Barry W James Attends Rootworks Winter Conference

December 11th through the 13th Barry W James of BW James LLP attended the exclusive Rootworks Winter Conference in Sarasota, Florida.  The event was held at The Ritz-Carlton of Sarasota and featured special keynote speakers, discussion sessions, open roundtables, and tax season preparation including preparing for the 2013 tax changes as a result of the Affordable Care Act.

As a member of Rootworks, the associates at BW James have the opportunity to stay ahead of changes to the tax code, make use of new technologies, and all things related to the accounting profession, thus enabling them to provide superior service to their clients.

There is no substitute for face-to-face interaction with fellow Rootworks Academy Members to exchange ideas and broaden the scope of the services BW James CPA’s can provide.  For more information about the professionals at BW James visit http://www.bwjames.com

Monthly Sales Tax Due

This is a friendly reminder from the professionals at BW James LLP, that the Sales and Use Tax deadline is December 20, 2013 for those filing monthly.

Texas’ monthly sales-tax collections have seen regular growth, even growing a full 2.8 percent in the month of November, making it the 44th consecutive month to see growth.  Revenues from sectors such as wholesale trade, service industries, and restaurants contributed largely to the most recent increase.

The steady increase of sales tax collections is largely a good sign for the local and state economy moving forward.

Be sure to have your monthly Sales and Use Tax return forms filed by Friday, December 20th in order to avoid interest and penalty charges.  Even if you don’t owe any taxes because you have no sales or only nontaxable sales for the month, you still must file the tax return form by Friday.

For more information about the professionals at BW James visit http://www.bwjames.com

IRS Announces 2014 Standard Mileage Rates

The cost of fueling up has gone down and with it so are the standard mileage rates for 2014.  This past weekend the IRS announced that the standard mileage rates for business, charitable, medical, or moving expenses will decrease 0.5 cents per mile.  The new mileage is as follows:

56 cents per mile for business miles driven

23.5 cents per mile driven for medical or moving purposes

14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations

The rate for charitable expenses remain the same as they were in 2013 – as they have been since the 90’s, while the rates for business, medical and moving expenses are adjusted each year, the rate for charitable expenses is fixed by statute and can only be changed by Congress.

The rates for business miles traveled are applicable on owned or leased vehicles (including vans, pickups, or panel trucks) and can also be used by employers to reimburse tax-free under an accountable plan employees who supply their own autos for business use, and to value personal use of certain low-cost employer-provided vehicles.

The standard mileage rates are used to easily calculate the amount of a deductible business, moving, medical or charitable expense.  Taxpayers also have the option of deducting their actual costs rather than using the standard mileage rates, but no matter which option you choose, be sure to keep good records.

The new rates begin to take effect on January 1st, 2014 and will be on your 2014 returns filed in 2015.


For more information about the professionals at BW James and professional tax and financial planning services visit http://www.bwjames.com

Christmas on Texas Avenue

The 16th annual holiday festival, Christmas on Texas Avenue will take place this Saturday, December 7th.  The longstanding family fun event in Baytown takes place between Commerce and Jones Streets from 10 a.m. thru 6 p.m.

J.R. Austin, deejay from KSHN will be providing music, martial arts groups will put on displays, bounce houses for kids, and much more will be able to be enjoyed.  It’s truly fun for the whole family.

The event was initiated 15 years ago in an effort to revitalize the historic shopping district, Goose Creek.  The event now has a great cache of volunteers, vendors, and craft displays.

On behalf of everyone at BW James we hope to see you all there to kick-off the Christmas season in Baytown!  

For more information about the professionals at BW James visit http://www.bwjames.com 

Keep Your Home Warm for Less

It is winter time in Texas, recently the temperature has dropped and people are turning on the heaters for the first time this year.  Courtesy of BW James here are a few tips you can use to reduce the cost of your heating bill during these cold months.

Turn Down the Thermostat

This one is kind of a “duh” tip, but you’d be surprised how many people forget to do it.  Turning down the thermostat when you head off to work and when you go to bed can add up to at least 16 hours a day and save you about 14% on your heating bill.  In fact the rule of thumb is that you save about 3% on your heating bill for every degree that you set back on your thermostat full time.

Watch Those Fans

In just one hour, a hard-working bathroom or kitchen fan can completely expel a houseful of warm air.  Use them when you need to and shut them off when the job is done.

