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.
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.
One of the most common reasons businesses fail is due to lack of proper cash flow. The same is often true in many households. Here’s how this concept of cash flow applies to you along with some ideas to improve it.
Cash flow defined
Cash flow equals cash coming in (wages, interest, Social Security benefits, etc.) and cash going out in the bills you pay and money you spend. If more is coming in than going out, you have positive cash flow. If the opposite is true, you have negative cash flow. Unfortunately, calculating and forecasting cash flow can get complicated. Some bills are due weekly, others monthly. A few larger bills may need to be paid quarterly or annually.
Create your cash flow snapshot
Before improving your cash flow, you need to be able to visualize it. While there are software tools to generate a statement of cash flow, you can also take a snapshot of your cash flow by creating a simple monthly spreadsheet:
Type each month across the top of the spreadsheet with an annual total.
Note all your revenue (cash inflows), then create a list of expenses (cash outflows) in the left-hand column.
Enter your income and bills by month. Create a monthly subtotal of all your inflows. Do the same for your cash outflows. Then subtract the expenses from income. Positive numbers? You have positive cash flow. Negative numbers? You have negative cash flow.
Create a cumulative total for the year under each month to see which months will need additional funds and which months will have excess funds.
Ideas to improve your cash flow
Identify your challenges. See if you have months where more cash is going out than is coming in to your bank account. This often happens when large bills are due. If possible, try to balance these known high-expense months throughout the course of the year. Common causes are:
Holidays
Property tax payments
Car and homeowners insurance
Income tax payments
Vacations
Build a reserve. If you know there are challenging months, project how much additional cash you will need and begin to save for this during positive cash months.
Cut back on annuities. See what monthly expense drivers are in your life. Can any of them be reduced? Can you live with fewer cell phone add-ons? How about cutting costs in your cable or streaming bill? Is it time for an insurance review?
Shop your current services. Some of your larger bills may create an opportunity for savings. This is especially true with home, rental and car insurance.
Create savings habits to add to cash flow. Consider paying a bill to yourself in your cash outflows. This saved money is a simple technique to create positive cash flow each month to build an emergency reserve.
As a business owner, you’re required to pay three different types of payroll taxes.
FICA (Federal Insurance Contributions Act) is the tax used to fund Social Security and Medicare programs.
FUTA (Federal Unemployment Tax Act). Employers pay this federal tax to provide unemployment benefits to laid-off workers.
SUTA (State Unemployment Tax Act). State governments also collect taxes known as SUTA that finance each state’s unemployment insurance fund.
While FICA may be easy to understand, unemployment tax calculations are easily misunderstood.
How FUTA and SUTA taxes are calculated
The FUTA calculation. The federal unemployment tax rate is 6% on the first $7,000 of each employee’s income, regardless of where the company does business. In addition,
employers who pay their state’s SUTA taxes on time can receive a maximum credit of 5.4%, reducing the FUTA rate to 0.6%. Certain employee benefits—employer contributions to health plans, pensions, and group life insurance premiums, for example—are also excluded from the calculation.
SUTA taxes are more complicated. Tax rates and taxable thresholds (known as wage bases) vary from state to state, industry to industry, and business to business. In Oregon, for example, the first $54,300 of an employee’s salary is taxed under SUTA. In Arkansas, that threshold is $7,000. In Oregon, a new employer is taxed at a rate of 2.4%, but more established businesses in that state have rates ranging from 0.9% to 5.4%. In Arkansas, the tax rate can range from 0.1% to 5.0%. Other factors affecting your SUTA tax liability include the business’s history of on-time payments to the state insurance fund and the number of former employees receiving unemployment benefits.
How to reduce your SUTA and FUTA tax bills
Hire cautiously. If you employ someone who doesn’t work out, you could end up with additional unemployment claims and a higher SUTA tax rate.
Train vigorously. To increase productivity and reduce turnover, target your investment in continuing education. Keep employees happy and loyal. Again, high turnover leads to unemployment claims, which leads to bigger SUTA tax bills.
Terminate judiciously. If you must reduce personnel, consider offering severance or outplacement benefits to terminated employees. The sooner they return to the job market, the fewer the unemployment claims that will be factored into your company’s SUTA tax calculation.
Dispute carefully. Take the time to verify the accuracy of unemployment claims, as bogus representations by former workers can drive up your SUTA taxes. If an employee was fired for gross misconduct and thus disqualifying himself or herself from collecting unemployment, have strong documentation to support the termination.
