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+++++++++++++++++++ +++ + +++ + +++++++++++++++++++ ❮ ACCOUNTING Tax Season Thoughts AS I SAT THERE signing off on ta x returns for my phy sicia n c l ient s , I sm i le d to see the beneficial results from the ta x planning we started in April of last year. My firm requires a form we call the "T-8" that we complete after preparation of an income tax return. On that form we write down tax sav- ings plans and other important ideas that might benefit the particular client whose return we just finished. The form has dates for follow-up and who is responsible for the follow-up. All members of the firm responsible for that tax return receive a copy the T-8 forms in the month listed for the follow-up. This process is important during the heav y tax season because we can see areas that afford opportunity for future tax returns. Ideas that come from this process save our clients thousands of tax dollars each year. Tax season can be a very difficult time for clients as they learn of taxes due to the IRS. Clients should not be learning of large tax balances due during the tax season. They should have been told of the estimated liability long before then. There should never be any surprises when it comes to taxes if the accountant is diligent about tax planning and the cli- ent cooperates. Even during the tax season there are tax-planning moves to make. If the medical practice retirement plan, such as a new comparability profit-sharing plan that is designed to benefit the key employees, is not established, then a SEP IRA plan should be considered. Neither of these retirement plans requires mandatory fund- ing every year and both can be funded as late as Sept. 15 of the following year. The profit-sharing plan document must be signed by Dec. 31 of the year it is intended for, but the SEP IRA retirement program can be created and funded just before the tax return must be filed and allows for a deduction for the tax year being filed. There were new tangible property regu- lations that affected 2014 tax returns that many accountants may have ignored. The IRS issued Revenue Procedure 2015-20 on Feb. 13, seemingly exempting businesses with total assets of less than $10 million or average gross receipts of $10 million or less for the prior three taxable years from these complex new regulations. However, in studying these regulations and this revenue procedure, as our firm did via in-house seminars and lectures presented by other professionals, we found deduc- tions that could be harvested from these new regulations. There were one-time elections to attach to the 2014 tax returns that will aid taxpayers (whose accountants prepared these elections) in future years and in dealing with future IRS audits. We prepared and filed many of these elections with our clients' tax returns. For those tax returns we extended, we will continue to file these elections when the returns are completed. My after-tax-season thoughts come down to this — every physician needs a CPA who wants to do the best work possible, who studies the tax laws to make that happen and who has the energy to do the work even when tax season seems overwhelming. Jim Rice, CPA, is a shareholder at Sol Schwartz & Associates, P.C. He has 37 years of experience in public accounting. In addition to providing business consultation, financial planning and various other accounting services, Rice specializes in income tax planning and consultation. He works with a high concentra- tion of physician practices and high-net-worth individuals. Contact Rice at jprice@ssacpa.com or 210-384-8000 Ext. 112. ■ By Jim Rice M D N E W S . CO M ■ MD NEWS San Antonio | 1 1