MAKING IT COUNT

Veronica Luke Tax & Accounting offers business, personal tax services

MARYVILLE, Mo. — Payroll taxes done — check. Income taxes filed — check. County water billed paid — check. There is only one place in Nodaway County that all of these things can be done in one place and that’s Veronica Luke Tax & Accounting, located in the former Strong & Strong Law Office on the southeast corner of the square at 124 E. Third St. in Maryville.

Since 2015 Veronica Luke Tax & Accounting has been located on the courthouse square offering a full suite of accounting and tax services including personal income tax, small business and corporate taxes and payroll taxes as well as accounting and bookkeeping services.

After working for other businesses during the first part of her 25-year career, Luke, a seasoned tax and accounting professional, opened up her own firm eight years ago and now the 1998 Northwest Missouri State accounting program graduate uses that experience, as well as the expertise of her team to help clients reach the best possible outcome.

One tip that Luke offers to businesses and individuals when getting ready to file taxes is to be honest with your tax preparer.

“A tax preparer and accountant can only be as good as what the client gives,” she said. “The more forthcoming you can be, the better off you will be. We are trying to help you get the best outcome possible.”

Luke said that it’s also great to be organized.

“Having a customer be organized helps us to be more efficient and prepare the return faster,” she said.

Besides providing expert and professional tax and accounting services,

Veronica Luke Tax & Accounting also serves as the fiscal agent for the Nodaway County Public Water Supply District by managing the billing and accounting for the public entity.

Luke, along with her team of professionals has helped automate the district where water customers no longer have to read their meters to pay for their bills and account for the amount of water used.

“Your bills are more accurate,” Luke said. “We’ve helped modernize the water district, specifically with bills and payments by leaps and bounds.”

Instead of having to mail bills each month or place in the drop box, customers can take advantage of ACH payments without service fees. Using the free ACH bill paying feature will ensure that your water bill is paid on time without accumulating late fees. Luke estimates that approximately 30 percent of public water customers are now using the automated payment feature.

One piece of advice that Luke wants small business owners and those who are self-employed to know is that it is OK to turn to a tax professional for assistance instead of trying to save a few dollars

“We all have our niche,” she said.

“I’m not a mechanic so why would I try to fix my own vehicle. People will try to do their books themselves to save a few bucks and I tell them that they can more than likely make up for that fee by seeing more customers than using that time for accounting purposes. The better your books and records are the better your tax return and outcome is going to be.”