The City’s Treasury office has the responsibility for the collection of the Tourism Marketing District (TMD) and Transient Occupancy Tax fees. The transient occupancy tax is made up of 10.5% of taxable rent collected, and the TMD assessment amounts to 2%, of the assessable rent. Taxable items include roll-away beds, cribs, and energy surcharges.

Property taxes are a County of San Diego Tax. The state Property and Special Taxes Department provides guidance to San Diego as well as the other 57 counties in the state and monitors the adequacy of their tax assessment practices. California state law requires that homeowners be responsible for the timely payment of taxes on their properties. If taxes are not paid on time, penalties of up to 10% can be added onto the balance of the tax.

The State of California imposes the San Diego Tax of both income and sales. Currently, the state has a state sales tax rate of 7.2% and a local rate of 1.0%, leading to a combined rate of 8.25%. Of the collected sales tax, 6% goes to the State of California’s General Fund. Of the remaining 1.25% of the state portion, 0.25% goes toward the state’s fiscal recovery fund. This fund is used to pay of Economic Recovery Bonds. 0.50% goes toward the local public safety fund that helps support local criminal justice activities. The remaining 0.50% goes toward a local revenue fund that supports local health and social services programs. Of the 1% of the tax that goes to the local jurisdiction, 0.25% goes to the county transportation funds, while the other 0.75% goes toward county and city operations.

Additional information on taxes in the state of California can be found online at the California Tax Service Center (http://www.taxes.ca.gov/index.shtml).

Tax relief seems a very difficult thing to find for those people who does not know where and how to find it. Due to the stress and frustration felt by taxpayers facing IRS tax debts, they tend to ignore the possibility that they still have a chance to get things settled in the right way instead of neglecting the notices and try to escape. Good news is, tax relief help is not that hard to find nowadays. There are dedicated tax professionals who know their way around taxes to take care of what you can’t handle. You can choose from any of these tax pros to handle your tax problem depending on the ability of these experts to negotiate on your behalf. You may either choose from a CPA, enrolled IRS agent, tax lawyer or a tax attorney.

Once an IRS notice demanding for payment is sent, you should take necessary steps to resolve the problem before it levels up into a more difficult scenario. If you are not sure of what to do, you must consult a tax attorney or a tax lawyer if the case involves legalities and compliance to the Internal Revenue Code (IRC). If an IRS notice is ignored once, it will create a lot of implications that will result on penalties and high interest rates which will more likely surpass your tax debt, making it more difficult for you to pay them off. A tax attorney or a tax lawyer can help you negotiate an Installment Agreement plan if you are not able to pay the amount of taxes due in full or settle for pennies on a dollar through the Offer in Compromise (OIC) if you will be qualified for the said program.

Tax issues like IRS lien, IRS levy, wage garnishment, IRS penalties, etc are IRS’ most powerful strategies that can cripple your finances and they will extract every hard earned penny that you are making. IRS is one strong agency that will tear you off in a battle if you don’t know how to defend yourself. Winning against IRS is not far ahead and can be obtained through a qualified representation.

A lot of IRS tax relief companies are swamping the industry today and not all of them can provide and fight for your freedom from tax problems. Some of them are monsters that are just waiting for the opportunity to take advantage on the weak prey. You should fall into the right hands and hire only the trusted. Instant Tax Solutions is one of the reputable IRS tax relief firms in the industry today who will not only provide you with honest services they can but secure your future finances from frustrations brought by tax problems and avoid IRS notices. ITS together with its team of CPAs, IRS enrolled agents, tax attorney and tax lawyers, tax relief is just a phone call away. Call the number on their website, www.instanttaxsolutions.com and make the most important call today.

In this vast changing world, no one would be ignorant enough of not knowing the cruelties of life. It is evident that problems seem to be inescapable most especially when we speak of financial issues. Every citizen, of legal age, is liable to pay their taxes. That is why some hire a legal Tax Attorney.