Pay regularly. Under federal guidelines, employers who make their SUTA contributions on time can reduce the amount of FUTA taxes by up to 90%.
Remember, you do not need to navigate the complications inherent in filing your business taxes. They can be complicated and easily overlooked when you add things like sales taxes and income taxes. If you have questions or need help please call.
Scammers are becoming increasingly sophisticated, with more emails, phone calls and text messages crafted to look and sound like the real thing. This is often because thieves are adding artificial intelligence to its arsenal of tools to transform their tricks into messaging that genuinely looks like its coming from a person you know and trust.
Here are the top ways that scammers are using AI and what you can do to protect yourself.
How Scammers are Using AI
AI-Powered Phishing Attacks. Phishing attacks have been around for decades, but AI makes them far more convincing. AI can analyze large amounts of data to craft messages that look and sound authentic, increasing the chances of tricking victims into clicking malicious links or providing personal information.
Deepfake Scams. Deepfake technology allows scammers to create realistic videos and audio clips that impersonate real people. Some examples include fake videos of CEOs instructing employees to transfer money or of celebrities endorsing fraudulent products.
Generate Realistic Conversations. Scammers are using AI chatbots that can hold realistic conversations with potential victims. These bots can appear very convincing while pretending to be customer service agents, a friend or family member, or even government officials. The goal is to trick you into sharing sensitive information or sending money.
Fake Profiles. AI can scan all of a person’s online footprint to create a realistic profile and social media accounts. Scammers then use these fake personas to try and steal information and money from you.
Protect Yourself from AI-Driven Scams
Be skeptical of unsolicited messages. If you receive an email, text, or call from a company or person you don’t recognize, verify its authenticity before responding. Do this by contacting the company or person directly using official channels.
Use multi-factor authentication (MFA). Constantly using MFA on every website you visit may cause some frustration, but it’s nothing compared to the frustration you may experience if your identity or money are stolen. Even if scammers steal your password, they’ll need an additional verification step to access your accounts.
Verify identities. If someone claims to be a friend, boss, or family member requesting money, first verify their identity through another channel, such as a phone call or video chat.
Look for red flags. AI-generated scams often contain small inconsistencies—such as unnatural speech patterns in voice messages, slight facial distortions in deepfake videos, or unusual grammar in AI-generated texts. Trust your instincts and independently verify whenever you can.
Immediate Required Action: Review your savings account interest rate and take necessary action to avoid potential deceptive, unreasonable, and obscure rules that are keeping your money from making a reasonable interest rate!
Background
When interest rates rose due to inflation, banks and credit unions quickly raised their interest rates on credit cards, mortgages and loans, but were reluctant to reward loyal customers with higher interest on their deposit balances. They simply decided to put the extra profit in their pockets or were afraid they could not afford to pay market interest on their deposits.
These deceptive and unreasonable practices are words used by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in describing one bank’s practice to avoid paying market rates to many of their loyal depositors. So which tricks are being used?
Some common practices
The mirror trick. Create a new savings account with a similar name to one that earns less than ½ of one percent of interest. But the new account gets a much higher interest rate (allegedly 14 times higher!). Then, don’t be great at telling the current account holders, so they do not realize they are being grossly underpaid for their deposits. Example: Capital One (See CFPB lawsuit) Why do this? It dramatically lowers the bank’s interest expense since they do not roll the old, low interest accounts into the new, higher interest account. But they still offer a competitive savings product to attract new money.
The CD trap. Grossly underpay those with savings deposits, especially small, local businesses. Instead, offer CDs with better interest rates. Then introduce EXTREMELY high early withdrawal penalties (compared to traditional early withdrawal penalties historically used on CDs.) Classic examples: Chase Bank and US Bank, but there are many more!
Why do this? It makes it a lot easier for the bank treasury group to forecast the bank’s net interest income spread, as their deposit interest expense is more predictable.
The trained seal mirror trick. A major national credit union took the mirror trick above, then created additional rules to ensure ONLY new money gets the better interest rate. So they only make the new, similarly named, high interest bearing account available to NEW deposits into the credit union. So, no transferring funds from another internal account to get the higher interest.PLUS, you are required to set up automatic deposits in the account each month to obtain the best interest. To get the high rate, you need to transfer your money out of the bank, then keep it somewhere else for a time, then transfer it back. In other words, you need to be trained in the tricks to get the reasonable interest rate. Just like a seal. Why do this? Banks don’t want to pay these higher interest rates on existing deposits.
