Telephone: (773) 244-1040 | Facsimile: (773) 244-1041
Albin and Associates Accounting and Tax Services
Income tax planning and preparation
- Albin and Associates Accounting prepares any and all necessary federal and state tax returns for individual and business taxpayers.
- Income tax preparation begins with income tax planning. The best time to begin tax planning is right now! It is critical to understand that to take full advantage of the tax code and to maximize tax deductions, tax planning is an ongoing year-round event We at Albin and Associates Accounting pride ourselves on taking the necessary time to properly interview our tax clients to make sure to uncover all the tax deductions to which they are entitled.
Financial statement preparation
- Money is the very heart of business. It is imperative that management has a current and accurate accounting of the business’s financial activities. Properly prepared financial statements provide that information.
- Financial statements provide the company’s management with information that will assist them with current managerial decisions, future projections, and income tax implications. As the years pass, old financial statements provide historical data that gives management a clear understanding of their industry and helps them recognize trends, maximizing future profits. Albin and Associates Accounting recognizes the professional responsibility to prepare financial statements that provide this vital information. Albin and Associates Accounting makes a strong commitment to our clients and thus becomes a key component of the company’s planning team.
Gift and estate tax planning
- If you gave gifts in 2007 or will give gifts during 2008 in excess of $12,000 to any one individual, or if your total personal assets collectively exceeded $2 million dollars in 2007, you need to begin gift and estate tax planning. With the right gift tax strategy, it is possible during a single tax year to give a gift that exceeds the $12,000 threshold without paying gift tax. However, this requires advanced planning. This area of taxation is volatile, with constant and numerous tax law changes. Planning is an ongoing process of developing a tax strategy and continuously reevaluating that strategy to remain compliant with the gift and estate tax code changes.
- We at Albin and Associates Accounting work closely with our clients and their legal advisors to ensure their assets are protected with the best possible decisions. We want to ensure that our clients retain as much as possible of their hard-earned wealth for the benefit of their family and future generations.
Section 1031 exchange planning and consulting
- Would you like to exchange appreciated business or investment property without paying taxes? Albin and Associates Accounting consults with clients who own appreciated property held for business use or investment. In such situations, “like-kind exchange” defers gain, provided that the property exchanged is the same type of property and will similarly be held in productive business use or investment. This nonrecognition of capital gain is available only to productive business use and investment property. Personal-use property (a home, for example) is not eligible. This exchange allows the owner(s) of appreciated business property to trade up and increase net worth without paying tax on the appreciation.
Monthly and quarterly accounting engagements
- As a business owner, it is imperative that you have available to you the most current and accurate financial data on your business operations. This will aid you in financial decision-making that materially impacts your business. Without this pertinent financial data, it is difficult to be sure of decisions.
- Albin and Associates Accounting will meet with you regularly to provide accurate and relevant financial data, bringing focus to all aspects of your business activities. Through our financial analysis, Albin and Associates Accounting will help you make informed financial decisions.
- Accurate data allows you to plan, detect theft, catch overpayments, and to stop losses before they become unmanageable.
Entity selection planning — critical tax issues concerning business organization
- We at Albin and Associates Accounting advise entrepreneurs, before beginning a business venture, to consult not only their attorney but also their accountants. While the attorney can advise on how the business should be organized to address legal issues, Albin and Associates Accounting can provide insight into taxation for the various entities. The taxation ramifications are extremely different as applied to a C Corp, an S Corp, an LLC or a sole proprietorship.
- There are also significant tax reasons a particular business should not be organized in certain entity structures. Albin and Associates Accounting wants to ensure that our clients are organized to protect themselves in the legal environment and to minimize their tax obligations. We work diligently with our clients’ attorneys on an ongoing basis to ensure that both legal and tax matters are considered when making business decisions.
International tax — resident and nonresident alien taxation
- You may be subject to U.S. taxes if you are a citizen of a country other than the United States and you have resided within the borders of the United States or have earned income from effectively connected sources within the United States. This means that you may be required to file a U.S. tax return. The taxation for resident aliens is dramatically different from taxation for nonresident aliens.
- A resident alien is generally taxed on income from all sources, including sources outside of the United States. The tax rates applied to resident aliens’ taxable income are the same as for U.S. citizens.
- A nonresident alien is taxed on all income effectively connected with the conduct of a trade or business within the United States. The United States does not tax foreign-sourced income, gains or losses unless a U.S. office or fixed place of business is maintained at anytime during the year. The tax rates are less favorable to nonresident aliens, and some income is taxed at a flat 30% rate.
