We’re Looking for a Tax Manager

We’re Looking for a Tax Manager

Job Post: Tax Manager, Douglasville, GA

About the Job:

We seek a talented Tax Manager with a minimum of 3 years of experience in a public CPA firm to join our team at Hawkinson Muchnick & Associates, PC. As a Tax Manager, you will play a crucial role in providing exceptional tax services to our business and individual clients. This position offers growth opportunities, including the possibility of ownership, and promotes work-life balance.

Responsibilities:

  • Provide comprehensive tax planning and compliance services for a diverse client base.
  • Manage and review tax returns, ensuring accuracy and adherence to relevant regulations.
  • Conduct tax research and stay up-to-date with changing tax laws and regulations.
  • Develop and maintain strong client relationships, delivering exceptional customer service.
  • Identify tax planning opportunities and provide strategic advice to clients.
  • Supervise and mentor junior team members, fostering their professional growth.

Requirements:

  • Minimum of 3 years of experience in a public CPA firm, specializing in tax services.
  • Strong knowledge of tax laws, regulations, and compliance.
  • CPA certification is required
  • Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and organizational skills.
  • Ability to work independently and as part of a team in a fast-paced environment.
  • Exceptional client relationship management skills.
  • Working knowledge of UltraTax is preferred

About the Company:

Hawkinson Muchnick & Associates, PC is a leading CPA firm based in Douglasville, GA. With over 30 years of professional experience and deep roots in the Douglas County area, we are known for our stability, expertise, and commitment to our clients. Our team of seasoned Certified Public Accountants and Enrolled Agent ensures that our clients receive top-notch financial planning services.

More than just a traditional tax and accounting firm, our comprehensive and customized strategic Financial Planning packages set us apart, allowing us to provide personalized solutions tailored to each client’s unique needs. As active members of the community, we actively participate in local organizations and take on leadership roles to make a positive impact.

How to Apply:

If you are a dedicated Tax Manager seeking a rewarding opportunity with growth potential, we would love to hear from you. Please submit your resume and a cover letter detailing your relevant experience and why you would be a great fit for our team preferably via LInkedIn Job Post or via this website via the contact form. Let’s start a conversation about your future with Hawkinson Muchnick & Associates!

Note: All applications will be treated confidentially. Only qualified candidates will be contacted for further steps in the hiring process.

About Us: https://hma-cpa.com

Location: Douglasville, GA

Employment Type: Full-time

Salary: Competitive, based on experience

We look forward to reviewing your application and exploring the possibility of welcoming you to our team at Hawkinson Muchnick & Associates, PC.

Mastering Your Credit Card (and Not the Other Way Around!)

Mastering Your Credit Card (and Not the Other Way Around!)

The average credit card balance in America ballooned to $5,910 in 2022. This figure is up 13.2% from the year before according to Experian, and it spells out a worrisome (and costly) trend for consumers. After all, credit card interest rates were on rise throughout all last year and well into 2023, mostly due to changes to the federal funds rate by the Federal Reserve. The fact is, consumers with credit card debt pay an average interest rate of 20.92% as of February 2023, compared to just 16.65% in the second quarter of 2022.

Fortunately, you have the power to use credit cards to your advantage — and to avoid paying exorbitant interest rates altogether. Consider these tips to master credit cards instead of letting them rule over you this year.

  • Plan purchases to carry no credit card balance. While interest rates are incredibly high right now, you can use credit cards without paying for the privilege. Instead of racking up balances and hoping you can afford the bill, use credit cards for planned purchases only — and for spending that’s backed up by money in the bank. Provided you pay your credit card balance in full each month, today’s sky-high interest rates can’t hurt you.
  • Consolidate high-interest debts. You can get a break from today’s high rates by consolidating credit card debt you already have with a 0% balance transfer credit card. Many cards in this niche give you 0% APR on balance transfers, purchases or both for up to 21 months. This gives you time to pay down your balance with zero interest, which can help eliminate debt faster and save money along the way.
  • Earn rewards for your spending. If you’re still using your old credit card from college or haven’t bothered to upgrade in the last few years, you could be missing out. Today’s credit cards let you earn as much as 2% cash back on spending with no annual fee, or you can opt to earn generous rewards for travel instead. Just make sure you carry no balance, as interest rates on these cards can be even higher than regular credit cards.
  • Put your perks to work. Finally, check whether your credit card has other, often unpromoted, benefits. Depending on your card, you may have access to perks like purchase protection against damage or theft, extended warranties on items you buy that come with a manufacturer’s warranty or even travel insurance protections. If you already have access to these benefits or others, knowing ahead of time is the best way to put them to good use.

Credit cards offer convenience and a range of features you can benefit from, but they can either be a blessing or a curse for your finances. Ultimately, your best bet is taking control of your credit card use before it controls you.

Hiring Family Members – What You Need to Know!

Hiring Family Members – What You Need to Know!

Many business owners hire their children, their spouse, or other family members to work in their business. Sometimes this works out well. Other times it causes problems. Here are some of the key pros and cons of putting family members on your payroll.

Hiring your children

Hiring your kids for a part-time job usually has more tax advantages and fewer drawbacks than hiring others. The financial advantage is that if you’re paying your child to do useful work, the business gets a tax deduction for the wages paid. Your child will probably pay little or no income tax, and the after-tax wages stays in the family.