What to do now
Understand the impact. If you aren’t watchful, your savings account is earning much less than 1 percent interest when you could be earning over 4 percent in a similar account EVERY DAY.
Fight inertia. What all these tricks have in common is the benefit of inertia. These practices are commonly used by cell phone companies. They give the best deal to the new guy while gently deceiving their long-term subscribers. When is the last time you looked? Well, look now!
Find the right account. Often the answer is within your bank by getting into the right account. But you may find it is at another institution. Be willing to set up the right account at the right place. Current high yield savings rates with FDIC coverage range from 3.5% to 4.8%.
Develop fluid management. With secure online transfers, it is now easier than ever to keep your money working hard for you (using high interest rates). This also includes moving excess funds in your checking account. So securely link these accounts, actively monitor them, and transfer your funds to their best use at the highest interest rate. You’ll be amazed at how much interest income you can earn!
You may receive a tax document with incorrect information. You may also discover that a tax form you’re expecting was never delivered. Here are several situations you may encounter with incorrect information and what you can do about it.
Situation: You receive a tax document with wrong personal information, such as an incorrect Social Security number. What you can do: Immediately contact the company that sent you the tax document and ask that the information be corrected. If it’s your Form W-2 with wrong information, ask your employer for a corrected W-2 (Form W-2C, Corrected Wage and Tax Statement).
Situation: You disagree with the amount of wages or income reported on a tax form. What you can do: Contact your employer and ask for a corrected W-2 (Form W-2C, Corrected Wage and Tax Statement). If you do not receive the corrected W-2, you should report the incorrect amount as noted on the W-2 to avoid an IRS correspondence audit AND then correct the amount on your tax return.
This is especially important because if the W-2 information is not corrected, you will not get Social Security credit for any missing wages you earned. If this happens to you, make sure your employee record is corrected as soon as possible.
Situation: The business that issued your tax document went out of business and you can’t locate the owner. What you can do: You are required to report all your income, whether or not you receive information forms (W-2s or 1099s) from the parties who paid you. You’ll have to reconstruct your income and income tax withholding based on your paycheck stubs or other documents.
Make sure your income is also properly reported on your account with the Social Security Administration, as your future benefits could be negatively impacted if they aren’t properly reported by your employer. According to the IRS, you should contact the IRS and a representative will record a W-2 complaint on your behalf.
Situation: You never receive a tax document that you were expecting. What you can do: If you don’t receive a Form W-2 or Form 1099-R (for retirement distributions) by the end of February, you can call the IRS at 800-829-1040 for assistance. Be sure to have your employer’s name and address, along with your name, address and Social Security number, before calling.
Situation: You receive a missing or corrected tax document after filing your return. What you can do: You may need to file an amended tax return to include the missing tax document or if the dollar amount on the corrected tax document is significantly different from what you reported on your tax return.
Remember that when you receive these informational tax forms to immediately review them for accuracy. The best way to get them corrected is early detection.
You will soon have to confront a higher tax bill if Congress doesn’t extend many credits, deductions, and lower tax rates that are set to expire at the end of this year. Here’s who should be considering ongoing tax planning sessions as this uncertainty plays out in Congress and the Executive office:
Your income will increase in 2025. Maybe you are looking to move jobs or obtain a promotion. This should trigger a planning session as marginal rates currently max out at 37% at a fairly high income, but that could all change beginning in 2026.
You were an itemized deductions taxpayer. A number of taxpayers may begin itemizing deductions again in 2026 if the rules expire as they are currently scheduled to. This means planning your expenses in light of this impending roll back of rules will take some thought. This is especially true if you have high state income and real estate taxes.
You have a large estate. The current estate exemption ($13.99 million in 2025 for single taxpayers, $27.98 million for married) drops back to $5 million in 2026. While this reset amount will be adjusted for inflation going forward, gifting money or other assets can help reduce the size of your taxable estate while taking advantage of this historically high exemption amount.
You have investments. Review your investments to be as tax efficient as possible. Municipal bonds and tax-deferred plans like 401(k)s and IRAs may also become more attractive after 2025. Also consider tax-loss harvesting strategies to offset future gains. Another idea: if your tax rate will be lower in 2025 compared to 2026, consider selling appreciated assets in 2025 at a lower tax rate, then immediately purchase the asset again. Remember that wash sales rules only apply to losses, not gains!
