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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Tucson, AZ, February 6, 2020—R&A CPAs, one of Southern Arizona’s leading public accounting and business advisory firms, announced today that Laura Liewen, CPA, and Jed Lightcap, CPA, have been promoted to shareholder. Laura Liewen has more than twenty years of experience in public accounting. She specializes in income tax return preparation, compliance,…

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) made major changes that affect how individual taxpayers can claim deductions. For individual taxpayers, the biggest changes were (1) the increase in the standard deduction, which significantly raised the threshold for claiming itemized deductions; (2) the elimination of some itemized deductions (e.g., moving expenses) and the…

Benjamin Franklin once said “to fail to plan is to plan to fail.” This adage certainly applies to tax planning. Although the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) eliminated many deductions outright, there are exceptions. Certain deductions still exist but are being phased out, whereas others will expire after a set time. This…

As you may know, there are a variety of different Arizona tax credits you may take advantage of. Listed below are some of the most common credits. Contributions to Qualifying Charitable Organizations An individual who makes a cash donation to a qualifying charitable organization can receive a tax credit of up to $400 for single,…

Basis: The Essential Tax and Investing Term First, let’s start with what “basis” means; your basis is usually what you paid for an asset. According to the IRS, a capital gain or loss is the difference between your basis and the amount you get when you sell an asset. So, if you sell an asset…

Small business owners take note: the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) reports that 30 percent of all reported frauds occur at businesses with fewer than one hundred employees. And that overlooks all those businesses that never discover the fraud. Regardless of the size of your organization, a CPA can help you protect your organization’s…

Arizona has long had laws defining and regulating limited liability companies (LLCs) organized within the state. The first law was codified in the Arizona Revised Statutes in 1992, and it remained substantially unchanged until 2018. In 2018, the Arizona legislature enacted the new Arizona Limited Liability Company Act (ALLCA). The ALLCA will affect all Arizona…

Fraud can be uncovered in many different ways: a tip, management review, internal or external audit, document examination, account reconciliation, or even by accident. In 53 percent of cases, however, someone at the company has noticed something amiss and alerted the company. That means there were clues along the way. It’s easy to miss these…

Tucson, AZ, September 30, 2019 —Global Chamber® Phoenix has named R&A CPAs International Tax & Accounting Firm of the Year for 2019. The announcement was made at Global Chamber Phoenix’s ‘Grow Globally Fair Phoenix’ on September 25. It is the second consecutive year R&A CPAs has been so honored by Global Chamber Phoenix. In accepting…