Close the Fireplace Damper

Heat rises, and an open damper is essentially a hole in the roof.  In fact you should limit the use of your fireplace, since fires actually suck the heat from a room.  Light it when you want the ambience they provide, but really they aren’t viable for heating the house in conjunction with central heat.

Turn Down the Water Heater

Reducing the temperature of the water in the water heater to 115-120 degrees reduces the power use without a noticeable difference when you take that morning shower.

Open the Curtains

When the sun is up, let it in.  Opening curtains and shades on south-facing windows during the day allows solar radiation to warm a living space, just remember to close them at night to reduce the heat from escaping.

These are some cost-free ways to reduce that heating bill.  We hope everyone stays warm this winter, and hopefully these tips can allow you to do so for less.  

For more information about the professionals at BW James visit http://www.bwjames.com 

Payroll Tax Reports Deadline

This is a friendly reminder from the professionals at BW James LLP that all payroll tax reports are due on October 31, 2013 for the 3rd Quarter.

The quarterly form is Form 941 and is due the month following the end of each quarter and is used to pay federal withholding, employee and employer social security tax, and employee and employer Medicare tax.

Your state unemployment tax is also due quarterly to the Texas Workforce Commission on the same date.  If you are a monthly depositor, then the Form 941 will account for your deposits and there will usually be no additional taxes due.

The Texas Workforce Commission collects your state unemployment tax and is determined by the number of claims for unemployment benefits your past employees have made.  The fewer the claims, the lower the rate.

BW James LLP is available to ensure you have all forms you need and to make sure these are filed completely and on time, October 31st.  For more information about the professionals at BW James visit http://www.bwjames.com 

Government Shutdown Will Delay Tax Filing Season

One of the many unfortunate side effects of the 16 day Government Shutdown is the likely delay of tax refunds for millions of early filers by 1-2 weeks.

The IRS announced Tuesday that they won’t be able to start processing tax returns until at least January 28 and possibly as late as February 4th.  Under normal circumstances the processing would begin on January 21st.  And with congress set to return to budget talks in early January, the possibility of a January Government shutdown could delay refunds even longer.

Despite the Government shutdown and possible processing delay, taxpayers are still required to file their returns by April 15th and companies must still send all W-2’s and other tax forms on schedule.  

The IRS stated the extra time is needed to program and test tax-processing systems which will be used during the 2014 filing season.

Roughly 90% of the IRS was idle during the shutdown, putting the Internal Revenue Service around three weeks behind in preparations.  

The IRS will announce the date it will begin accepting returns in December and stated there won’t be any advantage to filing before that date.  Each year sees many new tax changes and laws, all of which have to be updated in the IRS computers.  There will be a lot of fingers crossed that there aren’t any additional problems between now and January, in order to limit the delays to the current estimate of one or two weeks.

BW James LLP has you covered when it comes to staying up to date on all tax updates and can help keep you prepared for the normal tax deadlines.  For more information about the professionals at BW James visit http://www.bwjames.com 

LLC or S-Corp? 4 Questions to Ask Your CPA

When registering a business as a corporation, you are faced with a tough choice: registering it as an LLC (Limited Liability Corporation) or as an S-corporation. These 2 options are great options for small businesses because registering as a traditional C corporation can be overkill for most businesses that are just getting started. Are you wondering which between the 2 options you should choose? The experts at BW James present 4 things you must ask your CPA to help with your decision-making.

Which system provides a more structured system? – A structured system is necessary for businesses that are on the rise. Generally speaking, an LLC has a more free-willing system when it comes to task delegations while an S-corporation has compliance requirements such as a board of directors, shareholder meetings, annual reports, and the like.

What are the limits when it comes to shareholder jurisdiction? – Each of these corporations holds particular rules when it comes to delegating power between shareholders. For example, one crucial restriction for S-corporations is that only US citizens can be shareholders in an S-corporation. On the other hand, LLC owners are not allowed to use their company or stocks for personal affairs.

How are income and wages allocated to stockholders and employees? – There are crucial differences between an LLC and an S-corporation when it comes to income. For example, the dividing of income shares between shareholders of an LLC is based on the pro-rated shares of each shareholder. How money is distributed is something you must ask your CPA about.

How are taxes paid?  - Understanding how taxes work for each arrangement can be a complicated task to handle. This is where your CPA can come into the picture. For example, stockholders of LLC corporations are required to pay self-employment tax as part of their income while stockholders of S-corporations are required to pay additional state taxes.

For more information about the professionals at BW James visit http://www.bwjames.com