Posted: 3/23/2016 1:11:20 PM EDT
|
So I moved to Texas early 2015 from Louisiana. I took a job with an employer based out of Iowa. This employer is owned by a larger parent company out of Chicago. Said company has 2 locations in Texas, one of them being in Houston where I have an office I use once or twice a week. I'm a regional sales manager and make money by selling products in Texas only! Not Iowa. When I started with this company they told me since I'm not based out of Iowa they would not withhold state taxes and it would be up to me to file with the state in which I live.
So my W2 comes in from Iowa company. I find a CPA with good reviews and give him everything. Well he has filed a non resident with Iowa and says I owe $4000. Really? I hate Iowa BTW, so this makes it that much harder. I've only been there once and made all of my money by conducting business in the great state of Texas. Since I did live in LA for a short while in 2015, I'm actually getting back $200 from Louisiana. Do I really have to pay freaking Iowa tax just because payroll came from that state. I mean, I even had an actual office in Houston! This is ridiculous! Please someone shed some light for me. |
|
Is this a real CPA or a tax prep person that told you this? And where are they located?
Can you prove your residence is in Texas during the time they say you owe money. I had something like this happen. I took a bunch of work to get cleared up but I proved I was a Texas residence and the other state finally agreed. |
|
The CPA seems to be legit but a bit of an ass. Wants to chance me for extra consultation, other than just email questions.
So he responds that my employer has reported this income as having been earned in the state of Iowa. The only way to change the need for filing an Iowa estate tax return, is to have the employer modify the form W-2. If the income is not reported on form W-2, to the state of Iowa, then the need for an Iowa state tax return could be avoided. Geez, I hate this shit. As of 2 weeks ago, I've left this Iowa based company and went back to my previous job. Iowas is a total joke. Now I'm going to have to fight them to make the change. |
|
Quoted:
Fire your CPA. Now. You don't live in Iowa. You don't work in Iowa. You owe Iowa nothing. May be too late. If his accountant filed an Iowa return they may come after him for the money. I used to live in Iowa and two years after moving to Texas the taxman from Iowa tried to come after me claiming I owed Iowa taxes for the last two years that I was in Texas working for a Texas based company. I had to prove to them that I had relocated... copies of the paperwork from selling my house in Iowa and buying my house in Texas, paperwork from my employer, etc... Hell, the last 8 months I was in Iowa I was working remotely in Texas while I was waiting for my house down here to be finished, so I probably shouldn't have had to pay Iowa income taxes for even that time. The OP is right... Iowa SUCKS. State income tax rate up there is 8.9% and some towns like the one my parents live in have a 1.1% city surcharge. And about the only deduction you get is Federal taxes... |
|
Quoted:
The CPA seems to be legit but a bit of an ass. Wants to chance me for extra consultation, other than just email questions. So he responds that my employer has reported this income as having been earned in the state of Iowa. The only way to change the need for filing an Iowa estate tax return, is to have the employer modify the form W-2. If the income is not reported on form W-2, to the state of Iowa, then the need for an Iowa state tax return could be avoided. Geez, I hate this shit. As of 2 weeks ago, I've left this Iowa based company and went back to my previous job. Iowas is a total joke. Now I'm going to have to fight them to make the change. Well tell your CPA he needs to do his / her job correctly or he can go to the top of a tall building and jump off . That way he has time to fuck himself before he hits the ground. If he doesn't like it and wants his money let him know you will be going after him for malpractice. Then go find yourself a CPA that knows how to do their job correctly and can help guide you through this mess. Looks like he just wants a check from you and doesn't care if the taxes are done correct. A CPA is supposed to work at finding you a way to pay the smallest amount of tax Just like a criminal lawyer is supposed to work at getting you off. I had the same thing happen to me. The second CPA I found helped me with the whole thing and the employer had to send me a corrected W2. It was a royal pain in the ass but I wasn't going to pay money to someone I didn't owe it too. |
|
Find a real CPA that seems to be familiar with the situation as soon as you tell them your story. They are the only ones that actually understand all the tax BS. I had a similar situation with a company that was purchased by another out of state company while I worked there. They wanted state income tax from me. The original company was a mess to begin with. The people that bought the company made it worse.
I still had to pay the CPA to fix it. 
|
|
So sounds like I'm not the only one who has gotten jerked around. Thanks for the replies gents, very helpful to know.
