Tax question

[Juniper]

Moral question…

The only reason I have an accountant do our taxes and not do them myself is because I don’t know how to do our rental house finances. For this reason, I listed his fee from last year under the rental house expenses on his (name removed by moderator)ut sheet.

However, when I got my taxes back from our accountant this year, he put his fee from last year under my home business expenses instead of in the rental house expenses, thus decreasing my business income and saving me about $34.00 in self employment taxes and increasing our income taxes by $7. If he had left it where I wanted it, I would pay $34 more in self employment taxes, and we would pay about $7 less in income taxes, plus my self employment income would have been increased by $235 more for social security averaging purposes.

Should I call him and tell him to put his fee back into the rental house column? I feel it is dishonest to put it where it lowers my income and self employment taxes, since I can easily do my home business taxes myself and the only reason I hire him is for doing the rental house taxes.
However, this would involve doing the whole tax form over and him remailing it (he is out of state) and I wonder if it is too much trouble. However, this bothers me, I don’t know why.

 

[1ke]

He did your taxes, as a whole. It is not improper to place his fee where he did. He is the tax accountant. You hired him for his professional services in this area. Let him do his job. It is his job to reduce your tax liability.

Whether or not you can do your taxes on your own is not relevant. You didn’t do them on your own. You hired a tax professional to do them, and their fee is an allowable business expense under the IRS code. Neither you nor he have done anything immoral or illegal.

Don’t make something out of nothing. You are being scrupulous, IMHO. If you tend towards scrupulosity discuss it with your spiritual director.

 

[Scar]

Moral question…

The only reason I have an accountant do our taxes and not do them myself is because I don’t know how to do our rental house finances. For this reason, I listed his fee from last year under the rental house expenses on his (name removed by moderator)ut sheet.

However, when I got my taxes back from our accountant this year, he put his fee from last year under my home business expenses instead of in the rental house expenses, thus decreasing my business income and saving me about $34.00 in self employment taxes and increasing our income taxes by $7. If he had left it where I wanted it, I would pay $34 more in self employment taxes, and we would pay about $7 less in income taxes, plus my self employment income would have been increased by $235 more for social security averaging purposes.

Should I call him and tell him to put his fee back into the rental house column? I feel it is dishonest to put it where it lowers my income and self employment taxes, since I can easily do my home business taxes myself and the only reason I hire him is for doing the rental house taxes.
However, this would involve doing the whole tax form over and him remailing it (he is out of state) and I wonder if it is too much trouble. However, this bothers me, I don’t know why.

…i am no accountant, so i don’t know who is “most” correct. But, if you are correct, i feel you have the “moral” obligation to at least consult with the account and make sure you are correct, and if you are then i think that answers the question…

 

[promethius]

Moral question…

The only reason I have an accountant do our taxes and not do them myself is because I don’t know how to do our rental house finances. For this reason, I listed his fee from last year under the rental house expenses on his (name removed by moderator)ut sheet.

However, when I got my taxes back from our accountant this year, he put his fee from last year under my home business expenses instead of in the rental house expenses, thus decreasing my business income and saving me about $34.00 in self employment taxes and increasing our income taxes by $7. If he had left it where I wanted it, I would pay $34 more in self employment taxes, and we would pay about $7 less in income taxes, plus my self employment income would have been increased by $235 more for social security averaging purposes.

Should I call him and tell him to put his fee back into the rental house column? I feel it is dishonest to put it where it lowers my income and self employment taxes, since I can easily do my home business taxes myself and the only reason I hire him is for doing the rental house taxes.
However, this would involve doing the whole tax form over and him remailing it (he is out of state) and I wonder if it is too much trouble. However, this bothers me, I don’t know why.

Your accountant is correct. Unless he came on your lease for your home, he’s doing a business transaction for you.

 

[Juniper]

Thanks much everyone. Your (name removed by moderator)ut helped.
Juniper.

 

[rwoehmke]

If there were any problem here, the IRS would have corrected it and told you so. There silence on the matter is a good indicator that your accountant is correct.