Client Blog Articles

Benefits to Hiring a Bookkeeper

When most of us think about running our business, we think about the fun things like product development, marketing and customer outreach.  For most business owners, the idea of accounting is, to say the least, not exciting.  We know we need it, and moreover, we love to do everything ourselves. But at the end of the day.

What Qualifies as a Business Deduction?

You had a great idea and now you’ve put it in motion as a business.  And while income recognition is easy to determine, qualified business deductions can be a bit harder.  So… what are the most common tax deductions for small businesses?

Any materials you utilize for marketing your business and the cost of developing these can be deductible.  This can be advertisements in print or media, brochures, branded promo items, events or trade shows. Non-branded gift cannot be deducted.

1031 Exchange Overview

It used to be that the term “Section 1031 Exchange” or even “Like-Kind Exchange” was uncommon except in certain circles.  But as the idea of tax strategies have reached more and more taxpayers coupled with the housing market’s fluctuation in recent years, 1031s have become increasingly commonplace. 

Is It Really the IRS?

We’ve all heard it before.  That voice on the other end of the line that states that she or he is from the United States Treasury Department and you have an unpaid debt that needs to be settled, or else …  With the reduction in their workforce, the Internal Revenue Service has been authorized to utilize private debt collectors.  This has further complicated authenticity protocols for the taxpayer.  As tax season comes to a close, the increase in scams is well documented.  It is important to know what the Internal Revenue Service will and will not do if you do in fact owe a debt.

Taxation of E-Commerce

As the holidays near, more and more shoppers are turning to online methods of procuring that special gift.  And it makes complete sense.  The world of e-commerce opens the buyer up to products that may be unavailable in the local area, and it’s often cost-efficient.  With this massive turn in consumer spending, tax systems are struggling to keep up.  By now most taxpayers have heard of the South Dakota v.

Tax Issues Facing Small Business

Small business ownership is a good way to take more control of your time and puts more money in your pocket.  But what is the true cost of small business ownership?  Surprisingly, many small business owners are faced with many challenges that may leave them with less time and less money than when they were earning a living working for someone else.

Purchasing a Home in the Post-TCJA Era

Before the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 bill was passed, buying a home was a big incentive to taxpayers looking to reduce their annual taxes.  While some states do have a benefit calculation on rental costs, and home office users can add rental costs to their expenses, for most taxpayers the tax breaks received on the real estate taxes and mortgage interest you pay through homeownership were far more beneficial than renting.  In addition, building equity in your home for possible use later was a nice add

Alternative Minimum Tax

Most of us have heard of the term Alternative Minimum Tax, Alt Min Tax, or AMT.  But what is it?  Alternative Minimum Tax is a tax system that parallels the standard tax systems and adds an additional level of taxation to baseline income tax for certain individuals, corporations, estates and trust.  Traditional tax is adjusted for certain items and computed differently for AMT.  Some of these items are depreciation, medical expenses, state taxes, certain mortgage interest, real estate and personal property taxes.  AMT was first introduced in 1969 when Congressed determined that a portion of

Higher Education – What It Really Costs

While alternative education paths are on the rise, a traditional education track is still the most readily available to most high school graduating classes.  However, college, professional, and graduate schools are more costly than ever.  The cost of higher education surged more than five hundred percent since 1985.  In fact, higher education costs more than four times the amount it did thirty years ago.  Financial challenges are one of the largest qualifiers for non-completion of higher education.  Those lacking a financial cushion and even those with financial assistance, can easily find

Foreign Accounts – Changes in Reporting

When most people think of foreign accounts, they think of ex-pat living overseas and utilizing banks for the accumulation of their payments.  However, many taxpayers may also be subject to the federal Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts or FBAR reporting without realizing it.  The United States Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) 114 form is filed alongside taxpayers’ federal tax return and reports information for those

BYOD Policies: Are They Right For Your Company?

As technologies advance and real estate costs increase, more and more companies are moving towards allowing workers to telecommute.  With the advantages of having remote employees, comes the question of how these employees interact with the company resources.  While many companies choose to provide workers with computers and cellular phones, technology allowances have also become a method by which companies request that the employee provide his or her own technology.  Additionally, many workers prefer to utilize their own devices for work, even if the company does not provide reimbursement.

Charitable Contributions

With the change in the season and the return of fall, many people begin the act of making their homes less cluttered, and we will all begin to get donation requests in the mail.  As the weather cools, we tend to turn an eye towards end of year tax moves as well.  The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 brought about many changes in how businesses and individuals are going to operate starting for 2018 onward.  With the deviations to the itemized deductions that we are all so used to, rethinking your charitable giving is a must.

Rethinking Entity Choice in Light of Tax Cuts and Jobs Act

Until the inception of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, entity selection by businesses was a fairly easy decision.  In most cases, businesses chose a form of pass-through entity, given the high tax rate of thirty-five percent given to C corporations in the past.  With the new changes brought forth in TCJA, and the lower tax rate of twenty-one percent, change is in the air.  But what are the benefits of considering C corporation status?  Unless you are a very large company, determining if you should change

Retiring? 3 Tax Concerns to Consider.