And I agree, I feel like pointing this guy in the direction of a tall building. Everything is electronic and he chooses not to interface with people face to face. Even my fiance and I's first consultation was done via Skype! What a joke. And he wanted full payment a week later, before we got to see any of what he prepared for us. We are just numbers to them. My CPA in Louisiana was great and I've never had problems. He actually worked for me, not against me. |
|
Quoted:
So sounds like I'm not the only one who has gotten jerked around. Thanks for the replies gents, very helpful to know. And I agree, I feel like pointing this guy in the direction of a tall building. Everything is electronic and he chooses not to interface with people face to face. Even my fiance and I's first consultation was done via Skype! What a joke. And he wanted full payment a week later, before we got to see any of what he prepared for us. We are just numbers to them. My CPA in Louisiana was great and I've never had problems. He actually worked for me, not against me. Payment without him having your tax paperwork ready sounds fishy to me. I have never paid for a 1040 before the work is ready to be turned over to me. I have always handed a CPA a check at the same time they hand me the return. You were just a paycheck to this guy. |
|
If the CPA is licensed in TX tell him to get his shit in a group or you'll report him to the Texas State Board of Public Accountancy and sue his ass off. Hell, mention to him that Bill Treacy is an old family friend.  http://www.tsbpa.state.tx.us/enforcement/filing-complaint.html Personally, I'd demand his mistake be straightened out for free, a check for the withholding from Iowa and an apology for his trying to fuck you over. Short of that I'd file a complaint with the Board and a civil case asking for the taxes withheld and your expense in straightening out his malfeasance. Good luck. |
|
Quoted:
Were Iowa taxes taken out of your paycheck and shown on your W2? If not, just file Fed return. You need to get your shit together as a lot of this mess was your own doing. Hiring someone to do your taxes via skype? WTF. It's safe. He just needs to tell the IRS, a man on the internet did his taxes. |
|
Quoted:
Were Iowa taxes taken out of your paycheck and shown on your W2? If not, just file Fed return. You need to get your shit together as a lot of this mess was your own doing. Hiring someone to do your taxes via skype? WTF. LOL, no..not exactly. I had a meeting setup and went to his office. It's a small suite and he has a minion there to help pull and scan docs. When said minion tells us Ben is ready to see us now, we walk into his office and there is a big monitor on the wall with a webcam. So yes, it was Skype but we were in an actual place of business and I've been by there a second time to drop something off. I can find him if I have to. Getting this worked out now thanks to the help of some others. Unfortunately, this asshat Iowa company did list my wages in the state column on my W-2. I've contacted them and they are supposedly working on fixing it. However, I made it extremely clear to my CPA that I was a regional manager and did not work nor live in Iowa...ever, during my consultation. He is just a lazy ass with no evidence of due diligence. When everything was supposedly complete and uploaded to his shitty web portal, he didn't even bother to post a 1040 or anything to see the breakdown, itemization, or deductions. I had a lot going on in 2015, including purchasing a house, using my personal vehicle for business miles, and about $10000 worth of home improvement receipts. |
|
Dude??? You need to hire a reputable CPA/ Tax firm to figure this shit out for you. I did not read the above suggestions. I have resided in Texas all of my life minus the military. I have worked all over this now retarded country. The company I worked for was based in Texas. I worked in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Louisiana, and a lot of other states that have state income tax. Because my company ONLY had an office in Texas, I did not pay income tax in those states that I worked in. If you're company has an office in the states you may or may not have worked in and they require a person to pay state income tax, you will need to file a income tax return in those states. Period, Point, Blank. It does not matter where your residence is. My wife is an attorney with a global firm. Because they have offices in SC. Ny. Commifornistan what ever. She gets the pleasure of paying into there state coffers. Because they have an office there that her work was billed thru.
Edit for Spellin and mild retardation. |
|
Quoted:
The CPA seems to be legit but a bit of an ass. Wants to chance me for extra consultation, other than just email questions. So he responds that my employer has reported this income as having been earned in the state of Iowa. The only way to change the need for filing an Iowa estate tax return, is to have the employer modify the form W-2. If the income is not reported on form W-2, to the state of Iowa, then the need for an Iowa state tax return could be avoided. Geez, I hate this shit. As of 2 weeks ago, I've left this Iowa based company and went back to my previous job. Iowas is a total joke. Now I'm going to have to fight them to make the change. Tell Iowa to piss up a rope. Your employers mistake doesn't change your residency. |
|
Quoted:
Dude??? You need to hire a reputable CPA/ Tax firm to figure this shit out for you. I did not read the above suggestions. I have resided in Texas all of my life minus the military. I have worked all over this now retarded country. The company I worked for was based in Texas. I worked in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Louisiana, and a lot of other states that have state income tax. Because my company ONLY had an office in Texas, I did not pay income tax in those states that I worked in. If you're company has an office in the states you may or may not have worked in and they require a person to pay state income tax, you will need to file a income tax return in those states. Period, Point, Blank. It does not matter where your residence is. My wife is an attorney with a global firm. Because they have offices in SC. Ny. Commifornistan what ever. She gets the pleasure of paying into there state coffers. Because they have an office there that her work was billed thru. Edit for Spellin and mild retardation. Is she an employee or a partner? Does she get a W2 or a K1? The structure used by a lot of law firms complicates taxes far beyond the average person's. |
| my .02 - I've been in your shoes with Kalifornia as an consultant and my employer screwed me with CA and later Ohio taxes by actually taking them out of my paycheck. My tax guy said that unless my employer changed the W2 there was no way to get those states to pay the money back. I found another employer the next year... |