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Being an accountant means that work often comes in ebbs and flows. The tide moves in every quarter, and there is always tax season. It’s stressful; that’s just part of the business, right?

Maybe. Yes, stress is expected, but burnout is entirely different.

What is burnout?

The fight against burnout starts with managing stress. Sure, stress can be beneficial — your ancestors were certainly grateful for that “fight or flight” response — but burnout is not. It leaves you feeling emotionally and physically spent, even on days that weren’t that bad. And the problem is pervasive. A recent survey revealed that 82% of tax professionals identify as feeling burned out. It’s a significant issue for tax professionals and accountants.

How does burnout affect tax professionals?

People experiencing burnout may find it hard to get their days started and even harder to keep going. Productivity tends to go down as their focus wanes. Eventually, that lack of concentration turns into minor mistakes and omissions.

For some professions, the impact is minimal. If someone in marketing has a typo, it may be embarrassing, but it rarely costs the company more than some pride. Being an accountant is different. Numbers are less flexible, and even a seemingly small error can have serious consequences.

3 steps to avoid burnout during tax season

There is only one defense. Whether you are a remote worker or managing a full accounting firm, stop the burnout before it starts.

1. Set boundaries

There is no shortage of guidance on how to avoid burnout. Most will tell you to set boundariesand that is good advice. People, in general, have a hard time saying no or taking breaks when the work is piling up (like in the first two weeks of April). If you are guilty of those behaviors or notice those tendencies in your coworkers, begin combatting burnout by establishing some boundaries.

2. Dig deeper

The problem is that boundaries are only a tiny piece of the problem. Many people experience burnout because of systemic issues, meaning that the structure of their workplaces (maybe even lives) is inherently flawed. For instance, what if someone doesn’t have enough support for their workload? In cases like that, it doesn’t matter how many boundaries they set; they won’t escape burnout until someone addresses the bigger issue. Take the time to set up a company culture that helps your people do their best work and do fewer tasks that they could easily hand off.

3. Delegate and automate

Most people do more than they need to. They spend a fair chunk of time doing tasks that could be delegated or automated somehow, and then they wonder why they don’t have enough hours in the day. You can avoid burnout and take control of your life by focusing on the activities that mean the most to you (professionally or otherwise) and outsourcing the rest. Let the junior accountant fill out the paperwork, schedule focus time automatically, hire someone to run your errands, and use accounting software and solutions to automate time-consuming, manual tasks. All those minutes add up.

Avoiding burnout as a tax and accounting professional

Tax season is always a stressful time, but you can keep the impact to a minimum and avoid the negative consequences of burnout by taking a proactive approach. Whether you are managing your own time or that of an entire office, take the time to set boundaries and examine if there is a bigger issue than time management. Once you see which tasks are most meaningful, keep the focus there and hand off the rest. You may be surprised how much less stressful your day is when you can focus on the most meaningful tasks.

For more tips on managing your workplace wellness, visit our tax blog or download our white paper on how accountants can work from home successfully.

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Toronto, Canada, Nov. 04, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — FreshBooks, a leader in cloud-based accounting software for small businesses and accountants, announces a new partnership with trusted payroll provider Wagepoint offering seamless payroll for Canadian small business owners. This collaboration brings together two Canadian companies with the collective goal of helping small businesses manage payroll and effortlessly reconcile their books.

For many Canadian small businesses and entrepreneurs, payroll is one of the most time-consuming and complex administrative tasks. It means owners are overwhelmed by manual calculations, staying current on tax regulations, and ensuring their teams are paid accurately and on time. This partnership will offer simplified financial operations for small business owners and peace of mind when it comes to changing payroll regulations.

“We know that Canadian small business owners are starved for time and spend hours a month trying to run payroll for themselves and their team”, says Faye Pang, Chief Growth Officer at FreshBooks, “Here at FreshBooks, we’re passionate about making the hard stuff easier for small business owners – a shared value with the Wagepoint team. We are excited to bring together FreshBooks’ user-friendly accounting software with Wagepoint’s expertise in payroll management, allowing our customers to focus on what they do best- growing their business.”

“I’ve been a fan of Freshbooks for a long time – they were a source of inspiration when I started Wagepoint back in 2012. So, it’s exciting to say that we are now officially partners,” says Shrad Rao, CEO of Wagepoint. “With our shared ethos of putting our small business customers ahead in all our decisions, I’m confident this will be a big win for Canadian entrepreneurs.”

The integration between FreshBooks and Wagepoint is expected to launch in 2025.

About FreshBooks

FreshBooks is a leading cloud-based SaaS accounting software platform built for small business owners and consistently ranks #1 for ease of use. With an emphasis on keeping things simple and stress-free wherever possible, FreshBooks makes the hard parts of running a business easier. With Freshbooks, small businesses can get paid faster and spend less time on administrative tasks and paperwork, so they can focus on what they do best — growing their businesses.

About Wagepoint

Wagepoint is a small-but-mighty fintech company on a mission to simplify payroll – and maybe even dare to make it delightful! The online software was created just for small businesses, automating the most “ugh” parts of payroll – like calculating wages and reporting on taxes – so that customers can get back to doing, well, literally anything else. Backed by the world’s friendliest team, Wagepoint is always supportive, never stuffy and refreshingly human. Founded in 2012, Wagepoint makes payroll magic happen for more than 25,000 small businesses, accountants and bookkeepers across North America. Visit www.wagepoint.com to learn more or connect with us @Wagepoint.

• FreshBooks and Wagepoint Join Forces to Streamline Payroll

A Fort Lauderdale man was sentenced Tuesday to three years in prison for submitting hundreds of fraudulent tax returns, totaling more than half a million dollars.

Jean Volvick Moise, 39, worked as a tax return preparer from about 2014 through 2022 and had been submitting fraudulent returns for his clients since at least 2016 so that the clients would receive larger returns than they were actually owed, according to a factual proffer, the facts of the case agreed on by prosecutors and the defense. Moise then would charge his clients a larger-than-normal fee.

Moise in the documents he prepared would include false information about clients’ dependents and educational credits, false Form 1099 withholdings, and false Schedule C business expenses, “often for businesses which did not exist,” the factual proffer said.

Moise claimed a dependent as a exemption in 2018 for a client who did not have any dependents and never told the tax preparer that he did, according to the factual proffer. He had also claimed false education credit from a school that the client said he did not recognize, in addition to submitting other false information with the return.

The client had only given Moise his Form W-2, and Moise did not review the return with the client or give the client a copy, the factual proffer said. Moise had prepared the client’s returns since 2016, and he routinely gave Moise between $1,500 and $2,000. The client is identified in the court record only by the initials F.B.

Moise prepared a fraudulent return while federal authorities were investigating undercover, and he admitted that he “makes things up” in order to get more money in return, the factual proffer said.

Moise’s three-year sentence will run consecutive to a separate sentence for a state charge in Broward County, federal court records show.

He was arrested in Broward County in 2016 on a sexual battery charge after he forced himself on a 16-year-old girl, according to an arrest affidavit in that case. He was convicted by a jury of unlawful sexual activity with a minor and sentenced in March 2023 to six years in state prison.

Moise was held in a state prison up until Thursday, when he was booked into the Broward Sheriff’s Office’s Paul Rein Detention Facility in Pompano Beach on a court order, jail records and Florida Department of Corrections records show. Moise remains in the Paul Rein Detention Facility as of Tuesday night.

As we approach the end of 2024, year-end tax planning is at the forefront of every accountant’s agenda. With changing tax regulations and incentives, staying informed about the latest updates is crucial for optimizing client outcomes. Source Advisors explains some of the most impactful areas accountants should focus on this season to minimize tax deductions.

Bonus depreciation: phasing down, but still relevant

Bonus depreciation is an additional first-year tax deduction that affords many taxpayers significant cash tax savings early on and supports future tax planning strategies. Under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the bonus is applicable to both acquired and newly constructed assets placed into service after Sept. 28, 2017. While the rate of bonus depreciation continues to phase down, it remains a critical tool for accelerating deductions on qualified property. Unless there is some legislative change, the scheduled phase-down period, presents both opportunities and challenges for 2024:

• 2024: 60%
• 2025: 40%
• 2026:  20%
• Fully eliminated by 2027.

Accountants may want to ensure their clients maximize current-year benefits and advise them on the timing of asset acquisitions and in-service dates, particularly for significant purchases, in order to take advantage of the higher bonus depreciation rates before they decline further.

Qualified property includes assets with a MACRS recovery period of 20 years or less, such as decorative lighting and Qualified Improvement Property. Notably, QIP applies to nonstructural, interior improvements made after the building is first placed in service by the taxpayer and remains a key focus area.

Tangible property regulations: the repairs vs. capitalization debate

The tangible property regulations provide guidance for costs incurred to acquire, produce or improve tangible property. Issued in 2013, these regulations are critical to a client’s capitalization, depreciation and expensing procedures for fixed assets.   Proper classification of expenditures under TPRs can result in significant tax savings. Accountants should conduct a detailed annual review of their clients’ capitalization policies,  fixed-asset accounts and current-year expenditures to identify items eligible for expense treatment or the case of assets permanently removed from service,  an evaluation and correct calculation of the partial asset disposition (which must be taken in the tax year of disposition). Some of the best practices include:

• Repairs: Expenses meeting the “routine maintenance” or “de minimis safe harbor” criteria can be expensed immediately, reducing taxable income.
• Improvements: Many capitalized items may be eligible for expensing and/bonus depreciation.
• Dispositions: Current year partial and/or entire asset dispositions are being accounted for. It is important that the client addresses this write-off opportunity in the current year as dispositions cannot be retroactively corrected.

Accountants should revisit prior-year classifications for possible adjustments, especially under the 5-year automatic change rule for Form 3115.

Cost segregation: accelerate depreciation with detailed analysis

Cost segregation studies continue to be a cornerstone of tax strategy for businesses with substantial real estate investments. These studies reclassify components of a building into shorter-lived assets, allowing for accelerated depreciation.

Many decorative interior finishes and special purpose electrical and mechanical assets may be depreciated over five and seven years with land improvements, or 15 years instead of 27.5 or 39 years for buildings.

Today, cost segregation studies are becoming more complex but increasingly rewarding, particularly for projects involving Qualified Improvement Property. For clients who own nonresidential properties, significant deductions can be recognized when they are performing interior improvements and renovations. Based on thousands of studies, a large portion of our client’s building improvement capex qualifies as QIP.

A thorough review of capitalized assets can identify opportunities for reclassification and ensure compliance with updated regulations. Close consideration should be given to the scope of a study to address the detail not only needed to support assets eligible for accelerated depreciation but also to serve as a reference document to support TPR activities during the ownership period.

Energy tax incentives: leverage enhanced deductions and credits

The Inflation Reduction Act significantly enhances energy tax incentives, including Sections 179D and 45L, making them a focal point for businesses investing in energy-efficient properties. Energy-efficient buildings and homes offer lucrative opportunities for tax savings:

Accountants should ensure compliance with certification standards and explore these incentives to offset construction and renovation costs.

SALT updates and trends: stay ahead of state-level changes

State and local tax developments continue to reshape compliance requirements:

• Increasing movement toward flat tax rates;
• Adjustments to net operating loss limitations, including caps in Illinois and California;
• Expansion of digital economy taxation; and,
• Enhanced sin taxes, such as Maryland’s increased tobacco tax and California’s firearms excise tax.

As states adapt to economic pressures, accountants should monitor legislative changes that may impact client liabilities or planning strategies.

Year-end action items for accountants

To prepare clients for the year ahead and ensure they are well-positioned, accountants should consider the following steps:

1. Review capitalization policies: Update client policies to align with current regulations and optimize expense classifications.
2. Assess past and current capitalized items: Identify opportunities to reclassify assets or apply safe harbor elections.
3. Conduct fixed asset reviews: Look for partial asset disposition opportunities, especially for underutilized or retired assets.
4. Leverage Form 3115: File for permissible accounting method changes where beneficial.
5. Plan for 2025 capex: Discuss the implications of future capital expenditures, particularly as bonus depreciation phases out.

The 2024 tax environment is rich with opportunities but demands diligence from accountants to navigate effectively. As always, proactive planning and thorough documentation remain essential for compliance and maximizing benefits. For specialized assistance, consider consulting experts in cost segregation, energy tax credits and TPR applications to enhance the overall strategy.

Canadian companies FreshBooks and Wagepoint announce their partnership to support local small businesses by seamlessly connecting their accounting software and payroll systems.

FreshBooks and Wagepoint Join Forces to Streamline Payroll

Toronto, Canada, Nov. 04, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — FreshBooksa leader in cloud-based accounting software for small businesses and accountants, announces a new partnership with trusted payroll provider Wagepoint offering seamless payroll for Canadian small business owners. This collaboration brings together two Canadian companies with the collective goal of helping small businesses manage payroll and effortlessly reconcile their books.

For many Canadian small businesses and entrepreneurs, payroll is one of the most time-consuming and complex administrative tasks. It means owners are overwhelmed by manual calculations, staying current on tax regulations, and ensuring their teams are paid accurately and on time. This partnership will offer simplified financial operations for small business owners and peace of mind when it comes to changing payroll regulations.

“We know that Canadian small business owners are starved for time and spend hours a month trying to run payroll for themselves and their team”, says Faye Pang, Chief Growth Officer at FreshBooks, “Here at FreshBooks, we’re passionate about making the hard stuff easier for small business owners – a shared value with the Wagepoint team. We are excited to bring together FreshBooks’ user-friendly accounting software with Wagepoint’s expertise in payroll management, allowing our customers to focus on what they do best- growing their business.”

“I’ve been a fan of Freshbooks for a long time – they were a source of inspiration when I started Wagepoint back in 2012. So, it’s exciting to say that we are now officially partners,” says Shrad Rao, CEO of Wagepoint. “With our shared ethos of putting our small business customers ahead in all our decisions, I’m confident this will be a big win for Canadian entrepreneurs.”

The integration between FreshBooks and Wagepoint is expected to launch in 2025.

About FreshBooks

FreshBooks is a leading cloud-based SaaS accounting software platform built for small business owners and consistently ranks #1 for ease of use. With an emphasis on keeping things simple and stress-free wherever possible, FreshBooks makes the hard parts of running a business easier. With Freshbooks, small businesses can get paid faster and spend less time on administrative tasks and paperwork, so they can focus on what they do best — growing their businesses.

Story Continues

Updated: Oct. 17, 2024, with comments from Intuit and the AICPA.

TurboTax, the most widely-used do-it-yourself tax preparation in the U.S., is out with a new advertisement in which it is telling Americans that maybe they should save money and have a “tax break up” with their professional preparer by using one of TurboTax’s live experts.

The irritation factor for some tax professionals and CPAs who provide tax preparation services is that Intuit, the maker of TurboTax and several other consumer business programs, also produces a range of tax preparation systems made for professionals who service those same clients. These systems include Intuit ProConnect Tax, Lacerte Tax, and ProSeries Tax. These systems consistently rank at the top of CPA Practice Advisor’s Readers Choice Awards, a non-scientific survey of tax professionals’ technology preferences.

“Tax preparation isn’t just about entering data or completing a form; it’s about trust, accuracy, and making informed decisions,” said Scott Artman, CEO of the National Association of Tax Professionals, an organization of more than 24,000 tax professionals nationwide. “The personal relationship between a tax preparer and their client is crucial. A professional knows you and your financial history, keeps you compliant with regulations and can adapt strategies based on your specific needs.”

The NATP says that the current advertising campaign, “Goes against a key component of Intuit’s business model – selling professional preparation software to the tax professionals they now seem to be undermining.”

“Tax professionals play a critical role in the tax filing, planning, and advisory landscape, one that continues to evolve aided by AI and other technology. The crucial role of CPAs, who serve as expert and trusted advisors to business owners and individuals, was not reflected in an unfortunate recent ad campaign launched by Intuit.

“Following the release of the ad, the AICPA engaged in productive discussions with various stakeholders, including Inuit’s CEO. We want to thank our members, many of whom expressed disappointment with the ad, for their patience as we held these conversations.

“Intuit’s decision to halt the ad is a positive step. We appreciate that in our conversations, Intuit reemphasized their commitment to the CPA community and recognized the importance of growing that talent pipeline. AICPA members interact with Intuit in numerous capacities, and this decision is recognition of how important that interaction is to Intuit.

The TurboTax advertisement suggests consumers can save by using a built-in function in the online software that can connect them with a “TurboTax Expert.” This optional feature is available at an additional cost. Intuit requires that its TurboTax Experts be a CPA, EA or practicing attorney.

Intuit, the maker of TurboTax, provided the following statement to CPA Practice Advisor:

“Intuit is committed to tax preparers and accelerating growth of the tax preparation industry through job creation with more than 12,000 experts on our platform, driving tax preparer revenue with Live experts making nearly $60M in income last year, and best serving the needs of taxpayers. Last year more than 500,000 accounting professionals grew their practices with us through our ProAdvisor program, and we trained more than 129,000 learners on bookkeeping and tax preparation through Intuit Academy.

The TurboTax campaign promotes assisted tax preparation by a local tax expert with the ability to maintain a multi-year advisory relationship with the taxfiler.

Intuit is engaged in constructive conversations with NATP to reaffirm our commitment to tax preparers and expanding their opportunities to serve taxfilers.”

Intuit has drawn some ire from professionals in the past, most notably with one of its earlier campaigns for QuickBooks, in which it suggested business owners didn’t need an accountant anymore.

“Following the release of the ad, the AICPA engaged in productive discussions with various stakeholders, including Inuit’s CEO,” said Barry Melancon, president of the American Institute of CPAs. We want to thank our members, many of whom expressed disappointment with the ad, for their patience as we held these conversations.

“Intuit’s decision to halt the ad is a positive step. We appreciate that in our conversations, Intuit reemphasized their commitment to the CPA community and recognized the importance of growing that talent pipeline. AICPA members interact with Intuit in numerous capacities, and this decision is recognition of how important that interaction is to Intuit.”

For reference, one video from the new TurboTax advertising campaign is at:

Nearly 30 House Republicans are asking President-elect Donald Trump to stop the IRS free tax filing service, Direct File, on day one of his new administration.

Reps. Adrian Smith, R-Neb., and Chuck Edwards, R-N.C., led the group in penning a letter to Trump on Tuesday, writing that “the program’s creation and ongoing expansion pose a threat to taxpayers’ freedom from government overreach, and its rollout and structural flaws have already come at a steep price.”

Direct File is an online IRS service for people to file federal tax returns for free directly with the tax agency. The IRS piloted the program earlier this year and announced in May that it would be a permanent option for taxpayers, citing positive marks on the tool from the over 140,000 taxpayers who used it to file their taxes.

It’s set to open to eligible taxpayers in 24 states when the upcoming filing season opens, likely putting its debut close to the start of the new administration, as the filing season historically opens in January and February and the inauguration is scheduled for Jan. 20.

Republicans have already tried to cancel the service with bills to prohibit the IRS from continuing its efforts and to block Direct File’s funding. At the same time, billionaire Elon Musk and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy are reportedly mulling the potential of an IRS tax filing app as part of their advisory work under Trump, although what will happen there isn’t clear.

Trump himself has signaled a new direction for the tax agency by suggesting he will oust current IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel before his term ends in 2027 and replace him with former Rep. Billy Long, R-Mo.

The House Republicans assert that the IRS running Direct File is a “clear conflict of interest” and that “the IRS has little incentive to ensure hardworking Americans do not pay more than they owe in taxes.”

The IRS is bound by the tax laws set by Congress. The tax agency did not respond to a request for comment.

“Under the guise of offering a convenient “free-to-file” alternative preparation service, the IRS asserts itself as the tax assessor, collector, preparer, and enforcer—all in one,” the letter states, asking Trump take action “including but not limited to a day-one executive order” to end the program.

The tax agency isn’t really operating as a tax preparer with the tool, said James McTigue, Jr., director of strategic issues for tax policy and administration at the Government Accountability Office, which has fielded a report on the program.

“The IRS Direct File system allows the taxpayer to prepare his or her own return through a series of questions that are derived from the tax code,” he said. “Ultimately it is the taxpayer who is preparing the tax return.”

The IRS decision to field the tool earlier this year was a marked change from the status quo.

Since the early 2000s, the government had relied on a partnership with commercial tax prep companies to offer most Americans a free tax filing option under the condition that the IRS wouldn’t make its own tool and compete with the tax prep industry, a clause that was removed in 2019.

That program, though, is vastly underused, with only 3% of those eligible using it from 2020 to 2024, according to a Treasury Department watchdog. Millions of Americans pay fees to file their tax returns with software provided by the same companies that were or are part of the program, called Free File.

In 2022, Intuit entered a settlement for pushing Americans toward paid TurboTax products even when they were eligible for free ones. Intuit is no longer part of the program, nor is heavy-hitter H&R Block. Both companies have previously described Direct File as a “solution in search of a problem” in comments to Nextgov/FCW.

Intuit has also come under scrutiny from the Federal Trade Commission for what the FTC called deceptive advertising of free tax filing products that millions of consumers couldn’t use.

Trump’s pick for the IRS backed bills to require the Treasury to continue the Free File program while he was in Congress. The Trump transition team didn’t immediately respond to a question from Nextgov/FCW of whether the incoming White House would cancel the service.

The IRS has said that Direct File won’t replace Free File but instead be an additional option for taxpayers.

The creation of Direct File put the IRS in line with other countries worldwide that offer similar tools, the former National Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson previously told Nextgov/FCW.

Intuit has long lobbied against a government-run system, as ProPublica has documented. It set a new record for itself in lobbying dollars in 2023, according to Open Secrets. Other tax prep companies and trade associations also increased lobbying spend that year.

Supporters of Direct File say that it saves Americans time and money in tax filing. People spend 13 hours and $270 on filing taxes annually on average, although that varies for individuals, the IRS estimated last year.

That burden means that some people don’t file their taxes and miss out on benefits that are delivered through the tax code, like the Earned Income Tax Credit. Over 9 million people didn’t file returns to get benefits in the 2022 cycle, according to the IRS.

“Direct File is a common-sense digital government service for the 21st century, which would reduce administrative burden for low-income families, and allow them to get their information directly from their government — rather than from private intermediaries who do not have their best interests at heart,” the Coalition for Fair and Free Filing, made up of over 200 organizations, wrote to the IRS in 2023.

The House Republicans, meanwhile, write that the Direct File program wasn’t specifically authorized by lawmakers, calling it “a blatant overstep of constitutional authority,” an argument some Republican state attorneys general have also made.

Werfel told lawmakers earlier this year that the IRS has “a responsibility and an authority to offer taxpayers different approaches for how to meet their tax obligation” when asked about that point earlier this year, noting that not every tool that the IRS offers for taxpayers to meet their obligations is specifically spelled out in law.

The group behind the letter also call the program wasteful and inefficient, saying that it “is not an efficient use of government resources, especially when the private sector offers better tax preparation services at no cost.”

The IRS should promote Free File instead, the Republicans write. The total cost for the Direct File was just over $31 million.

Direct File hasn’t been without its challenges since Democrats included an ask for a report on the feasibility of such a system in their 2022 Inflation Reduction Act.

Direct File doesn’t help people file state taxes, for example, and the tool routes those in states with such taxes to state-side tools to finish out their filing.

The IRS also didn’t fully open Direct File until well into the tax season earlier this year, and the impact of identity proofing requirements on those using the tool is also an open question probed even by Democrats on Capitol Hill that support the tool.

Prepopulation, or the IRS pre-filling Direct File with information it already has, is a tricky subject, too, with some eager to see it used and others wary of its privacy implications.

Werfel called the IRS vision for tax administration nonpartisan when asked about the potential impact of the election earlier this year.

“We also think that it is nonpartisan that taxpayers should have options for how they file and that the broader the menu of options, the better,” he said.

Even if Direct File survives, the IRS will need multi-year funding to keep the program from becoming obsolete. Republicans have tried to slash the billions the IRS got via the Inflation Reduction Act.

September 13, 2024

For Kevie Lamour ’25, it was a journey into something with which she really wasn’t that familiar.

It was a journey of forms and deductions; of exemptions and refunds; of W-2s and 1040s; of donations and expenditures.

The Haiti native came to Albion College and settled on political science as her major before recently adding economics to her plate. So when she volunteered over the winter to join other Albion students to help local residents fill out their taxes, she admitted with a laugh, “I didn’t know what the heck I was doing.”

But she does now. And what she and the other student volunteers learned was far more important, and educational, than refunds and dependents.

“It was the first time I had to think about filing taxes and every case is different,” she said. “But for me, it’s the personalized touch to it. We try to make it as personal as possible. I just want to help people go through it and it’s just nice to give something back.”

It’s been some 20 years since retired economics professor Gaylord Smith created the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program to help those in need in the Greater Albion community navigate the complicated waters of tax preparation and filing.

It was an opportunity, he believed, to help those who could use a hand with one of the necessary, often exhausting, frequently annoying, and sometimes expensive realities of American life. And it can be especially tough on older filers and those with limited financial means, who need to file but can’t really afford to go to an accountant or a tax service.

So two times a week initially and then once a week as tax season drew to a close, VITA volunteers gathered in shifts in Room 106 of Robinson Hall to help with tax conversations, to answer questions, make suggestions, help fill out the forms and, finally, e-file returns.

The program has remained popular over the years as more than 1,000 people have used it.

“A lot of people in the community know about us,” said adjunct economics professor Leah Parker-Roth ’15, who along with professor Connie O’Brien and alumna Ashlin Tabiadon ’17, coordinated the student volunteers this season. Renee Harlow ’12 schedules and organizes appointments and solves the various logistical issues.

“We have a lot of return clients,” Parker-Roth said.

Parker-Roth ’15 knows the program better than most because she’s been here before. As an Albion College student who double majored in accounting and business and organizations, she volunteered in VITA for four years and gained valuable insight on not only how to work through taxes, but how to work with people.

She took that experience and turned it into a job with a small accounting firm before finding an unexpected opportunity to return to her alma mater as an economics professor. Economics professor John Bedient, who took the mantle from Smith, recently handed the VITA program over to Parker-Roth. Fellow economics professor John Carlson also devoted a decade to the development and progress of the program. Bedient has been a long-time advocate for the program and will return as its leader this year.

“It’s a chance to give back to the community and have students get some real-world work to go with their book knowledge,” he said. “We teach them about the effect of taxes at the 30,000-foot level in class. But this is down and dirty and it’s putting numbers in boxes.”

Those interested in volunteering must first complete and pass three IRS-mandated courses over a two-day training session in January. The courses focus on professional ethics, tax law, and discussing tax returns with clients.

“It can be difficult,” Maya Batjargal ’26 said. “The documents are different for everyone and sometimes there are questions about why someone got a lesser refund. You have to be ready for unexpected questions.”

At the beginning of tax season, VITA was open twice a week in Robinson Hall for at least three hours. Appointments are set up and volunteers take customers through the entire process of consultation, gathering important documents, and helping them fill out their local, state, and federal tax forms.

The taxes are filed on the IRS-approved Taxslayer software and, after the numbers are plugged in, Parker-Roth examines the returns before they’re e-filed. Volunteers are allowed to only work on basic 1040 taxes. And if students run into a tax roadblock, the professors are there to provide guidance.

Parker-Roth said the experience for students is invaluable.

“It gives them an understanding of professionalism and understanding [of] the diligence of this type of work,” she said. “Whatever realm of business you go into, you have to be diligent and responsible. It also shows them how not only to work with clients but with their student peers. It gives them real-world experience.”

VITA also provides an opportunity for the volunteers to gain academic credit as participants in the program. But the practical experience is what really matters, Bedient said, such as learning attention to detail, working collaboratively, and interacting with the public.

“It is an opportunity that employers value,” Bedient said. “Once students put VITA on their resume in an interview, an employer’s ears perk up. They know they must pass an IRS test that’s not easy. Also, employers know VITA requires students to demonstrate with each client valued behaviors like attention to detail, active listening, and collaborative, problem-solving skills.”

The VITA program this year featured an array of students, many of them who are majoring in accounting and economics, but some of them who are just interested in helping.

The volunteers this winter included: Maralgoo Ariunbaatar ’26; William Barr ’25; Gerelmaa Batjargal ’26; Enkhmaa Buyanbadrakh ’26; Mateo Diaz '24; Alexis Glaser '25; Kevin Herrera '26; Kevie Lamour '25; Stephanie Ledezma Gonzalez '24; Juan Lopez '24; Canon Rose '25; Maiwand Zahin '26; and Jadlyn Riley '24.

“I wanted to get some real-life hands-on experience,” said Enkhmaa Buyanbadrakh ’26, a native of Mongolia who is an accounting major. “I’ve learned a lot from this. I’ve taken so many accounting classes but this helps me with hands-on learning.”

And Bedient believes the program remains as vital and important as ever.

“This is a way to do charitable work in the community and that’s been my biggest benefit from it,” he said. “I can also help students help community members. We’ve gotten a lot of good vibes helping people who really need help.”

The best payroll software for small businesses is easy to use, simplifying payroll and tax-filing processes. Many systems also provide human resources (HR) features, like state new hire reporting and paid time-off (PTO) tracking. Payroll services offer mobile apps for employees, which let them view pay stubs and time-off balances. Discover 10 small business payroll systems that can give you peace of mind and let you run payroll from anywhere.

Gusto: best full-service payroll system

Gusto is a full-service payroll provider offering automatic federal, state, and local tax filing for small businesses in all 50 states. It has three plans starting at $40 plus $6 per person monthly. All subscriptions include unlimited payroll runs, PTO policiesholiday pay, and state new hire reporting. Gusto provides employees with lifetime access to tax forms and digital pay stubs. In addition, it automatically generates and sends digital copies of 1099s and W-2s to your staff.

[Read more: How to Choose a Payroll Service for Your Small Business]

Wave: an excellent payroll system for solopreneurs

If you use Wave’s free invoicing and accounting software, its payroll service is a natural addition. Wave can pay and file state and federal payroll taxes for businesses in 14 states (Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin). It costs $40 plus $6 per active employee or independent contractor monthly.

For companies outside of these states, you can choose the self-service option. In this case, Wave calculates your payroll taxes, but you file the documents and pay the taxes yourself. This version costs $20 plus $6 per active employee or independent contractor monthly.

OnPay: better for employee record-keeping

OnPay provides one plan that costs $40 plus $6 per person monthly. It integrates with QuickBooks Online and Xero. According to PCMag“OnPay’s employee profiles are some of the most thorough.” You can customize the forms with various data fields, including drop-down lists and text boxes. “You could use these in employee records to, for example, track computer equipment or t-shirt sizes,” said PCMag.

Rippling: a complete HR workforce solution

Rippling is a customizable workforce management platform. You can add modules for payroll, professional employer organization (PEO) services, device management, and more. It integrates with more than 500 third-party tools and can sync to your general ledger. Rippling provides mobile apps for employers and employees, allowing small business owners to run payroll on the go and workers to check pay stubs from their cell phones. Pricing is available by contacting the company.

Intuit QuickBooks: great option for contractor-only payroll

Intuit QuickBooks has a unique contractor-only plan for $15 per month. It includes unlimited payments to up to 20 freelancers, and you can add more contractors for $2 per person. Each contractor can set up a free account to complete their W-9 forms and provide banking information online, so you don’t need to handle their confidential data. QuickBooks Payroll also lets you create and e-file an unlimited number of 1099-NEC and 1099-MISC forms.

[Read more: Managing Your Own Payroll and Benefits? Why It Might Be Time to Consider a PEO]

ADP: ideal for scaling your small business

ADP has several plans for companies with one to 49 employees under the program ADP Run. These versions provide multi-jurisdiction payroll and unlimited runs. ADP files, pays, and reconciles payroll on your behalf, and new hire onboarding tools come with all subscriptions. As your business grows, you can move into ADP Workforce Now for companies with 50 or more workers. It includes advanced reporting and HR features. Pricing is available by contacting ADP.

Patriot: a low-cost no-tax-filing option

Patriot payroll software starts at $17 plus $4 per employee or contractor monthly for no-tax-filing plans or $37 plus $4 per employee or contractor monthly for full-service payroll. Patriot states, “The average customer runs payroll in under 3 minutes.” Along with affordable service plans, Patriot provides a free payroll setup. You give them your information and they handle the rest, or you can use the payroll startup wizard.

Paychex Flex: best for 24/7 customer support

Paychex Flex works in all 50 states and offers 24/7 customer service, even on its base plan, Paychex Flex Essentials. It automatically calculates, files, and pays payroll taxes. Employers can perform payroll tasks with voice assistant integrations with Siri and Google or receive text notifications. Paychex Flex pricing starts at $39 plus $5 per person monthly.

Square: best payroll service for seasonal businesses

Square Payroll is the only provider that lets you pause payroll services for seasonal inactivity. Others require employers to pay the monthly subscription price. It costs $35 plus $6 per employee or contractor monthly. Square Payroll automatically files your federal, state, and local payroll taxes and can handle multistate payroll for no extra charge. Plus, it mails W-2s and 1099-NEC forms.

[Read more: Online Payroll Software and Service: A Guide for Beginners]

SurePayroll: for small businesses with fewer than 10 employees

SurePayroll is owned by Paychex and only offers payroll services for companies with fewer than 10 employees. After you’ve processed six rounds of payroll without any non-sufficient funds incidents, SurePayroll may let you pay employees on the same day or the next day. Otherwise, the vendor processes payroll over two to four days. It has a no-tax-filing option and a full-service solution, with pricing available via a custom quote.

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For More Human Resources Tips:

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3. How to Determine Employee Pay

Doing taxes can be a tedious task for most people, but one Tri-City tax accountant loves the work.

Bruce Jorgensen, managing partner of ILUVTAX.COM, launched his firm 10 years ago. The name speaks for itself: he has a passion for taxes.

What’s less obvious from the business name is that Jorgensen also loves helping people, and taxes are his way of doing that.

“It all boils down to people. It’s not number crunching,” he said, explaining that people use the numbers to determine whether they’re successful.

Career path

Jorgensen had an affinity for numbers growing up, but he didn’t always think he’d be an accountant. He initially studied communications with the goal of becoming a film producer.

When he struggled to find employment, he ended up working for a restaurant. “Only thing I liked about it was I got to balance the cash drawer at the end of the day,” he said.

He began working at his brother’s accounting firm – three of his four brothers have CPA certificates.

When Jorgensen became interested in taxes, his brother recommended he take a job at H&R Block, where he could get training. Jorgensen later went back to school for a degree in accounting and his CPA certificate.

He spent time working for a firm in San Francisco and even started his own business before realizing he was working too many hours and transitioned to work at the Hanford site while he raised his family.

Jorgensen stayed there for 30 years and during his last job, he spent time working with the Internal Revenue Service.

“I realized, you know, it’s pretty straightforward to work with IRS,” he said, “you just have to know the rules.” And Jorgensen’s a self-described rule-keeper.

So, he went back into accounting at a tax firm for a couple of years before launching his own, ILUVTAX.COM, in 2014.

Jorgensen and his daughter came up with the name together. She asked him: “Why do you do what you do?”

“Well, I like to help people,” he answered. “I’ve always liked tax work and I’m good with numbers.” This business combined all of those loves.

Helping people through taxes

Jorgensen’s practice breaks down into two parts: half is income tax, both for individuals and businesses, and the other half is accounting work. The accounting work is split between financial reporting and payroll.

During tax season, which runs from the end of January through Oct. 15, “70-80% of my time is spent on doing tax work, 20% on accounting work,” Jorgensen said.

Most of the taxes he works with are income taxes for businesses and individuals, but he also handles estate and trust taxes and helps employers with profit sharing plans or 401(k) plans.

On the payroll side, Jorgensen helps small businesses with reporting and compliance.

Although he doesn’t have a storefront, Jorgensen often meets with clients at their business or in virtual meetings. He currently has two staff members who help with tax preparation, allowing him to spend more time “doing the interaction with (clients), collecting the information and giving them the results,” Jorgensen said. That’s the part he loves.

“We try to provide services that help people pursue their own passion, because very few people like to do what we like to do,” he said.

By helping small businesses with their taxes, Jorgensen enables them to focus on the reason they started their business.

He also helps businesses with tax planning, or understanding the tax consequences of certain business decisions.

“Depending on what you want to do, the implications on your tax return may help you decide,” he said.

But he clarified that “you don’t make money using tax work. You just minimize the amount of taxes you’re paying.”

Tax accountants can help small businesses so they don’t have to worry that they’ve misrepresented their tax returns – so that they can sleep at night and enjoy their business, Jorgensen said. His practice’s goals are to be timely, right and reasonable.

“I want to help people. I get a kick out of, a joy, being able to provide them good advice that they can rely upon,” Jorgensen said.

Tax advice

One piece of advice Jorgensen has where taxes are concerned is to keep good records, and for longer than you may think.

That’s because once a tax return is filed, the IRS has three years to challenge anything on it, he said. It might be difficult to remember what information you wrote and why.

Small businesses have a seven-year holding period because of payroll returns, which are separate from income tax, he said. In Jorgensen’s experience, the rules regulating payroll tax are much stricter than income tax, meaning tax issues are easier to deal with if they’re income related.

“It’s kind of one of those things that people don’t really think about too much, and most people don’t have payroll, right? They’re not small business owners,” Jorgensen said. “But for the small business community, it’s a big deal.”

For both individuals and businesses, Jorgensen has a seemingly obvious piece of advice: “If you get a letter from the IRS, don’t put it in a corner and hide from it,” he said. “That’s the most common mistake people do.”

“It’s a lot easier to deal with the IRS if you respond,” Jorgensen said. It’s also helpful to get the letter reviewed by someone who can put it into context.

That’s one situation where a tax accountant can be helpful. Jorgensen has seen the rise of software that enables individuals to do their taxes on their own. But without context, there’s nothing preventing people from misunderstanding or putting wrong answers to questions the software asks, he said.

Tax law changes frequently, which is a challenge for accountants to keep up with, but Jorgensen said that an election year won’t have immediate impacts on tax laws because they must be passed by Congress. “Legislation that’s talked about in campaigns is rarely a reality until two or three years later,” he said.

Communication

Accounting is still frequently perceived as a boring career path, which is an image Jorgensen has pushed back on in his practice.

“I decided purposely to try to break that mold a little bit, because I like to think of myself as a shirt-sleeve accountant. When I was in business for myself, I used to wear a three-piece suit all the time … and now I realize, to communicate and share things with people, you got to try to figure out how to reach their level,” he said.

While accountants and CPAs have the knowledge to help people in taxes and other areas, they aren’t necessarily trained to communicate their knowledge well. That’s where Jorgensen’s original degree comes in handy.

“I see myself as kind of an interpreter,” he said.

ILUVTAX.COM: iluvtax.com, 509-531-1800, [email protected].