Effects of the current economy show in your bank account and on your brow. You're still trying to figure out how you're going to get through 2009 when it arrives: a tax bill from the IRS. If you believe you received this bill in error, you should immediately contact the IRS office that sent you the bill and provide copies of any records, tax return...

Have you ever wondered why gains are separated between long-term and short-term when you receive your 1099 at tax time? There is a very good reason for that, and one you might want to consider more carefully when investing. Short-term capital gains are derived if you hold an investment one year or less before disposing of it. Short-term g...

 A will is important because if you do not designate who will inherit your property, a state statute will. The statutory distribution scheme (known as "intestate distribution") will often provide for results differing from your wishes. If you have property in several states, the rules in each state may be different concerning who will be entit...

Starting a sole proprietorship requires money — and plenty of it — depending on the type of business you choose and the number and type of expenses you incur. Unfortunately, you generally cannot recover these expenses until you sell or close the business. But you can deduct some of the start-up expenses from your income in the first taxable year of...

The American Rescue Plan Act extended the Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC) for the third and fourth quarters of 2021. It has also expanded the pool of eligible employers who can take the credit to include businesses started during the pandemic.A Recovery Startup Business (RSB) is a business that was started after February 15, 2020, an...

Many people have complained about the worker shortages this year. If you need additional workers inorder to grow your business, here are some ideas for your consideration.Where to Look for WorkersWe may think of workers as only being employees, but there are a lot more options if you're open-minded. Here's a list of places to find workers of all ki...

 Many people worry about when they can begin receiving Social Security benefits. But it's not the when you should concern yourself with: it's the how much. Depending on your circumstances, you could pay taxes of up to 85% on your Social Security benefits. Before you plan a post-retirement trip across the country or line up a greeter job at you...

For anyone who has achieved a certain level of wealth and accumulated assets, there comes a time when charitable giving becomes an option that needs to be evaluated. Regardless of whether or not the reason for giving is rising taxes and maintenance costs, declining interest or benefit, or simply a longing to do something good that has you consideri...

 When you think about your retirement, do you reach for the aspirin? Planning for your financial future doesn't have to induce pain or stress. You just need to know where toinvest.Roth individual retirement accounts, or Roth IRAs, provide a key benefit that most traditional retirementaccounts don't: tax-free earnings. That means you can save f...

If you've been thinking about making a sizeable donation to charity, you could make a one-time donation that will impact your taxable income this year. Or, it might make more sense to make a deferred donation that will benefit both your charity and you for years to come. Deferred donations, often called deferred giving plans, usually allow you to r...

Filing your taxes isn't just a once-a-year endeavor. Maintaining good records throughout the year—anddisposing of old ones when appropriate—not only provides you with greater confidence now when youprepare your tax return, but it also provides you with documentation you may need down the road. Lucky number six. One of the most common questions I'm ...

Recently, there were changes made to the child tax credit that will benefit many taxpayers. Aspart of the American Rescue Plan Act that was enacted in March 2021, the child tax credit: - Amount has increased for certain taxpayers- Is fully refundable (meaning you can receive it even if you don't owe the IRS)- May be partially received in monthly pa...

The Consolidated Appropriations Act that was signed into law December 27, 2020 includes a temporary provision allowing a 100 percent write-off for business meals from January 1, 2021 through December 31, 2022.The food and beverages must be provided by a restaurant, although they do not need to be consumed on a restaurant's premises. The deduction a...

In accounting, a key term to know is "internal control." Internal control is the series of processes and procedures that are performed within the organization to ensure the integrity and accuracy of the financial information and reporting of that organization.Internal control is very important to consider in order to protect the business owners, em...

You may someday find yourself in a unique tax situation and want to remove any uncertainty of the tax treatment of that situation. In that case, you can request a Private Letter Ruling (PLR) from the Internal Revenue Service. A PLR is a written statement that interprets and applies tax law to your particular facts. As long as the taxpayer frames th...

The Chart of Accounts is the backbone of your accounting records. It is a list of all of the accounts – bank, loan, asset, revenue, and expense – in your General Ledger, which holds all of your accounting transactions. Think of your Chart of Accounts as a collection of buckets that hold dollars of items related to your business. Each bucket should ...

 We've been in a pandemic for what seems like five years now, right? All joking aside, if you've been lucky enough to work from home this past year, then it's possible that you are in the process of going stir-crazy. Or maybe you're simply ready to shake things up a bit. Working from home has its benefits. Yet, if you are someone who enjoys go...

 Please note the information below is intended to provide generalized information that is appropriate in certain situations. It is not intended or written to be used, and it cannot be used by the receipient, for the purpose of avoiding federal tax penalties that may be imposed on any taxpayer. The contents of the information provided below sho...

Please note the information below is intended to provide generalized information that is appropriate in certain situations. It is not intended or written to be used, and it cannot be used by the receipient, for the purpose of avoiding federal tax penalties that may be imposed on any taxpayer. The contents of the information provided below should no...

There are a number of end of year tax strategies businesses can use to reduce their tax burden for 2012. Here's the lowdown on...