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Alpha-Mail 
The Tax Professional's Guide to Georgia Tax Credits, Courtesy of Alpharesults
Vol. II No. 3 March 2008
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Hello!
Welcome to Alpha-Mail, the monthly newsletter about Georgia tax credits for Georgia tax
professionals.
We know you are really busy right now, so we'll be brief! This month, learn how you can use K-1 Reviews to strengthen your client relationships. And, you may be surprised to learn which businesses can qualify for state job tax credits! So thank you for reading Alpha-Mail -- please click reply to tell us what you think.
All the best, 
Dale Stapler Jim Tinsley
Alpharesults, LLC
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Use K-1 Reviews to Strengthen Client Relationships
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Do you file individual returns for some clients who have K-1 income, but you aren't responsible for filing the company returns? I have been asked many times by CPAs about state tax credits in these situations, and I always tell them that if they don't see tax credits on those K-1s, their clients may be missing out on big opportunities! This applies to equity participants for physician practices, law firms, and many other businesses that are pass-throughs.
The mountain of disorganized paperwork this type of client typically drops off at your office includes a K-1 for Georgia. Since the GA DOR does not provide an official K-1, the Federal K-1 is used. Georgia tax credit information, if any, may be buried in Part III some place such as Line 13 "Credits" or Line 17 "Other Information".
Do a quick review of the client's K-1s for the current and prior 3 years to see if any tax credits have been utilized. If there are no tax credits, this should be a flag for you to follow up with the client to discuss.
K-1 reviews give you valuable opportunities to strengthen your client relationships and gain new business. And who knows? Your clients may lead you back to the source and get you involved in helping their companies with their CPA needs!
Good luck with your April 15 deadlines!
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Which Businesses Qualify for State Job Tax Credits?
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Many CPAs I talk with assume that the answer to this question is, "Only the biggest companies in the state," or, "Just the big manufacturers."
But the answer I give to that question is, "It depends on where you are -- many of your clients may already qualify and don't even know it!"
So which industries qualify? Job tax credits are given for increasing employment by 5 to 25 employees in a given year, depending on location. The new regulations just adopted provide for job tax credits for businesses engaged in manufacturing, warehousing and distribution, processing, telecommunications, tourism, or research and development.
AND -- ANY business located in one of the 40 least-developed counties or other special zones, could qualify if it increases and maintains employment by only 5 jobs! The new regulations use the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), United States, 2002. You can access the new regs online here.
So look at your client's GA tax return - page 1 header, Box D: what is the NAICS code listed? If it matches the new reg, you have an opportunity.
If it doesn't match, you still may have an opportunity! Look inside the company for growing operations that do qualify, for example, your client is a bank, but it also has a growing operations center that processes financial transactions. In these cases, or if the NAICS code cannot be clearly defined, you may get a determination from the state.
That's adding value to your client relationships!
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About Us
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Alpharesults has assembled a team with the specialized knowledge and approach required to obtain Georgia income tax credits. We are not a public accounting firm. Rather, our services complement those of public accounting firms and do not create conflicted loyalties, because our professionals do not perform attestation work or other external audit functions.
We focus on small to medium-sized businesses and work exclusively in Georgia with a wide variety of in-state and out-of-state accounting firms. For more information on our services, follow this link.
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