You have pass-through business income. If you are a small business owner, assess how the loss of the Qualified Business Income deduction will affect your tax liability. Review whether you should change your entity type to minimize the loss of this deduction.
By starting to plan now, you can be ready for whatever tax environment you’ll be navigating in 2025.
To ensure your tax return is filed quickly and without error, double-check this list of commonly-overlooked items. These little pesks are among the commonly missed items reported as hold ups to filing individual tax returns:
Missing forms. Using last year’s tax return as a checklist, double check that all your W-2s and 1099s are received and applied to your tax return. Missing items here will be caught by the IRS mismatch program, creating an unwanted correspondence audit. If you are missing a form, contact the company responsible for issuing them as soon as possible.
Dependent information. If you added a new dependent in 2024, provide the name, Social Security number and birth date to have them added to your tax return. If you have a dependent that shares custody with someone else, discuss the plan for who is going to claim this person. Your tax return cannot be filed if there is a conflict in this area.
Cost basis information. If you sold any assets (typically investments or real estate), you need to know how much it cost you to determine your taxable capital gain or loss. Check your investment statements to ensure that your broker includes the required information and that you believe it is accurate. Sometimes it’s difficult to find this information on the Form 1099-B summary, but it might be listed later in the statement details.
Schedule K-1s. As an owner of a partnership or S corporation, you will need to receive a Form K-1 that reports your share of the profit or loss from the business activity. When you receive your K-1, pay special attention to box 17 (code V) for S corporations and box 20 (code Z) for partnerships. This is where information is included for the Qualified Business Income Deduction.
Digital asset transactions. If you are buying or selling cryptocurrency or other digital assets, provide details to support the cost basis and sales price of each transaction.
Forms or documents with no explanation. If you receive a tax form, but have no explanation for the form, questions will arise. For instance, if you receive a retirement account distribution form, it may be deemed income. If it is part of a qualified rollover, no tax is due. An explanation is required to file your information correctly.
Missing signatures. Both you and your spouse need to review and sign the e-file approval forms before the tax return can be filed. The sooner you review and approve your tax return, the sooner it can be filed.
By knowing these commonly missed pieces of information, hopefully your tax filing experience will be a smooth one.
With the changes happening in Washington D.C., there is now some uncertainty about what tax policies we may see in 2025 and beyond. During this time of uncertainty, it is challenging to create a workable tax plan. But not to fear. There are several things that we DO know about tax changes to start 2025. Here are the key highlights as they are currently known.
What we DO know
Tax brackets and rates. The seven tax rates remain unchanged while the income subject to each rate got a slight bump. After a 5.4 percent increase in 2024, there’s an additional 2.8 percent increase in income subject to each tax rate in 2025. This means more of your income will be subject to a lower tax rate.
Higher retirement plan limits. The amount you can contribute to a 401(k) in 2025 is $23,500, up from $23,000 in 2024. The 401(k) catch-up contribution limit in 2025 stays at $7,500 if you’re age 50 to 59, and age 64+. New in 2025, if you are ages 60 to 63, the catch-up contribution limit increases to $11,250. The annual contribution threshold for IRAs remains at $7,000, as does the IRA catch-up contribution limit of $1,000.
New cryptocurrency reporting rules. New reporting rules in effect as of January 1, 2025 means you’ll need to be more vigilant with tracking your cryptocurrency transactions and complying with the IRS’s digital asset rules. Brokers of digital assets, including cryptocurrency exchanges, custodial services, and certain payment processors, must report sales and exchanges of digital assets to the IRS starting in 2025. Your digital asset transactions will be summarized annually on a new Form 1099-DA. This new reporting of digital asset transactions will be similar to existing reporting for traditional securities such as stocks and bonds.
Changes on the horizon
The 1099-K reporting threshold. If you use third party payment processors like Venmo or sell tickets on apps like SeatGeek, you’re more likely to receive a tax form of your activity that will also be sent to the IRS. The limit requiring your activity to be reported was $5,000 in 2024. In 2025, this threshold is scheduled to be lowered to $2,500, and further lowered in 2026 to $600.
Uncertainty over TCJA provisions. There has been discussion about extending and/or making permanent many of the provisions contained in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017. Most of the provisions are scheduled to expire at the end of 2025, so we will pay attention to any legislation forthcoming that could change any of this tax landscape.
