• A CPA compared to doing it yourself. In many matters, you simply cannot do it yourself. It would take too long to acquire the necessary level of knowledge and skills. Iin some areas, you might be able to do it alone — whether it is accounting and recordkeeping, or preparing income tax returns or a thousand other money-related matters. But operating on your own, without guidance, is like putting an addition on your house without the help of an architect, or carpenter, or electrician, or plumber. Sure, you could learn to do the tasks, but probably not with as much skill as the experts, and the years necessary to acquire the knowledge and experience would make anticlimactic the completion of the task. Even if you could finish the house addition within enough time to enjoy it, it might not be built well enough to stand up over time. Also, two heads are always, well almost always, better than one. If you are a smart independent self-starter, try this approach — do all the research, lay the plans, assemble the team if others could be involved, and then call in the CPA to be quarterback, or at least be your guide

When you become a full-service client you are getting our ideas and insights for your particular circumstances, each year. A Trader’s situation often changes from time-to-time and the tax law and court cases also change — constantly! As an example — right in the middle of the 1998 tax filing season and again right in the middle of the 2001 tax filing season serious new laws that retroactively effected trader status filers were issued.

When you become a client via TraderStatus.com you will speak and email directly with Colin M. Cody, CPA about your concerns. Your important work is not delegated to support staff and then merely given a cursory 30 minute review and sign-off by the CPA in charge. Rather, your tax work is given the proper attention it deserves and frankly, the attention that you are paying for!

Many Investors all across the country from California to Florida to Rhode Island make us their first choice for their tax planning and compliance reporting, including having their State tax returns and Federal 1040 tax returns reviewed or prepared at annual fees starting at $400 per year. Full Trader Status tax planning. compliance reporting , and tax return review or preparation generally start at $700 per year. Mark-to-Market accounting entails more work and is accordingly priced a little higher. Click here for an estimate on how much it costs to have a Federal 1040 (not including State returns, tax planning or consulting) prepared at other CPA firms, not including trader status tax planning and consultations.

TraderStatus.com provides you with the services of a personalized, boutique-style CPA firm to work with you on the most expensive expense item you will likely ever have while being a trader: Your Federal Income Taxes!

A personalized boutique-style CPA firm means that you are getting more direct hands-on attention. Personalized means Trader Status taxation is our expertise. We consulted by Traders, CPAs, Tax Attorneys and Government Employees from all across the USA on Trader Status matters. We consult with the IRS on cutting edge concepts — our direct input and proposals have been incorporated into today’s Internal Revenue Code. Colin is qualified to interpret the law on your behalf — he helped write it!

For those taxpayers who have significant money involved in the stock market, more sophisticated tax minimization techniques, asset protection and retirement planning strategies and a choice of entities utilizing Corporations (forms 1120 and 1120S), Family Partnerships, Limited Partnerships, General Investment Partnerships and LLCs (form 1065), Estates and Trusts (form 1041) and Estate planning, Gifting and Generation skipping transfers (form 709) are handled and billed based on their complexity. MINIMIZE THOSE TAXES! Fees for a multi-member LLC, General Partnership or S-Corp generally start from $750 per year.

IRS controversy issues, tax return audits and even routine IRS and State inquiries are best handled by a professional CPA firm. rather than going it alone and risking putting your foot in your mouth. Taxpayers signing a special IRS limited Power-of-Attorney may retain us to represent them with many of these issues. Contact us before you contact the IRS in response to an imposing inquiry.

A REVIEW of your self-prepared returns may be arranged. If desired, the preparation of the tax forms that comprise the bulk of your tax return can be done with software available for only $12.50. Reviewed returns do not usually carry a Paid Preparer’s Signature for the IRS to rely on. It is possible that a tax filing containing sophisticated or complex positions that does not bear the signature of a qualified CPA, Tax Attorney or other professional preparer may invite further review at the Internal Revenue Service Center. A REVIEW might not cause your return to be less likely to be chosen for audit, but it could mean that your return is more likely to be free from any obvious errors that would cause problems during an audit. 90% of the annual tax procedure is consulting, planning and over all designing what to do on the tax return and 10% is the actual preparation and assembly of the IRS forms. Because of the necessity to work with and to understand the complex issues involved; the cost for a review, analysis and consultation generally will range about the same as the full tax planning & compliance services discussed above. What a review service does is puts you in the middle where you get a hands-on approach that with our guidance may remind you of extra deductible expenses that you paid during the year.