These tax attorneys specialize in working with taxpayers who are finding a hard time dealing with the Internal Revenue Services. Generally they focus on tax issues and relief. They help a taxpayer who is in trouble by making an audit, reducing high cost penalties, removing liens and navigating through the minefields of small business enterprises and self-employment tax issues. For some small business proprietors, they consider their tax attorney to be as vital as an accountant. This is because he/she can help head off potential tax problems before they even begin.

Tax law, besides from being labyrinthine in structure, changes nearly every year. Thus a good tax lawyer should keep up with the latest changes and can give good advice to clients accordingly.

When looking for a tax attorney, the person should never be in a rush. He/ she could look around and ask friends if they could recommend someone who is a good tax specialist. Not merely somebody who is just first in the phonebook. Additionally, a tax attorney should have advanced training in tax law.

Why need one? Tax attorneys are best in handling complex, technical and legal issues. Such as when you are starting a business and need legal counsel about the structure and tax treatment of your company, you are engaging in international business and need help with contracts, tax treatment, and other legal matters, and you own a taxable estate, need to create estate planning strategies, or need to file a tax return.

Everyone makes mistakes in life, but tax problems can lead to horrific conflicts with the Internal Revenue Services (IRS). When your local tax agency comes calling, you definitely need someone for representation. And that’s where a tax lawyer steps in the scene. A tax lawyer would protect your rights and give an objective view of the situation and options.

They would serve as the key in surviving the conflict. Though it would be emotional and nerve racking process. But with the help of tax attorneys/tax lawyers, clients would lessen their burden and thus give them relief which they longed for. But to get rid of tax issues, pay you taxes on time. It’s an obligation we can’t get away from.

How do you find a tax preparer that is right for you?

First, not all tax preparers are the same. I wrote an article about this last year titled: Tax Returns: Are They All Created Equal?

HOW DO YOU FIND A TAX PREPARER THAT IS RIGHT FOR YOU?

First, not all tax preparers are the same. I previously wrote an article about this last year titled: “Tax Returns – Are they really all created equal”, and you may be as surprised as other readers about just how much tax return preparation can vary.

In fact, I calculated the average savings I typically find from annual tax savings, reducing professional fees and audit assessments. In total, the average savings are:

- $23,750 Annual tax savings

- $5,000 Audit defense savings

- $10,000 Reduced audit assessment savings

- $50,000 Reduced legal fees

- $3,000 Reduced tax return preparation fees

This is a total average potential savings of $91,750! Your tax preparer does make a difference! How much more could you do with these savings?

Second, the right tax preparer for you depends on what is important to you. Take a minute to answer this question:

WHAT MAKES YOUR TAX RETURN SUCCESSFUL?

How you answer this question will impact what type of tax preparer you need on your team. I’ve asked this questions to clients, prospects and colleagues. I have compiled the most popular answers and what it means to you as you find the tax preparer for your team.

ANSWER #1: Paying the least amount of tax legally

Your tax preparer needs to:

- Know the tax law very well and know how to be creative legally.

- Ask you a lot of questions about your situation in order to understand your situation and goals.

- Have a review process where at least one other person reviews your return solely for the purpose of how to reduce your taxes legally.

HERE ARE SEVEN (7) QUESTIONS YOU SHOULD ASK YOUR TAX PREPARER TO DETERMINE IF IT’S A GOOD FIT:

Q1: Can you tell me about the other ___________ (your industry) you service?

A: Your tax preparer needs to know how the tax law applies to your situation. Having other clients in your industry or with similar investments indicates that the tax preparer is likely to be familiar with the tax laws that impact you.

Q2: Who will be working on my tax return?

A: It’s very common (and a good business practice) for tax preparers to have staff prepare your tax return. You want to make sure the other people working on your return have the same level of expertise.

Q3: What is your tax return review process?

A: Tax preparers who are focused on reducing your taxes will have this built into their review process. Usually it involves having another experienced tax preparer review the return solely for the purpose of finding ways to reduce your taxes.

Q4: What would you have done differently on my past tax return?