Proposed decrease in corporate tax rates. There is also discussion about lowering the corporate tax rate from its current level of 21%, in addition to lowering the effective corporate tax rate from 21% to 15% for domestic manufacturers.
Stay tuned for continuing updates of any tax changes as events unfold in 2025.
Navigating the tax system can be challenging for everyone, whether you’re an adult who hasn’t paid much attention to paycheck deductions or a young person starting your first job. A crucial first step in managing taxes is knowing when to seek help, which begins with understanding what can be taxed.
Here are some key points to help you or someone you know better understand the basics of our tax system.
Different types of taxes
When you think about taxes, income tax is often the first to come to mind. Income tax is what you pay on the earnings from your job or from selling products and services. However, many other types of taxes exist. Here are some of the most common:
Payroll Taxes. Unlike income taxes, which can fund various government programs, payroll taxes specifically support Social Security and Medicare. This tax amounts to 15.3% of most employees’ paychecks, but half is typically covered by the employer.
Property Taxes. These taxes are applied to property ownership, such as your home or vacation property.
Sales Tax. This tax is levied on goods and services you purchase. While state and local governments primarily collect sales taxes, certain items like gasoline are also subject to federal sales taxes.
Capital Gains Taxes. If you sell an investment or property for a profit, you may owe capital gains taxes. Selling stocks, homes, or rental properties at a profit could trigger these taxes.
Estate Taxes. These are taxes applied to the assets within your estate after you pass away.
Inheritance Taxes. As opposed to estate taxes, inheritance taxes are applied when you inherit money or assets after someone else passes away.
Not all income is taxable
While most of your income is taxable, some forms of income are exempt from taxation:
Interest from municipal bonds is generally tax-free.
Life insurance benefits often aren’t taxed.
Capital gains on the sale of your primary residence may be excluded up to a certain limit.
Estate tax exclusions mean only estates exceeding a set dollar amount are subject to tax.
Many employee benefits, such as health insurance, Health Savings Account (HSA) contributions, commuter benefits, and small employer-provided gifts, are also tax-free.
The tax rules governing these various types of income can be complex. That’s why it’s often helpful to have a professional guide you through your particular situation. Having a basic understanding of how taxes work, though, will help you to ask the right questions.
Inflation isn’t the only reason why your wallet or purse feels lighter these days. Sneaky fees are finding their way into things we buy every day. Here are some common fees you may encounter and what you can do to avoid them altogether.
Common areas with sneaky fees
Checking account fees. Banks love to nickel and dime you with fees if you don’t maintain a minimum balance or have sufficient direct deposits. It creates a gotcha moment at the end of the month.
Dealership fees. Buying a vehicle? Dealers are known for tacking on hidden charges like vehicle prep fees. These can easily inflate the sticker price if you’re not paying attention.
Ticket broker fees. Concert or sports event tickets seem expensive enough, but when ticket brokers add an additional service fee, it’s almost enough to make you stay home. These fees can be up to several hundred dollars!
Vacation rental fees. Dreaming of a vacation getaway? Convenience fees, cleaning fees, and other add-ons can push the cost of your vacation rental sky-high, turning your relaxing trip into a financial drain.
Smart moves to outsmart sneaky fees
Here’s how you can fight back.
Understand the fees before you start. For example, when you are considering a rental, get a breakdown of all the fees before you book. The same holds true for buying a car or a plane ticket. The vendors technique of hiding fees to make a service look cheaper does not need to work when you buy.
Negotiate like a pro. Ask questions or challenge fees you don’t understand. Whether it’s a merchant, a car dealer, or a bank, there’s often room to negotiate. You might be surprised how often they’ll waive the fees just because you ask.
Switch providers. Many companies charge for services that others offer for free. Tired of your bank’s account fees? Look for one with a truly free checking account—because yes, they do exist.
Cut out the middleman. Avoid unnecessary fees by dealing directly with providers. For example, if you’re booking a vacation rental, skip platforms like Airbnb that charge a convenience fee and book directly through the owner when possible.
Say no. Sometimes the best way to save is simply not to buy. If a purchase or service comes with fees that seem outrageous, you can always walk away. By saying no, you send a message to companies that you won’t tolerate being taken advantage of—and you’ll save money in the process.
By knowing how to spot and challenge these fees, you can stop the drain on your wallet and take back control of your finances. After all, it’s not just about cutting costs—it’s about standing up for yourself and your money.
