Plan of Attack

Accounting Technology,  August, 2006  by Riccardo A. Davis

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Many small business owner clients of the Walla Walla, Wash.-based accounting firm Thompson & Kreitzberg either live in or work in nearby Oregon, which unlike Washington, imposes a state income tax. With many of its clients commuting across the state border, Kristal Hassler, CPA and partner at Thompson & Kreitzberg, says she needs to quickly assess whether its Oregon taxpayers will be subjected to the alternative minimum tax since its income tax is deductible on the federal return if the client itemizes.

That would be a tough job to accomplish manually; but tax planning software, in this case Creative Solutions Planner CS, makes the job possible. "Without Planner CS," Hassler says, "I can't tell whether the AMT is going to be applicable." If we think they are going to owe and we can itemize their deductions we would prepay them, explains Hassler. If we prepay them, she says, sometimes AMT ...