To ensure the wages are fully deductible the child must be doing a real job that helps the business, and the wages must be reasonable for the work performed. Keep detailed records of hours worked and pay salary regularly, preferably on the same schedule as other employees. In other words, treat your child just like any regular employee.

In addition, depending on how your business is organized and the age of your child, you may be able to avoid paying Social Security, Medicare, and unemployment on their wages. To qualify, you must be a sole proprietor or a husband-wife eligible partnership and your child must be under the age of 18.

Hiring your spouse or other relatives

An advantage to hiring your spouse or other relatives is that you have an employee whom you know well, and who may be more motivated or more flexible than a non-family member. And in many family-owned businesses, it’s a powerful way to train the next generation who will take over leadership of the company.

That same familiarity can bring disadvantages, however.

Few families are without some internal or intergenerational conflict, and that can be disastrous if it spills over into the workplace. You must also consider the effect on other employees. Any sign of favoritism or unequal treatment can cause resentment and ruin the motivation of other employees.

Be cautious moving forward

There are plenty of businesses where hiring family members has worked out just fine, but other businesses where it didn’t work out.

So think long and hard before you bring family members into the business. Talk to them and to your key employees beforehand so everyone understands and is comfortable with their roles in the company.

As always, should you have any questions or concerns regarding your tax situation please feel free to call.

When to Call: Common Situations that Require a Tax Review

When to Call: Common Situations that Require a Tax Review

Taxes can affect many areas of your life. Here are some common situations when you’ll want to schedule a tax review.

  1. Something changed in your life. A change in your life could mean significant changes in your tax status. Some of these changes include:

    How your taxes may be different: Tax deductions and credits can increase and decrease because of these and other life changes. You’ll want to know as soon as possible if your taxes will be going up so you can be prepared to pay the increased amount.
    1. Getting married or divorced
    2. Retirement
    3. A child starting college or an adult going back to school
    4. Moving to a new home
    5. The birth of a child or an adoption
    6. A family member passes away
  2. A new job. You’ll have several decisions to make when starting a new job that will affect your tax situation:

    How your taxes may be different: You can decrease your taxable income by contributing to qualified retirement and medical savings plans. A tax planning session can reveal how much you can contribute to each of these plans, and if you should consider adjusting your paycheck withholdings.
    1. Retirement savings plans – Learn about the available retirement savings plans offered by the employer and any other tax-deferred savings options. Remember that some employers will match a certain percentage of contributions that an employee makes to a plan.
    2. Medical savings accounts – Your employer may offer a Flexible Spending Account or a Health Savings Account to help with paying certain medical expenses with pre-tax funds.
    3. Withholding – You’ll need to determine if you want additional federal (along with state and local income taxes if applicable) income taxes withheld from your paycheck beyond what your employer is obligated to withhold.
  3. A new business or side hustle. A new business (hopefully!) means more money, but also more tax responsibilities. Here are some things to consider:

    How your taxes may be different: Most small businesses are flow through entities. This means any business profits will add to your personal income. Because of this, your personal tax situation could vary dramatically! So tax planning becomes critical on two fronts: Your new taxable income level AND helping you stay in compliance at the federal, state and local business tax rules.
    1. Separate accounts and credit cards – If you only remember one tip, it’s to keep separate accounts. Without this, it is easy for the IRS to deem expenses as personal and, therefore, not deductible.
    2. Paying estimated taxes – As a business owner, you are responsible for making tax payments throughout the year to the IRS if your business is profitable.
    3. Setting up a bookkeeping system – Having an accurate bookkeeping system is vital to making sure you don’t pay any more in taxes than you’re legally obligated to pay. Consider reconciling your bank accounts weekly (or even daily if possible) so they’re always current.
    4. Other tax responsibilities – You may be required to submit a sales tax return depending on what types of products you sell or services you provide. You’ll also be required to submit various payroll tax returns if you have any employees.

Nobody likes a tax surprise and now is a great time to schedule a tax planning review.

Budgeting Basics

Budgeting Basics

During inflationary periods, it is harder to balance your income with the rising cost of housing, food, fuel, health care and insurance. One of the biggest tools to fight raising costs is creating a budget and measuring it throughout the year. Here are some suggestions to help create a budget that actually works.

  • Keep it simple. It’s not necessary to have 50 different expense categories to classify your transactions. Having a simple budget makes it more likely that you stick with it over the long term. So take a look at your bank account and identify the big things. Revenue is pretty straight forward. Expenses are more difficult, so identify the main categories and get a monthly read on them.
  • Create annually, but manage monthly. See the full year budget as a destination, and your monthly financials as a journey to that destination. That way if you have a bump in the road, you will see other pathways to get to where you want to be at the end of the year. When you are done here, you should have a monthly budget, with full year goals.
  • Remember to budget for savings. If everything is working well, you have enough money left over at the end of the month to build your net worth. So consider adding a percent of your income in your budget for saving and investing. This will help you build your net worth over time and help fund for emergencies.
  • Account for taxes. Paying your tax bill may be one of your biggest expenses every year. Schedule several tax planning sessions throughout the year to figure out how much you should be saving every month to pay your federal, state and local tax bills. Then put this dollar amount in your monthly budget.
  • Remember to have fun. Having a budget doesn’t mean you can’t spend money. It simply means that you’re intentional about it by planning your spending before it happens and ensure it is not out of hand.
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