The Firm of Gardner & Billing, CPAs PLLC

Wishing you a Happy New Year from all of us at Gardner & Billing! May 2020 bring you health, happiness and hope.  Our office will close at noon today and reopen  with regular hours on Thursday, January 2nd.

WASHINGTON –The Internal Revenue Service reminds taxpayers there are things they should do now to get ready for the tax-filing season ahead. Charitable Contributions For most taxpayers, Dec. 31 is the last day to take actions that will impact their 2019 tax return. For example, those who plan to itemize deductions should know that charitable contributions are deductible in the year made. Donations charged to a credit card before the end of 2019 count for the 2019 tax year, even if the bill isn’t paid until 2020. Checks to a charity count for 2019 if they are mailed by the last day of the year. Retirement Plans and Contributions Taxpayers who are over age 70 ½ are generally required to take distributions from their individual retirement accounts and workplace retirement plans by the end of 2019. However, a special rule allows those who reached 70 ½ in 2019 to wait until April 1, 2020, to receive them. Most workplace retirement account contributions should be made by the end of the

Join us on Friday, December 6th  for the Broadus Christmas Stroll!    Catch the sites and sounds of Who-Village outside on the big screen, then come inside for food, fun and crafts with Who-ville characters from 2-7pm!  Plus, bid in our annual Christmas wreath auction to benefit the Kid’s Food Bag Foundation.

Happy Thanksgiving from Gardner & Billing CPAs! Our office will be closed on Thursday and Friday, November 28th and 29th.   Have a wonderful holiday weekend!

Don't forget the second gathering of the Building a Better Broadus Book Club is tonight at the office of Gardner & Billing CPAs PLLC . Join us at 6:30 for refreshments and real conversations. And don't let the name fool you, you don't even need to have read the book. 😉

  Stop by our booth at the Powder River Ag Expo tomorrow from 3-7pm, visit with Melissa and enter our drawing to win 1 Free Hour of Personal or Business Financial Planning!!

Plan on coming to the Powder River Ag Expo next Wednesday and be sure to stop by our booth and visit with Melissa. At Gardner & Billing CPAs, we understand the tax implications of the ranching industry. Our strengths are your numbers!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN  from Gardner & Billing CPAs!

Jessica Malone of Gardner & Billing CPAs PLLC recently achieved professional status as an Enrolled Agent. What is an enrolled agent, you ask? An Enrolled Agent (EA) is a federally-authorized tax practitioner who has technical expertise in the field of taxation and who is empowered by the U.S. Department of the Treasury to represent taxpayers before all administrative levels—examination, collection, and appeals—of the Internal Revenue Service. In addition to taxpayer representation, enrolled agents may provide tax consultation services and prepare and sign a wide range of federal and state tax returns.   So, is that like a CPA? While both CPAs and EAs have expertise in taxes, the requirements to achieve these credentials differ. CPAs are licensed through the State. In Montana, CPA candidates must receive 150 credits in accounting and business at a college or university, meet the 2,000 hour experience requirement and then pass the four-part Uniform Certified Public Accounta

Melissa Billing will be hosting the first meeting of the Building a Better Broadus Book Club this evening at the office of Gardner & Billing CPAs. Join us at 6:30pm for refreshments and to find out what to expect from this not-your-run-of-the-mill book club. The first book is "Dare to Lead" by Brene Brown. To get a taste of the kinds of topics Brene discusses, check out this video of her in action...

Melissa Billing, Chairwoman of the Building a Better Broadus Committee of the Powder River Chamber of Commerce, will be leading a new book club which meets monthly at our office.  The first organizational meeting will be Wednesday, October 16th at 6:30pm We hope you'll join in to explore leadership with the first book on the agenda "Dare to Lead" by Brene Brown. Discover how to inspire and be inspired in your business, family and social group as we dive into the tough topics that build community leaders.

The office of Gardner & Billing CPAs will be closed from 11am-1pm on Friday, October 4th so that we may all attend the funeral services of a man that embodied the spirit of community. Ron, you will be dearly missed.

Tonight at the Powder River Historical Museum at 5:30pm Stop by the Gardner & Billing CPAs banner to learn about the services we offer in our community

If you requested an extension to file your personal income taxes back in April, it's time to put it back at the top of your To-Do List.   It's important to remember that an extension of time to file is NOT an extension of time to pay, so if you owe taxes, the longer you wait, the more additional interest you'll end up owing.  The final filing deadline is October 15th or you'll also get hit with late filing penalties, so don't put it off any longer!   We welcome new and existing clients to contact us with any questions you have!  We're here to help.  

If you operate a truck or bus in interstate or international commerce there is a federal law that applies to your business. The Unified Carrier Registration (UCR) program requires individuals and companies that operate commercial motor vehicles in interstate or international commerce to register their business with Montana and pay an annual fee based on the size of their fleet. A "commercial motor vehicle" is defined as a self-propelled or towed vehicle used on the highways in commerce principally to transport passengers or cargo, if the vehicle: has a gross vehicle weight of 10,001 pounds or more; is designed to transport 11 or more passengers (including the driver); or is used in transporting hazardous materials in a quantity requiring placarding. To avoid delays, it is highly recommended that you register on-line . Go to https://plan.ucr.gov/ and follow the step-by-step instructions . Payments may be made on-line using MasterCard, Visa o

As of this week, our office goes back to regular full-time hours. We'll be open Monday - Friday from 8am - 5pm  (closed for lunch between 12-1).

The office of Gardner & Billing CPAs will be closed on Monday, September 2nd for Labor Day.  We reopen with full-time office hours which means we will now be open Fridays  as of September 3rd. 

It's time for the Powder River County Fair! Drop down to the fairgrounds this week and check out the many activities and events happening this week in Broadus!

Have you recently been selected for a State Fund audit on your workers compensation policy?  State Fund conducts mandatory premium audits on all new policies after the first year of coverage.  After that, they randomly select roughly 25% of policies each year for an audit.   If you have questions on a premium audit, we're happy to assist, even if we don't process your payroll regularly.  We can review your records ahead of time so there's no surprises and then handle the audit from our office so that you don't have to deal with the stress. So don't panic when you get correspondence in the mail with that dirty little word and don't hesitate to ask us for help.  Here's some information from Montana State Fund related to premium audits: Why a Premium Audit?   The purpose of an audit is to ensure you pay fair and accurate premium for your business operations during the policy period. When you purchased your policy, premium was estimated based upon