The Refund Recovery Project

The Refund Recovery Project will be continued in the Summer of 2012 after 2011 taxes are prepared.  We were able to recover over $158,000 for clients last summer, we look forward to saving even more this coming year!

As Washington struggles to help the economy, we’re actively putting our investment into the economy with local entrepreneurs!  Here are two more great client stories!

Jill; Bookkeeper; $2,359

Jill is an experienced bookkeeper and home business owner.  Though she does not prepare the taxes for her bookkeeping clients, she has always prepared her own.  An initial look at her tax returns and records quickly reflected her accounting background; every figure had been carefully recorded, reported and organized in bound files.  After an in-depth review of her returns, it was found that everything she had reported was accurate and well documented, a rarity for self-filed tax returns.  Through careful analysis and experimentation, it was discovered that there were additional ways of reporting her information that were no less accurate than what she had already done, but increased her total deductions and resulted in additional refunds.  Often times, deductions, such as vehicle expenses, have multiple ways of reporting them based on their use, in these situations, it is left to the tax preparer to find the option that is most favorable.  One minor change to Jill’s returns resulted in additional refunds of approximately  $780 each year, a total refund of $2,359.  For the complexity of Jill’s returns, we have never seen a self-filed return be done so well, and yet there was still money left on the table.  Jill’s experience shows that when it comes to taxes, specifically business taxes, trusting an experienced tax preparer is the key to savings.    

David; Independent Contractor; $2,420

David dabbled in 1099 sales throughout 2009.  When he wasn’t out selling, he was traveling out of the country.  As is common for those who are self-employed, David felt like his self employment income was too small to justify hiring a professional tax preparer.  He figured that filing his own tax return online would ultimately prove the same result as having a professional prepare them, minus the cost of the professional.  After review, it was found that David had missed many business deductions including cell phone and computer costs, vehicle expenses and per diem deductions.  Despite David’s small income, he was still able to claim an additional $2,420 for 2009 by having a professional prepare them.

We have reached over 10% of our 2011 million dollar goal!  Here are a few stories from some happy clients:

“Susan”; Adoptive Mother;  $39,510

Susan and her husband adopted three special needs children in 2007.  She had heard that the IRS had credits available for adoption parents and had tried to file the paperwork with no results.  She brought her information to MainStreet for review in 2011 after she learned that some friends had recently claimed over $10,000 per adopted child.  Fortunately for Susan, the IRS allowed MainStreet to amend her 2007 because she had already filed some of the paperwork prior to the year’s closing date.  The application for the credits was properly submitted and the refund was carried forward to the current year, totaling $39,510.

“John”; Insurance Agent; $18,394

John owns his own insurance firm selling business liability insurance.  He was not fully satisfied with his previous accountant and suspected that perhaps they had not been filing his taxes properly.  When MainStreet reviewed the personal and business tax returns, John’s suspicions were confirmed in that thousands of dollars of income had been misreported and he had been paying over $6,000 more than he should have in self-employment tax each year!  Over the three-year period reviewed, John was able to reclaim $18,394!

“Chris”; 1099 Sales Rep; $1,800

Chris sells alarm systems door to door each summer in remote areas across the United States.  Chris had filed his own taxes online for the past few years.  While he knew there were expenses he could deduct in relation to his summer sales, he was not sure what “counted” and what did not.  After review, it was found that Chris had under reported his mileage and transportation expenses, per diem, cell phone, computer and other personal asset expenses and was able to reclaim a total of $1,800 over the last 2 years.

What is YOUR story going to be?  Email support@msftaxes.com to get started!

