those gruesome images, imagining the regular families whose lives have been forever upended … it’s all so immeasurably sad. And what makes it worse, I think, is wondering what we are to do in response. … Read More

So, last week I wrote you about your holiday spending, and making sure that you don’t find yourself caught up in all the merchandising and hooha — specifically of the retail variety. (Let’s ALL get caught up in the transcendent beauty of the season, shall we?) And it made me think about some clients that I’ve walked with over the … Read More

It’s hard to believe, but Thanksgiving is THIS MONTH. The October Classic is in the books (congrats to the KC Royals), and parents everywhere are enjoying their parental “Candy Tax“. It feels like a seasonal page has truly been turned. And right around the corner will come the Christmas and other winter holidays. Stores are already stocking their shelves with … Read More

Many people think that preparing taxes for a living is a somewhat easy assignment. Bless their hearts. It’s NOT just “filling in the boxes” and having the spreadsheets or the software spit out the results. I WISH it were so simple. There’s three big reasons why it’s much harder than that — even for many professionals. 1) The tax code … Read More