Blog

What a difference a day or an hour can make, especially here at the beach. This morning I “slept in”, yes at 7 AM I missed that classic shot of the sun rising out of the ocean on the horizon, but with no wind, no rain, it really did feel like a spring day…. 7 AM this Morning The votes are in; Saturday Morning Sunrise – Favorite of the 4…  Read more

Today is a major deadline day, it’s like a perfect storm for me with a sunny afternoon and mild temperature expected later.  I really wanted to stay out on the beach and continue my walk even though it was overcast at 7AM.  Not gonna happen as today is March 15th, the perfect tax season deadline storm of beautiful weather and several major business, fiduciary/trust and partnership tax return, election, estimated…  Read more

It’s Friday morning and I am just back from the beach, where at last the sun was actually visible! It’s positive thoughts that help me through these long days of tax season and starting my day at the beach certainly helps set the pace for the day… Friday Morning & Here’s the Sun at Last In Rockaway we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day early, this year it was Saturday March 1st,…  Read more

Welcome to March and the count down to spring, hard to believe when we were building snowmen ⛄ just last week.  We at A. Parness Company CPA are deep into tax season 2024, with several tax deadlines happening March 15, which when necessary, may be extended until September.  During our exit appointments we get many similar questions, today I am focusing on “working dogs”.  I am picturing farm dogs herding…  Read more

It’s been crazy busy here as we head into the heat of tax season, and, if I have learned anything from prior tax seasons it’s “Take Care of You First” and it will all work out in the end, or if not, starting the day right should set the stage for your mood and your interactions. This week I made a new friend as I started my day with a…  Read more

Holiday season is here and going strong with homes lit up inside and out, community sponsored decorations and oh so many “feel good” holiday movies 🎥 and series to watch on our favorite streaming platform.  So many times we say life imitates art and art imitates life, so I thought I would share a holiday happy ending story that began last November… After wadding/scanning through the selection of holiday movies…  Read more

It’s official, LIPA has accepted our application and paperwork, we are now banking our exported KWH.  That means that not only can we “withdraw” KWH when our panels are not producing, we can now report our solar panel project on our 2023 personal income tax return and receive tax credits from the IRS and NYS.  As NYC residents we also qualify for a real estate tax reduction over 4 years. …  Read more

Any tax deadline time is stressful and demanding for accounting firms and staff, but as we approach our final deadline for the 2023 tax season the stress of completing returns and receiving e-file and other documents can really take a toll.  I am glad to be able to live and work so close to Rockaway Beach, Queens and to be able to take a break or short walk on the…  Read more

Our office is still going crazy as our “final” tax deadline of October 15th approaches.  We have given up on sending out repeated emails for “that last missing piece of information” which can help our clients minimize their tax liability and are just working with the information we have “in house”.  I have checked with other tax professionals who are experiencing the same behavior from some of their clients.  I…  Read more

This morning I was feeling a bit frustrated as I worked on my weekly take away so I “popped” it into ChatGPT.  I wasn’t asking for advice and didn’t give it any parameters, but it totally picked up on my mood.  “It sounds like you and your team are facing a challenging situation as you approach the tax filing deadline, and I can understand how stressful it must be to…  Read more

Yes, once again I am admitting:  I am a tax nerd; attending the 15th annual Certified Tax Coach (CTC) conference in Seattle is/was the highlight of my week so far.  I can say this, as this morning starts day 2 of the conference and then tonight I head to San Diego to visit my daughter Jessie, her boyfriend Eric and my granddog Sampson.  It was a day of connecting with…  Read more

This week I attended the amazing CASCPA annual symposium in person.  What a great surprise to see good friends presenting and to meet colleagues of others.  I left home at around 7 AM and was worried about the traffic and parking, and snuck in a bug battle that morning so I forgot one of my prior take-aways “bring business cards to all in person events…”; no problem, I was able to connect via social…  Read more

This has been a week of “attack of the killer CPA”.  I have been on the warpath against the spotted lantern fly nymphs that appeared on my fig tree Saturday afternoon and the green/white aphids which showed up on my tomato plants Wednesday morning.  I am so grateful for the many garden blogs and articles I have accessed this week. I started with a spray bottle of white vinegar and graduated to a pump…  Read more

We met our tax season 2023 deadlines by filing tax returns and extensions as needed; it’s time to focus on new tax laws, tax plans, and regular monthly and quarterly filing deadlines.  As a tax nerd I love joining panels and speaking with small business owners highlighting rules, trends, and situations to beware of.  Just this week I was thrilled to be included on a panel with Karen Tenenbaum, esq and…  Read more

It’s been another crazy, busy week between the holidays and the countdown to the April 18th tax filing deadlines.  I am so glad to have good friends who are the family we choose; who we joined for a seder on the first night of Passover enjoying a night of tradition, laughter and great food, what could be better… From our Passover Seder Dark chocolate fondue with fruit, shmura matzo and afikomen…  Read more

A week of sunrises and a shout out about my pod cast interview with Marielle Segarra and her team who produce Life Kit for NPR.  I love how they were able to take some very complicated issues and create a segment that was so concise and understandable.  Here’s the link to the segment… and now for a week of sunrises, with a sunset and a sunrise omelet substitute tucked in… Red Sky,…  Read more

Is it cheating if I fill our weekly blog with photos and go lite on tax details as we count down the remaining available days to complete our work before the next deadline or until we go on vacation?  This week we celebrated our 42 anniversary and welcomed our new grandog Rory into the family. How does a CPA plan a wedding during tax season?  We got married before I entered…  Read more

Today I got up early to run, yes run on the beach for a short stretch, then head home to another fun day in the office at tax deadline crunch time…  Just like yesterday, it is great to be able to do the things I used to do.  So I am picking out what I think are my best shots of the week and sharing them with a huge smile.…  Read more

We had some crazy weather this week here by the beach we received a dusting of snow which melted right away.  I was hoping to see a bit more as someone who doesn’t have to shovel or brave icey roads to get to work.  For me a nice tax season 15 minute break would be a cup of hot chocolate as I watch the snow fall.  So thanks for sending…  Read more

I know I am a bit crazy, but I really do feel there are certain benefits to getting up and out by 6:30 (even when on vacation,) and earlier when you have an early morning commitment.  Today it was a 1 hour trip to downtown Brooklyn to the Long Island University Brooklyn campus to participate as a judge for the  Virtual Enterprises International, Inc. (VEI) NYC Business Plan Competition.  The last opportunity I…  Read more