| Case
Study
My
husband is a Merchant Mariner.
I have a degree in accounting and I am presently employed
as a Staff Accountant in the
CPA firm of Graham Huckins Shepherd. I'm
also working toward my CPA
designation and my MBA degree.
In
the past, my husband and I have had different CPAs who claimed to
be maritime specialists doing our tax returns. Sometimes,
some of them were not aware of all the legal tax deductions that
are available to people working in the marine industry.
Other times, it has been necessary to file amended tax returns
resulting in extra tax liability, interest and penalties.
Last
year, while working as an intern at GHS with John Graham, I
learned new ways to use my income tax knowledge so that my husband
received ALL of the legal
tax deductions to which he was entitled to as a mariner.
Despite the fact I was interning for GHS, my husband
had decided to have a different CPA (claiming to be an expert in
the merchant marine industry) prepare our tax returns for 2006.
When we received the returns, I reviewed them and discovered
several legal deductions that had been overlooked. Our federal tax liability
had been overstated by more than
$2,000 and our state tax liability by more than $600. We then made
the
necessary and legal corrections, and saved over $2,600.
John
Graham and I then looked at our 2005 tax returns (also prepared by a so-called specialist in the
maritime industry) and discovered similar errors
which resulted in amending our 2005 tax returns
and refiling them. We
then received a federal tax refund in excess of $2,000 from taxes
we had already paid two years ago.
After
completing my internship earlier this year, I decided to join GHS
as a Staff Accountant with the goal of helping establish the GHS at Sea Mariner
Division combining the firm's transportation industry experience and my real life experiences as the wife of a merchant
mariner.
I
know all about how frustrating it can be to be sure that my tax
deductions are fully maximized while trying to collect all the
right tax preparation information from my husband while he is at
sea. That is why GHS
at Sea now provides the Expense Logs to help you keep better expense records plus
the Tax Return Organizer that you can download directly from this website.
If
you’ll give us the right information, we will be able to help
you maximize your tax deductions. Further,
if we make any mistake on your tax returns, we will be
responsible for the interest and penalties due to both the
federal and the state.
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|
Staff
Accountant - Mariner Division
Graham Huckins Shepherd |
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