When we are working, taxes are a part of daily life and influence the considerations that we take in our spending habits.  Once we start thinking about retiring, we often forget to add in taxes as a component to our thought process.  It is important to understand your tax situation in retirement prior to retiring so that you will be ready when the time comes to pay on the taxes due.

1. Social Security

Working Over Seas

We’ve all thought it…  Sitting on the beach in a tropical place while attending a quick meeting via your laptop before hitting the waves in the afternoon sun.  Many people imagine that all they must do is get a work Visa, wave good-bye to family and friends and head to sunnier shores for a bit.  Before you jump ship, or hop a plane, there are important tax items to take into consideration.  The Internal Revenue Service will not ignore you just because you live in a remote village on a Fijian island.  United States citizens (and resident aliens) for the most part, are subject to federal inco

Kiddie Tax Changes: What You Need to Know

The Tax Reform Act of 1986 first brought about the concept of taxation on the investment and unearned income for those individuals over thirteen and under seventeen years of age.  It is commonly known as the “Kiddie Tax.”  Originally the law only covered children over fourteen, as children under that age cannot legally work.  This meant that any income of a child under fourteen was derived from dividends or interest from bonds.  More recently, the age limits were revised to include children who hadn’t reached

Why Have A Dynasty Trust?

One of the major complications facing aging individuals is the passing down of wealth to the next generation without creating large tax implications.  The dynasty trust is a straightforward estate planning technique that can substantially reduce taxes.

Preventing Identity Theft

Identity theft isn’t a new crime by any stretch of the imagination.  With the use of electronic fund transactions, electronic tax filing, and the general increase of personal data being available online, identity theft is easy to perpetrate and has increased significantly in the last few years.

There are numerous expensive services and software offered by credit-reporting bureaus and private companies that will assist in keeping your data safe.  However, most of these safety measures can be done yourself – for free.

Benefits of An HSA

By now, most people have heard the term HSA or Health Savings Account.  But what is it?  A Health Savings Account combines a high deductible health insurance plan with a tax savings account.

Tax Reform Twists Businesses Need to Know

With the passing of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), tax professionals and businesses are beginning to absorb the massive changes and find some key twists in the new tax reform laws. The following information on these twists will help you navigate the new terrain.

Don’t Be GILTI

Tax Reform and Transfer Pricing Issues For Small Businesses

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) tax reform and transfer pricing questions have become hot topics. However, as publications such as Tax Notes have observed, there is no single simple answer that applies across the board and fits all companies. While companies based in the U.S.

3 Ways That Business Intelligence (BI) Can Save Your Client’s Business

The role of Business Intelligence (BI) in your client’s company can be so pervasive and transformative that in many cases it can save their business. The basic spirit behind BI is what some call “data surfacing”—the process of taking large amounts of raw data and turning into meaningful, strategic information that the business can act upon immediately.

Here are three big ways that BI could potentially save your client’s business:

1. Brings Customer Service to Life

Steps For Compliance With The New Lease Accounting Standard

The new lease accounting standards will require some extra time and work for many companies as they race to satisfy the new requirements.

In these new rules, two leases (finance and operating) will be required on the balance sheets.

CFO sums it up this way:

Tax Reform and Section 199A Deductions Overview

A key portion of the new Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) is Section 199A and its deduction of qualified business income. Section 199A allows taxpayers other than corporations a deduction of 20 percent of qualified business income that is earned in a qualified trade or business, though this has some limitations. There are both positive and negative aspects to the changes depending on your situation.

Tax Planning After the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA)

Tax planning will become more important than ever now that the TCJA has completely transformed the tax code landscape. There are significant implications for tax planning on every level, from individuals to businesses.

The following highlights provide a bird’s-eye-view of what tax planning considerations could be made in 2018 and beyond.

Are Entertainment and Client Meal Expenses Deductible Under TCJA?

With such sweeping changes coming in with that Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), there has been a fair amount of confusion with how certain deductions are handled. In particular, there are frequent questions about how entertainment and client meal expenses are handled.

Before TCJA, companies for the most part could deduct 50 percent of these expenses for business-related meal and entertainment purposes. In addition, if the meal was provided by the employer on the employer’s property it was 100 percent deductible.

Not so anymore.

A Brief Overview On How Tax Reform Affects Choice of Entity

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), signed by President Trump in Dec. 2017, has significant implications for how businesses will assess the choice of entity. Prior to reform, partnerships were a very common choice of entity, but with the new provisions in TCJA, the C corporation has become an appealing option once again (but with some caveats).

A Few Things To Know About Exit Strategies

What is an exit strategy?

AI For Small Business: Is It Possible?

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has seen stunning development in recent years, and these improvements are wiggling their way into the day-to-day operations of small businesses faster than many business owners realize.

Flags Leading To IRS Audit

There are few experiences that conjure such dread and stress as when a taxpayer has received notification from the Internal Revenue Service that he or she will undergo an audit of their tax returns.

Frankly, it feels like a punch in the gut when you first read those words.