Only a few weeks into the program and the refunds are climbing and the program is gaining momentum!  Here are some recent client stories:

Zane; Student & Independent Contractor; $2,872

Zane had lived out of the country for about half of 2010.  When we returned, he enrolled at a local university and was hired as an independent contractor for a local company.  In prior years, Zane’s parents had always claimed him as a dependent on their taxes, which they did again for 2010.  Unaware he had been claimed as a dependent, Zane filed his own personal tax return and received a sizable refund.  The IRS did not catch the double filing.  Upon review, it was found that thousands of dollars of college tuition expenses had not been reported, and additional deductions relating to his work as an independent contractor were also available.   It was determined that by amending Zane’s return, as well as amending his parent’s return and removing him as a dependent, he would receive an additional refund of $2,872.  Zane and his parents opted to make the change, provided Zane pay his parents the portion they had “lost” by removing him from their return, which he gladly did and still walked away with extra cash.

Joyce; Online retail business; $10,696

Joyce and her husband have invested large amounts of time and money in developing an online retail company.  In the early stages, an accountant had helped them organize as a C-Corporation, a poor recommendation for a company in a development stage reporting losses.  MainStreet was able to reorganize the company as an S-elected LLC to allow future losses to pass down to their personal return, and found other errors on a single tax return (2009) for a total refund of $10,696.

Would you like your taxes reviewed for FREE?  Contact MainStreet at 801-565-7900 (Local) or 877-871-7901 anywhere in the United States!

Welcome to The Refund Recovery Project, a RISK-FREE tax review program with a mission to put millions of dollars back into the pockets of local entrepreneurs!

Officially launching during National Small Business Week in May 2011, The Refund Recovery Project provides entrepreneurs an opportunity to claim the tax refunds they missed whether out of error, misunderstanding or lack of experience.  This continuing program, created by MainStreet Tax & Accounting Services, hopes to build local communities by putting millions of dollars back into entrepreneur’s pockets.  Initially, the program will run through  the summer of 2011 and be brought back during non-tax season months in subsequent years.

Current updates of refund totals will be posted on a regular basis along with experiences from the entrepreneurs who benefited from the program.

All entrepreneurs are invited to have their previous three tax returns reviewed.  Non-entrepreneurs who feel like their tax returns may have been filed incorrectly and received a tax refund lower than expected are also welcome to participate in The Refund Recovery Project.  Details for the program can be found in the “About the Program” section on the top of the page.  To sign up, send an email with your name, phone number & city to support@msftaxes.com and instructions for submitting your returns will be sent to you.

“Entrepreneurship can pull us from this recession.  By putting money into the hands of entrepreneurs, we hope to lift our neighbors, create jobs and stimulate our local economy.” -Dan Smith; Marketing Manager for MainStreet

Featured Stories:

Curtis; Lawn Care Company; $9,500+

Curtis works as a sales rep for a local company and runs a lawn care company on the weekends.  Curtis invested in his small company by purchasing equipment including a used truck, lawn mowers, trimmers, and other hand tools.  Curtis organized his company as an LLC, based on recommendations from friends, and had a friend prepare his taxes for him online.  After reviewing Curtis’ tax returns for 2007, 2008 and 2009, MainStreet found that his income was reported high and his expenses were reported low.  Curtis’ equipment was not reported nor depreciated properly.  In the end, MainStreet helped Curtis recover more than $9,500 over the three-year period.

Brian; Military; $3,400+

Brian & his family have moved 4 times in the last 5 years due to military assignments.  On one occasion, they purchased a home only to be reassigned within months, forcing them to rent out the home until it could be sold.  Although their tax returns had been filed by a CPA 4 of the years, one of the years was prepared by a national chain.  In that single year’s return, the preparer misreported the home sale AND filed a tax return reporting business income in the state of California, a state in which Brian and his family have never lived, worked or done business!  MainStreet was able to recover over $3,400 for Brian in that single year.  Brian took his family to Disneyland with the money.

Devin; Photographer; $1,200+

Devin is a photographer.  He specializes in scenic photography and travels extensively to do so.  Prior to fully launching his business, Devin spent a year acquiring equipment and doing research.  Devin had his taxes prepared by a national chain and received a sizable refund.  The tax return did not properly report and depreciate his equipment, nor did it provide additional deductions for things like cell phones and Internet expenses.  MainStreet helped Devin claim an additional $1,200+ for his 2009 taxes.