Posted by famena on 4/14/11 5:21pm
Msg #379809

My Accountant just called to let me know that

I have to pay $3,500 based on my income of $47,000 approx. By experience from previous yrs I think that the amt to be paid is excessive. I provided my accountant with my info about exemptions, expenses, etc.. Please let me have your comments.

Reply by Linda_H/FL on 4/14/11 5:26pm
Msg #379810

Impossible to comment on this little bit of information

except to say I'm sorry to see you have to pay that much...

Too much information NOT provided - it's like trying to identify the picture in a jigsaw puzzle while looking at only two pieces...no can do..

Reply by topflyt on 4/14/11 7:10pm
Msg #379832

Re: Impossible to comment on this little bit of information

Not enough info as far as expenses, the amount of notarizations, mileage etc.

Reply by Calnotary on 4/14/11 5:27pm
Msg #379811

Hard to answer in a public forum without the numbers, but pretty much will be the SE Tax, did he/she make an adj. in SE Form so it could exempt the notary fees from SE Tax?

Reply by Bob_Chicago on 4/14/11 6:13pm
Msg #379820

As others have said , not enough info. But have you made

the appropriate estimated quarterly tax payments?

Reply by James Dawson on 4/14/11 6:31pm
Msg #379824

13.5% isn't bad but from what you offer, you must not have any deductions worth mentioning and it includes ALL taxes. My .02

Reply by MW/VA on 4/14/11 8:55pm
Msg #379836

The problem with waiting to the 11th hr. is that you don't

have time to have your return rechecked by someone else. It's a shocker to find out you owe $3500.
I don't like surprises like that, and work on my taxes early in Feb. so I have time to work it out if I owe.

Reply by Les_CO on 4/14/11 9:14pm
Msg #379841

I’d call General Electric’s accountant.

Reply by Susan Fischer on 4/14/11 10:22pm
Msg #379854

No, Les, you wouldn't. Take that stuff to JP. n/m

Reply by jba/fl on 4/15/11 1:49am
Msg #379860

Why JP? That was humorous! And topical. n/m

Reply by Susan Fischer on 4/15/11 4:37am
Msg #379862

Most of all, it was political. That's why. n/m

Reply by jba/fl on 4/15/11 6:48am
Msg #379863

I didn't see it that way, neither did others. n/m

Reply by Linda_H/FL on 4/15/11 7:23am
Msg #379865

IMO just a simple wisecrack in response to the topic at

hand - a la Les...no need to chase him to JP over that...

JMHO

Reply by Les_CO on 4/15/11 9:22am
Msg #379875

Re: No, Les, you wouldn't. Take that stuff to JP.

Sorry if I offended you Susan. Not everyone here is as politically minded as you. I answered an unanswerable question (given the posted information) with what I believed to be an appropriate answer. In other words: “If you don’t like the figures your accountant arrived at, and he/she can’t explain it to your satisfaction, file an extension, and get a different accountant.” Since apparently GE has some good ones I suggest using them.

Reply by FlaNotary2 on 4/14/11 10:01pm
Msg #379845

That does seem high.

My notary-related income came out to $5,000 for 2010. Only $850 of this was from the actual notarial acts themselves, which are exempt from the self-employment tax. This, combined with my income as a paralegal, is much less than $47,000, but, I will not owe anything. I'm entitled to a $400-ish refund which I'll just apply to next year.

Reply by Barney on 4/14/11 10:05pm
Msg #379847

Re: My Accountant just called to let me know Have him check

Does your accountant know that you do not pay social security on you notary fee. I will see if I can send over this sheet for him to look at.

http://www.irs=gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1040sse.pdf - page 3 center column, #2
and htt=://www.irs.gov/publications/p334/ch05.html#d0e4716
close to the bottom of the publication, there is a special section wit= the heading "Notary public"

This is older but has not changed. Not too many accountants know about this if you can not pull it up let me know by emal and I will try to resend

Reply by Susan Fischer on 4/14/11 11:00pm
Msg #379855

This election, of paying one's share into SS/Medicare, is

a very important consideration to assess in one's financial planning and business model.

Ask everyone in your family/friends who are over 55, or disabled, or in nursing homes, or borrowing money to go to school, or are victims of lost investments to Bernie Madof, - ask them point blank how they feel about losing those benefits of our Social Contract - and required to "sacrifice" that is so less important than tax cuts worth Trillion$ for the Wealthy and Corporations.

BTW, I'd get a new accountant.

Even WE extend credit - to known and unknown Risks. Only we don't charge interest, we just wait to get paid, from those small-businesses that rip the system with no/low/slow payment.

[I take it you're younger than I, because I'm working to retire in a while, while you're much younger because you're today making decisions - that I made decades ago - investing in my old age under the Social Security and MediCare status quo that now serves me [and millions of Americans, including your generation] very well. Please, talk to your elders, and listen to their stories, and before you decide not to invest in your Old Age, because you ~will~ grow old, as they are living proof of the fruits of our contributions to that Social Contract.] jmho.

Reply by Barney on 4/14/11 10:15pm
Msg #379851

tax excempt on some items see below

http://www.irs=gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1040sse.pdf - page 3 center column, #2
and
htt=://www.irs.gov/publications/p334/ch05.html#d0e4716
close to the bottom of the publication, there is a special section wit= the heading "Notary public"
If you need my accountant phone number let me know.

Reply by SharonMN on 4/15/11 10:58am
Msg #379895

Is some of your income a regular employee job and some from notary services? If you normally rely on the withholding from your employee job to also cover taxes on a small amount of notary work, and you had more notary work or less employee work than in previous years, this could easily happen.

Have your accountant go over your return with you and point out where it differs significantly from last year's.

Reply by Jack/AL on 4/15/11 10:25pm
Msg #380032

My numbers were very simlar to yours. Seems I'd been making estimates on the net income, but had not included Self Employment taxes............... When my accountant said I took the news better than many people do, I just said that, "if I owe it, that's because I should have paid it during quarterly estimates." Now, I'll do a much better job of quarterly estimates.