CPA services fee guidelines

Professional services are billed on a one-on-one basis, though the majority of traders do seem to fall within certain ranges as listed below. If your work requires more than the usual amount of attention, the fees will raise accordingly.

* Occasionally, complications will increase the work level and the fees charged. Such as: trading more than one of the three normal classes (securities, futures and forex) will cause complications, additionally there are unique issues and special tax laws when trading some ETFs and Precious Metals.

○ Using a nominee, rather than having the trader(entity) tax ID# being used by the broker.

○ Holding open positions at year end.

○ Having unsettled trades at year end.

○ Issues regarding M2M vs. Capital Gains method of accounting.

○ Where you profitable in all areas of trading. That’s often easier/cleaner than if there are losses.

○ If you had losses in any given class (securities, futures and forex)

○ If you had certain gains or losses from an ETF, or other pass-through entity K-1, that sometimes is a complication, or causes unhappy surprises.

○ If you have more than one broker, then each account creates more work.

• Review of tax returns previously filed. usually is no charge (but see form 1040X amended returns further down).

National averages for tax year 2006 for tax return preparation excluding any tax planning throughout the year:

• $115 for a Form 1040 and one State return (individual)
• $205 for a Form 1040, Schedule A and one State return (individual)
• $n/a for a Form 1040, Schedule C, Home Office, and other trader schedules and one State return (individual)
• $518 for a Form 1065 (partnership)
• $685 for a Form 1120 (corporation)
• $656 for a Form 1120S (S corporation)
• $430 for preparing a Form 1041 (fiduciary)
• $1,729 for Form 706 (estates)
• $521 for a Form 990 (tax exempt)

In November 2005 the IRS issued national averages for professional tax return preparation fees for individual taxpayer form 1040 work. Based on these averages for the tax return preparation only, and considering our fees are more inclusive and include all tax planning throughout the year, we have been undercharging our clients for years.

Estimated Average Preparation Times and Out-of-Pocket Expenses by Return Preparation Method

The average time and expenses required to complete and file Form 1040, its schedules, and accompanying forms will vary depending on individual circumstances. The estimated averages are:

Hours Costs Taxpayer and Form Combinations for Form 1040 Filers

Business Filers * 45.1 $43 67.1 $93 47.9 $542

Form 1040, Schedule C or C-EZ, and other forms and 48.0 $19 80.2 $88 55.4 $329 schedules, but not Schedule E or F or Form 2106 or 2106-EZ

Form 1040, Schedule E, and other forms and schedules, but 34.1 $72 49.0 $65 36.6 $685 not Schedule C, C-EZ, or F or Form 2106 or 2106-EZ

Form 1040 and Schedule F and other forms and schedules, 44.8 $15 62.8 $102 49.7 $296 but not Schedule C, C-EZ, or E or Form 2106 or 2106-EZ

Form 1040, Form 2106 or 2106-EZ, and other forms and 35.9 $17 15.9 $67 27.7 $349 schedules, but not Schedule C, C-EZ, E, or F

Form 1040 and forms and schedules including more than one 66.0 $128 80.5 $177 62.4 $866 Schedule C, C-EZ, E, or F or Form 2106 or 2106-EZ

* You are a business filer if you file one or more of the following with your Form 1040: Schedule C, C-EZ, E, or F or Form 2106 or 2106-EZ. You are a nonbusiness filer if you did not file any of those schedules or forms with your Form 1040.

IMRS 06-0000056: Estimates of Taxpayer Burden

Issue: Included on page 79, 2005 Instructions for Form 1040 and Schedules A, B, C, D, E, F, J, and SE, is a table titled Estimated Average Preparation Times and Out-of-Pocket Expenses by Return Preparation Method. Practitioners raised the following concerns: (1) This will cause significant problems with the taxpayer community who may think that the tax practitioners are charging too much; (2) This does not take into account the complexity of the issue and the amount of reconstruction that may be required for an issue; (3) If this has already been published in the booklet, what will be done to address practitioner concerns? Are the booklets going to be recalled? (4) Tax professionals can’t publish fees so how can the IRS publish their fees or costs? (5) Tax practitioners were not asked for input into the decisions. Meeting these requirements is time-consuming and costly.

www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=168260,00.html

What’s needed to get started for tax planning. review. tax prep and your M2M election: