Tax Services

Pressman Ciocca Smith LLP is a regional tax practice that provides tax research, planning, and return preparation to individuals and businesses of all sizes. Our firm takes pride in our ability to help our clients get the most out of their company and personal finances. We provide highly professional proactive tax consultations dealing with compliance and other issues.

We are members of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants Tax Practice Division. Our clients derive benefits from this membership when we provide business and tax planning services as we are applying the latest developments in the respective tax areas. We utilize our extensive resources including technically competent personnel, CD-ROM databases, on-line databases and the Internet to stay on top of current and pending issues and legislation which enable us to provide the tax planning our clients require.

Our Firm can represent you if you have been selected for an audit by any of the federal, state or local government authorities. We have years of experience representing our clients through various types of audits.

We are available to assist you and your business with the development of a personalized tax plan that will meet your needs in a timely manner.

Here is a list of some specific tax areas where our Firm has helped our clients during this past year:

1. Prepare tax returns for Individuals, C Corporations, S Corporations, Consolidated Corporations, Partnerships, Estates and Trusts, Gift and Inheritance Taxes, Nonprofit Organizations, Retirement Plans, Multi-state businesses, Limited Liability Partnerships and Companies.
2. Develop tax strategies to reduce tax bills.
3. Represent taxpayers before tax authorities.
4. Notify clients of pending and final tax law changes.
5. Determine proper form and structure of transactions.
6. Control the timing or method of carrying out the transaction.
7. Review of various strategies to minimize the various deduction floors.
8. Review deductibility of tax planning expenses.
9. Review different techniques to reduce adjusted gross income.
10. Maximize the deductions for temporary job assignments.
11. Review the new three year window for retirement plan withdrawals.
12. New IRA contribution limits for nonworking spouses.
13. Review downside of pre-tax and company paid disability insurance.
14. Use of gifts of income producing property to children.
15. Timing of gifts or sale of business or investment property.
16. Planning to maximize the splitting of gains and taxes from sales by making a bona fide gift of a part interest in the property before the sale.
17. Review the use of a valid family partnership that provides income splitting where capital is a material income-producing factor.
18. Use of intra-family private annuities (noncommercial annuities), transferor can defer taxes on the future appreciation attributed to the property transferred to a family member in exchange for a life annuity.
19. Intra-family sale/gift - leaseback transactions.
20. Review the establishment of a trust for a dependent parent to effectively shift income out of the higher tax brackets of the person providing the support.
21. Intra-family loans that are interest free or at below market interest rates provide some benefits. Review the de minimis and net investment income limitation rules.
22. Use of a Family Trust, grantor vs. nongrantor types.
23. Use of charitable remainder trusts.
24. Impact of a divorce on taxes.
25. Casualty and disaster losses.
26. Conversion of nondeductible personal interest payments into deductible qualified residence interest or deductible business interest. Also, review the maximum allowed mortgage balances permitting deductible interest expense.
27. Charitable contributions using a properly planned program.
28. Nonreimbursed employee business expenses versus an employer's "accountable reimbursement plan".
29. Moving expenses and tax treatment today.
30. Home office deductions.
31. Credit for child and dependent care costs.
32. Credit for the elderly and the disabled.
33. Education related tax breaks.
34. Alternative minimum tax considerations with respect to the total tax situation.
35. Timing of disposition of investments.
36. Review of losses should be considered as there are planning opportunities with respect to partnership, S corporation and net operating losses for individuals and C corporations. "At-risk" rules need to be adhered to avoid the pitfalls of an unintended result.
37. Avoiding penalties on the underpayment of estimated taxes.
38. Filing status changes that affect planning.
39. Year-end estate and gift tax planning. Do not lose your $10,000 annual gift exclusion.
40. Taxes on social security benefits.
41. Build a college fund early in the year.
42. Self-directed retirement account investments should be reviewed and possibly re-directed.
43. Timing of S elections.
44. Choices that apply to a tax return for prior tax year: installment sales, MACRS, IRC section 179, inventory switch to LIFO, research & development expenses that can be deferred or deducted, involuntary conversions, disaster losses, organization costs, carrying charges, qualified plan contributions, and foreign taxes paid may be adjusted after years end to a limited extent.
45. Planning associated with the formation of a startup business activity including determination of form of entity, tax year end, method of accounting restrictions, management structure, capital structure, compensation issues, employee perks, planning for income and loss, limited liability, transfers of property, books and records, multiple entities, retirement planning, business auto considerations, combining business and personal trips, meal and entertainment expense limitations, financial reporting and tax compliance issues.
46. Review the 1996 major revisions to the S corporation tax provisions including the provisions permitting S corporation holding companies with S corporation subsidiaries.
47. Business acquisitions and dispositions including negotiations, tax planning and due diligence.
48. State and local tax compliance issues.
49. Estate tax planning by structuring estates to minimize the estate tax and maximize the inheritance.
50. Review the advantages of setting up trust accounts for children.
51. Explain living trusts, irrevocable trusts and power-of-attorneys.