International taxation for U.S. citizens
- If you are a United States citizen, the United States will tax all your worldwide income, regardless of the country you are residing in. This means that you are required to file a U.S. tax return in addition to any foreign country’s required tax forms. The good news is that you do have available special income exemptions, housing deductions, and foreign tax credits that can significantly reduce your tax burden. We strive to take full advantage of the tax code to ensure that our clients who reside abroad pay only U.S. taxes as required.
Business loan assistance document preparation
- “It is better to borrow money when you don’t need it.” -Charles L Albin, CPA
- Obtaining a business loan or line of credit can be burdensome and complicated, with the increasing document verification demands of lending institutions and their underwriters. As a business owner, your time is necessarily devoted to the management of business operations. Albin and Associates Accounting lifts the burden of providing your lending institution with the required business financial documents, reports and analyses. It is excellent business practice to borrow money from your regular bank, to further build two valuable attributes: trust and loyalty. One of the greatest assets any business can have is a secured relationship with a lender.
Litigation support and IRS problem resolution
- Whenever there is a problem in business, there is very rarely a simple and uncomplicated solution. In the legal arena, Albin and Associates Accounting can assist you by consulting with your legal council or by providing expert testimony in a courtroom. In tax issues, Albin and Associates Accounting can provide representation before the Internal Revenue Service, facilitate tax settlements with the taxing authorities, or arrange an IRS payment plan. These are vital services we work diligently to provide in order to protect our clients’ financial interests.
Quarterly employer payroll tax reporting and annual wage statements
- Albin and Associates Accounting can provide a cost saving with what is known as “postfacto payroll service,” preparation of quarterly and annual payroll reports required by federal and state taxing authorities. We also guide our clients in submitting the payroll reports. This service is ideal for small businesses that prefer to save the fees charged by large payroll services and instead calculate and issue their own employee payroll checks. Albin and Associates Accounting receives the payroll register and does the rest. This includes calculating the payroll tax deposit and informing the employer of tax payment due dates to avoid penalties.
Divorce Asset Allocation
- Unfortunately, most people going through the process of divorce rarely consult with their tax accountant before signing a legally binding contract of divorce, which has a significant impact on future personal finances and taxation. A cold, hard reality of divorce is that it primarily has to do with “asset allocation” between two persons. The terms of divorce can be negotiated, but most people leave it to the attorneys to decide their financial fate. In addition to professional legal council needed for guidance through the divorce, assistance from a professional tax and financial advisor can be invaluable. Providing pertinent financial and tax data to our client and the attorney can help effect a satisfactory settlement.
- It is our professional responsibility to advise our clients on the tax implications of various financial decisions and protect them from a “million-dollar mistake.” We at Albin and Associates Accounting believe it is essential that clients be fully informed and that they understand the tax and financial consequences of the negotiated terms of divorce.
Strategic tax consulting
- Albin and Associates Accounting consults with clients on an array of tax and accounting issues. By working together with our clients, we identify acceptable solutions to your unique issues.
- We at Albin and Associates Accounting begin by thoroughly understanding the problem that our client presents. We work with our client to narrow the focus to the most important aspects of the issue. Albin and Associates Accounting analyzes this information and identifies all possible alternatives. Clearly each alternative can have both benefits and drawbacks. It is our task to present the options to the client and explain the pros and cons of each. A complete understanding of what could be gained and what could be lost with each alternative is our goal when helping our clients make these important decisions.
Individual taxpayers often need professional tax return preparation and sometimes, representation before the Internal Revenue Service regarding a previously filed tax return. Albin and Associates is here to help.
Residing abroad? If you’re a U.S. taxpayer residing overseas, you are still required to file and pay U.S. taxes on all of your worldwide income. If you are searching for a professional to review personal financial decisions with you to help identify alternatives and weigh the tax consequence of each choice, contact us at Albin and Associates.
Business taxpayers can require bookkeeping services and/or compiled financial statement preparation, or assistance in preparing quarterly employers payroll tax reports. Albin and Associates can help with these and the computation of the payroll tax liability. Is your business faced with a difficult decision that will have a material impact on its profitability? We can help sort through the quagmire and bring focus to the important aspects of the decision. Our professional analysis of the problem will make the decision an easier one after the important components are identified and examined. Consult with us; you won’t have to make these decisions alone.
We offer a FREE initial consultation for business owners.