A: Show the tax preparer you are interviewing your prior year tax return. Creative tax preparers will be able to give you at least one idea of what you can do to reduce your taxes by looking at your tax return for just a few minutes. If it’s creativity you are after, this is a great question to ask! But don’t expect the tax preparer to give you all the details right then and there – that’s why you pay them!

Q5: How much can you save me in taxes?

A: While it’s difficult for any tax preparer to answer this in just a few minutes of looking at your past tax return, it is possible for them to know if they can save you taxes after spending 30 minutes with you.

Q6: What deadlines do you impose on clients?

A: This may seem like an odd question for minimizing your taxes but it has a direct impact. If your tax preparer allows you to provide your information a week before the tax return is due, it’s very unlikely that the tax preparer will have the time to focus on your return to truly minimize your taxes. Tax preparers that want to reduce your taxes want your tax return information early and will communicate that to you.

Q7: What recent tax law changes should I be aware of? A: To minimize your taxes, your tax preparer needs to know the tax law inside and out, which includes the latest changes. Your tax preparer needs to be able to answer this question without hesitation.

ANSWER #2: Minimizing tax return preparation fees Your tax preparer needs to:

- Focus on the tax work and recommend someone else for the non-tax work (such as bookkeeping).

- Request tax information in a certain format.

- Require you to input your information online.

HERE ARE TWO (2) QUESTIONS YOU SHOULD ASK YOUR TAX PREPARER REGARDING MINIMIZING RETURN PREPARATION FEES TO DETERMINE IF IT’S A GOOD FIT:

Q1: What can I do to reduce my tax return preparation fees?

A: To minimize your tax return preparation fees, your tax preparer always needs to have your fees in mind. Ask your tax preparer what you can do to reduce your fees. If you don’t get at least 2 suggestions, your tax preparer probably isn’t thinking about how to keep your fees low.

Common suggestions include:

- Have someone other than the tax preparer do your bookkeeping. I am always skeptical when a tax preparer does the bookkeeping. First, they either charge an arm and leg or if they reduce their rates to accommodate you, it means they don’t spend their time entirely on tax issues, which could indicate their tax skills aren’t up to par.

- Organize your information. Don’t bring your tax preparer a shoebox! A tax preparer that is really focused on keeping your fees down will have forms, spreadsheets and other tools available for you to use to organize your tax return information.

- Enter your information online. Many tax preparers now require clients to input their information online. Accurately entered information can help reduce fees. Caution: Information that is entered inaccurately can increase your fees!

Q2: What is your fee structure?

A: Your tax preparer needs to be able to answer this question with confidence. Any wavering could indicate that the tax preparer knows the fees are too high for you but just doesn’t want to tell you. Unfortunately in these situations, you find out too late!

ANSWER #3: Reducing audit risk Your tax preparer needs to:

- Know the tax law very well and how to properly report your activity.

- Understand the IRS’s current “hot buttons” or “red flags.”

- Offer an audit defense plan.

HERE ARE FOUR (4) QUESTIONS YOU SHOULD ASK YOUR TAX PREPARER IN REGARDS TO REDUCING AUDIT RISK TO DETERMINE IF IT’S A GOOD FIT:

Q1: How many audits have you been through and what triggered the audit?

A: The most important part of this question is what triggered the audit. If it was triggered by how something was reported, then that may be something the tax preparer had control over (and may be a bad sign for you).

Q2: What was the outcome of the audits you have been through?

A: A return can be randomly selected for audit or selected because of a certain activity (even though it was reported correctly). So it’s important to understand the outcome of the audits. Was additional tax assessed or were there no changes? Additional tax may indicate that something was not reported properly.

Q3: Do you offer an audit defense plan?

A: Tax preparers that are confident in their work will offer an “insurance” program that covers their professional fees to handle your audit if your return is selected for audit.

Q4: What is your tax return review process?

A: Although tax returns can be selected randomly for audit, many are selected due to how items are reported on the tax return. Tax preparers who are focused on reducing audit risk will have a review process that includes another tax preparer reviewing your return solely for accuracy of reporting.

Be selective with the tax preparer you put on your team. The average savings I find for my clients is over $90,000! Your tax preparer makes a difference!