Knowledge, Expertise, Experience.

How many tax guys do you know who can work a follow spot? Michael spent many years in New York City working as a stagehand and as a lighting, scenery, and production designer. He was also instrumental in bringing the Big Top back to New York with the Big Apple Circus. In 1979, Michael moved to the Pacific Northwest to manage theatre for Seattle Community College before settling in Portland to produce shows through his own company, Michael Davidson Presents.

Michael holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Anthropology from Pomona College, and studied Lighting Design and Technical Theater in the Master of Fine Arts programs at Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburg and NYU School of the Arts in New York City.

Michael believes strongly in continuing education and is constantly enriching his broad knowledge base. He is a Licensed Tax Consultant and an Enrolled Agent, a Federal Tax Designation allowing him to represent clients with the Internal Revenue Service.

Here’s a basic checklist of information to start organizing for your 2021 tax return. If you are fully prepared for your tax appointment, you will save time and help ensure that you receive all the tax benefits, credits and deductions allowed. Although this is not an all-inclusive list, it will help steer you in the right direction. As you begin receiving important tax documents in January 2024, file them with this checklist.

General

• Copy of your 2022 tax return (unless we already have a copy or prepared the return last year).
• Any notices or correspondence you received from the Internal Revenue Service, your state or city or other taxing entity.
• Social Security Number and date of birth for yourself, your spouse and your dependents [don’t forget your new baby].
• Physical address, email addresses for all, and telephone numbers — cell, land, and fax.

Income

• All W-2 Forms you and your spouse received for 2023 from all employers.
• Form 1099-NEC
• Savings and Investments reporting forms including Form 1099-INT, Form 1099-DIV, Form 1099-B, Form 1099-S or Schedule K-1. (Excel copies of brokerage trades [Realized Gain/Loss] if possible) Please include all pages of the 1099-B.
• Statements of income from retirement distributions or Social Security payments including Form 1099-R or Form 1099-SSA.
• Any Cancellation of Debt, Form 1099-A or 1099-C.
• Records of other income including but not limited to; unemployment, state tax refunds, gambling income and losses, spousal support/alimony received, jury duty, hobby income and expenses, prizes and awards. These may include Forms 1099-MISC or Form W-2G.
• Closing documents on any real estate transaction you had during the year, including purchase, sale, refinance or foreclosure. This will be reported on your final settlement (HUD) statement, which should be two or three pages long.

Deductions

• Any spousal support/alimony you paid and the Social Security Number of the recipient.
• Health Savings Account contributions and distributions, Form 1098-SA & 5498-SA.
• Traditional IRA or Roth IRA contributions/and year-end values reported on Form 5498 or your December 2023 statement.
• Moving expenses if you moved more than 50 miles for business during the year (even if you were reimbursed). Include costs for moving and storing your stuff and moving and storing yourself.
• Colleges attended, tuition, fees paid and costs of required books, supplies and equipment and Form 1098-T for all family members.
• Student Loan Interest paid and Form 1098-E.
• Record of estimated taxes paid to the federal government, state and local governments.

Business, Rental and Farming Income

• The books/accounting records for your business, including all income and expenses, in whatever format you keep your records. We would prefer digital copies rather than paper (pdf, Excel, etc.).
• Any Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-K (Income reported by credit card companies or third party payment processors such as PayPal).
• Records of all major purchases $200 or greater, such as machinery, equipment, furniture, including purchase date, amount and description of purchased item.
• Inventory records (beginning and ending inventory, purchases and amounts for personal use).
• Mileage logs, including total annual mileage and business mileage for any vehicles with business use. We need the total miles and the total business miles you drove between January 2023 and December 2023.
• For self-employed people, health insurance premiums paid for owner and family, including adult children less than 27 years old.
• If you need guidance in organizing this information, please check our website for worksheets.