J.R. Helms & Associates, P.C.

09/04/2026

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗼 𝗜 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻 𝗜𝗥𝗦 𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗶𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻?

If the IRS sends you Letter 525 or Letter 950, you’ll generally have 30 days to request consideration by the IRS Independent Office of Appeals.

Responding within that timeframe keeps the administrative appeal process available.

But what you submit depends on the amount in dispute:
• $25,000 or less you can qualify for a Small Case Request
• More than $25,000 a Formal Written Protest is generally required

If you don’t request Appeals review within the 30-day period, the IRS will continue processing the proposed audit changes.

For an income tax deficiency case, the next formal step is a 90-Day Statutory Notice of Deficiency. That notice gives you 90 days from its date to petition the Tax Court if you still disagree with the proposed tax.

If you’ve received Letter 525 or 950, DM us. We can review what the letter requests and help you determine the appropriate next steps.

09/03/2026

𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗹𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 “𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆𝗺𝗮𝘅𝘅𝗶𝗻𝗴” 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘁?

It’s the social media term for getting more value from your money, like cutting expenses or even putting rewards points to use.

𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘸?

09/02/2026

𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗺𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗽𝘂𝘁 𝗺𝘆 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝘁 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗸?

If you’re operating as a sole proprietor, there’s no legal separation between you and your business.

So if your business can’t pay a creditor or gets hit with a lawsuit, your personal savings, home, or vehicles could be exposed too.

As your business grows, make sure the way you operate reflects that growth.

That may mean forming an LLC or corporation, then moving your business banking, contracts, insurance policies, vendor accounts, and payment processors into the company’s legal name.

The goal is to create a clearer line between what belongs to you personally and what belongs to the business.

𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵? 𝘞𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴.

08/31/2026

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼 𝗜 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝗥𝗦 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝘅 𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲?

Here is a step-by-step sequence to follow:
1. Stop active state enforcement first. If your state is threatening a bank levy, wage garnishment, or license suspension, handle it immediately. State appeal windows close in 30 to 60 days, and their actions hit faster.

2. Stabilize federal exposure next. If the IRS sends a Final Notice of Intent to Levy or threatens passport certification, pause IRS action using an installment agreement, Currently Not Collectible status, or Offer in Compromise steps.

3. Coordinate both payment plans together. Your state and federal plans must fit your actual cash flow. If a state payment plan drains your monthly budget, you won't have enough left to maintain your IRS agreement.

Handling two collectors at once requires a clear strategy. Comment 𝗣𝗟𝗔𝗡 below if you want help mapping out your next steps.

08/28/2026

𝗔𝗺 𝗜 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗜 𝘁𝘆𝗽𝗲 𝗮 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗽𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗔𝗜?

You could be. Time to fix that.

(We already make sure all privacy settings are enabled for any AI tools we use here.)

https://www.zdnet.com/article/how-to-keep-ai-conversations-private-chatgpt-gemini-copilot-claude/

08/28/2026

What Are the Disadvantages to Sole Proprietorship for Growing Indianapolis Business Owners?

Discover the key disadvantages to sole proprietorship once profit hits $40k. Learn how self-employment tax eats into your revenue and when to switch.

08/27/2026

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗜 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗵 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗮 𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗻 𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝘁𝘆?

Consider looking into the R&D tax credit.

Eligible small businesses can apply up to $500,000 per year of their R&D credit directly against quarterly payroll taxes. That cuts your quarterly payroll bills almost immediately, keeping extra cash in your bank account to hire talent or fund new projects.

To prepare for claiming it, build your paper trail early:
• Flag projects as they start
• Keep basic project logs
• Make sure contractor agreements state your business owns all the work

08/26/2026

𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝗺𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝘂𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝘆 𝗱𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿'𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘂𝗻𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗱 𝘁𝗮𝘅𝗲𝘀?

Yes, while the IRS handles federal liens, levies, and passport restrictions, state agencies focus on the following:
• Several states including New York, California, New Jersey, Maryland, Massachusetts, Louisiana, and Connecticut flag your driver's license for suspension at $10,000 in past-due tax debt.
• States routinely suspend medical, legal, real estate, contractor, accounting, and cosmetology licenses for unpaid state tax.
• They also have the power to block registration renewals on personal vehicles and business work trucks.

However, these actions do not happen overnight. States send advance notices with specific deadlines, giving you time to set up a payment plan or resolution before any licenses are affected.

Comment 𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗧𝗘 below to talk about resolving your state tax debt before your license or registration is affected.

08/25/2026

𝗗𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗺𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗳𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗥&𝗗 𝘁𝗮𝘅 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿?
You don’t need scientists on staff, but the IRS requires your project to hit four specific benchmarks:
1. You set out to build or improve a product, process, or software.
2. The work relied on hard science, engineering, or software development.
3. You faced technical uncertainty about how to achieve the end result when you started.
4. You used a process of trial and error to figure it out.

If you spent time and payroll working through those kinds of technical hurdles this year, you likely qualify. That includes projects that were ultimately scrapped.

𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗥&𝗗 if you want to find out if any projects in your business would apply for 2027 filing.

08/24/2026

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗮𝘅 𝗿𝘂𝗹𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗱𝘂𝗹𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗮𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹?

Whether it's how W-4 withholdings work, how interest adds up, or how credit scores are calculated, we've all had that moment. Drop yours below!