News

April 18, 2017

We are proud to announce that EFS celebrated a milestone this past spring – 25 years in business. Beginning in a garage in Old Town, it wasn’t long before we had outgrown the space and moved to 716 Union Street. Over the years, we have bought several practices and more than tripled our staff. Our […]

March 13, 2016

Double claiming has been eliminated for people who turn 62 after 12/31/2015. Some dual-earning couples who are 66 or older have “double claimed” by having the lower earner claim half the higher earner’s social security temporarily while allowing the lower income individual’s social security to build. Dependents can no longer claim payments if the primary […]

January 13, 2016

Employers with 50 or more full time equivalent employees must provide affordable health coverage to full time employees and their dependents. If not, they are subject to a fine. The health plan(s) provided must meet basic coverage called “minimum value” and be offered to at least 95% of full time workers. Fines will be levied […]

January 13, 2016

Lily Dalton has been made a principal of EFS in charge of the Tax Department. Al Faust will continue to assist in the management of the tax department on a part time basis. Hilary Clark has been promoted to IT Manager and Assistant Operations Manager. She will oversee the installation and maintenance of the various […]

January 13, 2016

For the third year, EFS hosted a Meet & Greet at The Center Theatre in downtown Dover in late October. The event was in conjunction with hosting the Piscataquis Area Chamber After Hours. Food was catered by our own staff member, Hilary Clark, derangedepicurean.com and Elaine’s Café & Bakery of Milo. Growlers of Maine brewed […]

June 22, 2015

Edwards, Faust & Smith co-sponsored a seminar with Groth and Associates on May 19, 2015, at the Spectacular Events Center. Kurt Czarnowski, a former communications director for the Social Security Administration for thirty-four years, was the keynote speaker. Mr. Czarnowski was organzed, thorough and informative in his talk, and most importantly, he was interesting. The […]

April 16, 2015

EFS is pleased to announce that we will be co-hosting a seminar concerning the ins-and- outs of social security on May with Judy Groth and Associates in May 19th from 5:30 to 7pm at the Spectacular Events Center in Bangor. Kurt Czarnowski will be the primary speaker. For those of you who have heard Kurt […]

April 10, 2015

To help our clients with their finances, EFS offers tax planning utilizing software designed specifically to assist with tax projections. During the fall, we are able to offer this at an off season discount for $275. The package includes two meetings and a report summarizing the results. Several of our clients have used this service […]

January 16, 2015

The OMB (Office of Management and Budget) in conjunction with COFAR (Council on Financial Assistance Reform) issued new guidance concerning federal grants which went into effect on December 26, 2014. The new guidance, commonly called the Super-Circular or Omni-Circular, supersedes and streamlines eight separate OMB Circulars, including A-21, A-110 and A-133. Some of the changes […]

January 16, 2015

For several years, we have discussed the possibility of hiring interns to give them a hands-on opportunity to experience what it is like to work for an accounting firm during the dreaded tax season. So this year, we have hired Connor Smart, from the University of Maine Accounting Program, and Brooke Randall from the Husson […]

January 16, 2015

There is a lot of information to absorb about the Affordable Health Care Act. In each newsletter, we include a few pieces of information that you may find helpful. Fees for individuals who do not purchase “minimum essential coverage” health insurance will increase in 2015. The basic fine will be the higher of the following: […]

January 16, 2015

Efs continued to make improvements in reducing our environmental impact in 2014. Our paper usage continued to drop as we’ve gone increasingly paperless. We began with audit files in 2012, adding individual tax returns in 2013, and eventually all client files in 2014. We took advantage of Efficiency Maine’s newest rebate program by having our […]