Personal Accounting & Tax Services

Minimizing your tax liability requires careful, advance planning rather than preparing tax returns as deadlines near. EFJ Tax Services Group professionals provide complete tax services and are assisted by our extensive in house and electronic tax library.

We of course use state-of-the-art computer technology for the time-devouring calculations involved in projections and tax return preparations. That way, our tax team is free to concentrate its talents on analysis and innovative solutions to the tax problems faced by clients today.

We pay careful attention to your unique circumstances such as your current requirements, your plans for the future, and provide personal accounting & tax services. We then recommend a plan that best suits your needs while minimizing financial risk.

Preparation & Planning

The value of our approach is readily demonstrated in tax compliance, preparation and planning. Our personal accounting & tax services span across individuals, corporations, partnerships, fiduciaries and estates. In tax compliance assignments the talents of several Tax Services Group specialists may assist on such tasks as personal or corporate tax returns, gift and estate tax returns, fiduciary tax returns and non-profit returns.
To attain individual, family or business goals, planning must encompass a total tax picture. We provide technical advice on the tax implications of business formation and structure, inheritances, spin-offs, liquidations, sales undertaken to create and preserve a client’s wealth, mergers, acquisitions, reorganizations and terminations. To maintain a high level of experience in our Tax Services Group, we conduct regular in-house training sessions to review all new major tax trends and legislation. Our Tax Services Group specialists can also steer you through the thousands of state and local authorities taxing requirements.

EFJ emphasizes strategic planning as a means of managing growth, minimizing taxes and preparing for the retirement of the business owner. We are dedicated to providing timely, accurate and meaningful financial information so that the client, in turn, can make sound strategic management decisions to plan and realize definitive results.

Estate planning has received greater and greater public attention. EFJ is meeting this new interest with a total planning approach. This creates an estate planning blueprint of the strongest and most effective options for a client’s future, focusing on the creation of wealth and the interrelationship of estate, fiduciary and personal taxes. We offer a combined vision of understanding and technical skills to handle the complex issues surrounding the creation of wealth and the orderly transfer of assets to beneficiaries. To accomplish this, we gather all pertinent information and past tax returns; examine important intangibles such as family relationships, age and health; and review all existing wills and trusts which reflects the client’s assets and also minimizes the impact of estate and income taxes.

Our preparation service include:

• Sales and payroll tax returns
• Excise tax returns
• Highway use tax returns
• Income tax returns for:
  – Corporations
  – Partnerships
  – Individuals
  – Estates
  – Trusts
  – Pension and profit-sharing plan returns
  – Special tax reports

Our tax planning services encompass:

• Professional corporations
• “S” corporations
• Family partnerships
• Lifetime gifts in trust
• Short-term trusts
• Estate plans
• Tax-Sheltered investments analysis
• Charitable contributions
• Tax deferral plans
• Tax accounting methods
• Stock options plans
• Pension and profit-sharing plans
• Deferred compensation plans
• Flexible spending accounts
• Split-dollar insurance
• Group term life insurance
• Corporate medical reimbursement plans

Retirement plan administration

EFJ offers administrative services for 401(k) Profit Sharing Plans, SIMPLE IRA Plans, Safe Harbor 401(k) Plans, Profit Sharing Plans, Money Purchase Plans and Age-Weighted / Cross Tested Plans. We tailor our services to meet your plan’s needs.

A sample of the services we offer include:

• Allocations: Record contributions, earnings, forfeitures and rollovers; determine investment fund allocations; allocate gains and losses in accordance with the plan’s language.
• Census: Collect employee information from either the employer or their payroll company. Update the information for existing employees and enter new employee data.
• Compliance: Prepare annual IRS Form 5500 with required attachments; prepare or provide information for IRS Forms 1099-R, 1096 and 945; monitor and review the plan’s top heavy status, annual addition limits under IRC 415 ©, coverage requirements under IRC 410(b), salary deferral limits under IRC 402(g) and corporate deductibility limits under IRC 404(a).
• Consulting: Help define the employer’s goals and objectives for retirement planning purposes; help determine which type of plan will meet their goals and objectives; review any existing plans and make suggestions and recommendations for changes; assist with employee communication.
• Contributions: Calculate Profit Sharing or Matching contributions as requested by the employer; advise of any required contributions due to the plan’s top heavy status; advise the employer of any contributions that are in excess of the allowable limits and recommend corrective action.
• Deferrals: For 401(k) plans, tracking the elective deferrals paid to the plan on behalf of each participant and if necessary tracking the investment allocations of such deferrals.
• Eligibility: Determine employee eligibility for participation in the plan and advise employer when to enroll the eligible employees.
• Reports: Provide valuation reports periodically (quarterly, semi-annually or annually) as requested by the employer; provide non-discrimination testing periodically as requested by the employer; provide each participant with a comprehensive certificate of their account as of each valuation period; prepare the Summary Annual Report as required by law.
• Terminations and Retirements: Calculate the amount of benefit distributions; supply the necessary and required forms in compliance with plan provisions; ensure that all forms are properly executed including spousal consent if required; determine tax withholding requirements; instruct trustee on how to make the benefit payment; prepare IRS forms 1099-R, and 1096 as required and 945 if requested.
• Testing: Perform annually the average deferral percentage (ADP) and the average contribution percentage (ACP) tests and advise plan administrator of any corrections that may need to be made; recommend options to plan administrator to help avoid failing the tests in future plan years.
• Trust Account: Calculate the realized and unrealized earnings for the plan’s investments; determine investment income and prepare a statement of assets and liabilities for the plan.
• Vesting: Maintain years of service based on hours, or elapsed time as determined by the plan document to calculate vesting, forfeitures, and breaks-in-service.

Tax audit representation

We represent clients before the IRS and State Tax authorities. Let us handle your next examination and learn how we can represent you.

Payroll & Sales tax return preparation

We prepare all the required quarterly and annual employment tax returns as well and any monthly sales tax return. We are well versed as to the depository and filing requirements. Call us today to discuss with you how we can be of assistance.