Whether youโre a small or emerging business, an individual or a pass-through entity like an S-Corporation or Limited Liability Corporation (LLC), John S. Wood, C.P.A., P.A. can help you navigate the ever-changing tax codes and if necessary, negotiate with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on your behalf.
โTax laws change every year and the code can be complex, especially if you have multiple investments,โ Wood says. โIn the case of negotiating a tax debt, I can speak directly with the IRS on behalf of a client and can help get the problem resolved, so they can move on with their lives.โ
He also says that the IRS can put liens on property and levy bank accounts.
โThe IRS has access to every database known to man,โ Wood says. โOnce they start actions, they donโt go away. But, once a client comes to me, they donโt have to deal with the IRS anymore.โ
Woodโs firm offers โrescueโ services for taxpayers who owe back taxes. The firm offers guidance, representation and can help the client get into an installment agreement that will sometimes get the IRS to accept less than the original tax bill.
โAs small business owners, we do so much by ourselves. One place we donโt want to mess around with is taxes and the IRS,โ says Brandon Diehl of STRATIX Marketing. โIt was beyond easy to work with John, he double checks everything and as a business owner, heโs invaluable to me. Even if you keep your own books, itโs good to have a C.P.A. you can call.โ
Looking Back…&ย Forward, Too
Wood, whose office is located in the Palm Lake Office Building off Amberly Dr. in Tampa Palms, remembers a time when life in the area was a bit more simple. He moved to the New Tampa area in 1987 and graduated from the University of South Florida with a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in Accounting in 1997.
โWhen I moved to the area, there was barely anything between Skipper Road and S.R. 54,โ Wood says. โThe area has developed a lot. Thereโs more diversity, which is a positive aspect, and the impact of technology on our lives has changed the way we do business.โ
When Wood started in the business more than 21 years ago, he says that much of the client interaction was face-to-face. Clients would bring in the proverbial, โshoeboxโ of receipts and sit down across a desk from Wood. Itโs not to say those types of interactions donโt exist anymore, but they are certainly much rarer today.
โItโs transitioning to a virtual practice these days,โ Wood says. โAccounting trends like cloud-based software as well as new programs and applications make it so that I actually see less and less of clients. The old days when Iโd get peopleโs bank statements in the mail are gone.โ
New Tech, Old Time Service
Wood also says that new technologies are helping to streamline the process for both tax preparation and accounting services.
Quickbooks has been around since the early 2000s but can now be integrated into online platforms that a C.P.A. like Wood can share in real time with a client. Wood says he also started using an application called Hubdoc this past year. Hubdoc can automatically pull your bills and bank statements into one secure hub. Wood can then access the hub and get all pertinent financial information that he needs to provide service to a client.
โA lot of the manual processes of accounting and bookkeeping have been eliminated by this technology,โ Wood says.
Hubdoc, coupled with the LogMeIn application, streamlines the process even further. LogMeIn allows C.P.A.s like Wood to remotely access his own or his clientโs computer. Wood has been able to utilize the technology for the last five years.
โThe screens pop up on my computer just like they were on my clientโs,โ Wood says. โWeโll actually take turns using the mouse; the technology is amazing.โ
The remote access can save clients a significant amount of time and help them negotiate financial programs like Quickbooks or even the IRS website.
With 90 to 95 percent of Woodโs business coming in via digital or electronic submissions, it slashes preparation time and can give hands-on assistance to a client without even being in the same room.
Do You Still Need A CPA?
There are several other reasons why a client would want to use a C.P.A. and not try to file their taxes themselves. The biggest one? Money.
โIโve had clients where Iโve amended previous tax returns for them and gotten them a bigger refund,โ Wood says. โPart of bringing a new client on board is that Iโll review their previous yearโs tax return.โ
He also says that he often finds credits and deductions on clientsโ previous tax returns that they missed when they filed themselves.
โCredits are a dollar-for-dollar reduction of what you owe, while deductions lower your taxable income,โ Wood said. โThe layperson is not aware of many of these.โ
Did you send a child to college last year? Thereโs an education credit you can use. Even if you run a small business, Woodsโ services could help make it run more efficiently.
โBusinesses need much more than an individual,โ Wood said. โYouโll need a profit/loss statement and something to keep track of it. Youโll need to put it in a format thatโs properly classified to fit it on your tax return.โ
Wood also provides value to your business by managing assets, measuring, processing and combining financial information. Making a profit is essential to any business. At John S. Wood C.P.A., P.A., customers get what they need to measure their financial results so that they can take appropriate action to maximize their businessesโ profits.
โJohnโs services have been an absolute asset to my company,โ says Loren Staker of West Coast Water Tech. โHeโs done wonders, heโs kept me up to date on changes in the tax law…I could go on and on. Heโs a friend and business associate and I would recommend him to anyone. As long as Iโm in business, heโs my accountant.โ
Wood offers free consultations and brings back a bit of the interaction lost in technology.
Now is the busy time of year, he says, estimating that 65 percent of his business comes in between January and the end of April. Beyond that, his services extend year-round for individuals who have filed extensions or businesses that have quarterly payroll and sales tax reports.
Wood says he likes to rely on word-of-mouth advertising, although he admits that he has been an avid Neighborhood News reader himself since the beginning.
โMost of our new business comes from referrals,โ he says.
Whether itโs tax preparation, tax resolution or small business accounting services, John S. Wood C.P.A., P.A. is here for you. His office is located at 15310 Amberly Dr, in Tampa Palms, and he can be reached at (813) 514-2920 or you can visit JWoodCPA.comย .
