Why have I been writing about Non tax stuff?

Posted by Bruce Mc on Jul 22, 2010 in Information, QuickBooks | 0 comments

Okay, that is becoming a big question almost to the point of being annoying. I am no longer avoiding the question. Please stop filling my inbox and comments with this question, here is the answer: 

In the Quote box below is a copy of a notice I received from NATP, National Association of Tax Professionals.  

IRS Agents Requesting Electronic Copy of QuickBooks Records 

NATP has learned that IRS agents are being instructed to obtain a copy of the taxpayer’s database for examinations for any taxpayer who uses QuickBooks. This will not be done in all examinations, only for those that the IRS agent deems necessary based on the judgment of the agent. If the taxpayer refuses to provide the database and the revenue agent (RA) or manager determines it is necessary, a Summons to obtain the information would be issued. The agents would look at only the information for the year under audit unless they decided to expand the examination to prior years, then information for those years would be reviewed.

The IRS has purchased 1,500 to 2,000 licenses from Intuit and will have one agent trained and licensed per group to assist others in the examination of taxpayers who use QuickBooks. You may not have heard of this yet, but as the software finds its way into RA groups and more agents are trained in its use, we could definitely be seeing a trend in the way exams are conducted since so many small businesses use QuickBooks.

So, in my Small Business client base, I have a lot of clients who use QuickBooks. The information is becoming more relevant to their tax situation seeing how the IRS is now getting these records.

If you have been cheating in QuickBooks, I suggest you make the corrections, now. As I said in my post Mistakes made in QuickBooks, QuickBooks is easy, thus making it user friendly, but being so easy makes it dangerous if you have no formal accounting education. And no I am not saying you need an accounting degree, but if you don’t understand basic bookkeeping, then you could really mess up your books in QuickBooks. And if you are “fudging” your numbers in QuickBooks, well now the IRS will be able to see this and then what? You could owe more in taxes to the IRS. There’s more I think on that, but my peers already think I am a bit out there, so I’ll just leave it at that.

 Please if you are using QuickBooks, get your records straight, get your “books” looked at regularly by a professional.

 Even better yet, when you find a Tax Professional ask them if they are able to review your QuickBooks files.