Note: Tax advice, articles, and content contained on this site are intended for informational and educational purposes only. They are not a substitute for professional advice. Tax matters are can be extremely complex and vary greatly for each individual or company. Please click here to read our complete disclosure and disclaimer for the information presented on this site.
Now’s the Time to Review Your Business Expenses
Now that we’re in the last quarter of the year, it’s a good idea to review the deductibility of your business’s expenses. It’s also a good time to consider whether your business would benefit from accelerating certain expenses into this year. Be sure to evaluate the impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), which reduces or eliminates many deductions. In some cases, it may be necessary or desirable to change your expense and reimbursement policies. What’s deductible, anyway? There’s no master list of deductible business expenses in the...
read more529 Plans Offer Two Tax-Advantaged Education Funding Options
Tax and other benefits make Section 529 plans a popular education-funding. Two types are available: 1) prepaid tuition plans, and 2) savings plans. One of these plans got even better under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). Enjoy valuable benefits 529 plans provide a tax-advantaged way to help pay for qualifying education expenses. First and foremost, although contributions aren’t deductible for federal purposes, plan assets can grow tax-deferred. Additionally, some states offer tax incentives for contributing in the form of deductions or...
read moreTax-Free Fringe Benefits Help Small Businesses and Their Employees
In today’s tightening job market, to attract and retain the best employees, small businesses need to competitive pay as well as appealing fringe benefits. Tax-free benefits are especially attractive to employees. Let’s take a quick look at some popular options. Insurance Businesses can provide their employees with various types of insurance on a tax-free basis. Here are some of the most common: Health insurance. If you maintain a health care plan for employees, coverage under the plan isn’t taxable to them. Employee contributions are excluded...
read moreCharitable IRA Rollovers May Be Especially Beneficial in 2018
You can make direct contributions — up to $100,000 annually — from your IRA to qualified charitable organizations without owing any income tax on the distributions if you’re age 70½ or older. This break may be especially beneficial now because of Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) changes that affect who can benefit from the itemized deduction for charitable donations. Counts toward your RMD A charitable IRA rollover can be used to satisfy required minimum distributions (RMDs). In the year you reach 70 ½ you must begin to take annual RMDs from your...
read moreTax Planning for Investments Gets More Complicated
Fall is a good time for investors to review year-to-date gains and losses. Not only can it help you assess your financial health, but it also helps you determine whether to buy or sell investments before year end to save taxes. This year, you also need to keep in mind the impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). While the TCJA didn’t change long-term capital gains rates, it did change the tax brackets for long-term capital gains and qualified dividends. For 2018 through 2025, these brackets are no longer linked to the ordinary-income tax...
read moreBusinesses Aren’t Immune to Tax Identity Theft
Tax identity theft may seem like a problem that’s only faced by individual taxpayers. But, according to the IRS, more and more businesses are also becoming victims. And identity thieves have become more sophisticated, knowing filing practices, the tax code, and the best ways to get valuable data. How it works In tax identity theft, a taxpayer’s identifying information (such as Social Security number) is used to fraudulently obtain a refund or commit other crimes. Business tax identity theft occurs when criminals use the identifying...
read moreThe Tax Deduction Ins and Outs of Donating Artwork to Charity
If you collect art and are charitably inclined, appreciated artwork can make one of the best charitable gifts from a tax perspective. In general, donating appreciated property is doubly beneficial because you can both enjoy a valuable tax deduction and avoid the capital gains taxes you’d owe if you sold the property. The extra benefit from donating artwork comes from the fact that the top long-term capital gains rate for art and other “collectibles” is 28%, as opposed to 20% for most other appreciated property. Requirements The first thing to...
read moreBe Sure Your Employee Travel Expense Reimbursements Pass Muster with the IRS
If your business reimburses employees’ work-related travel expenses you know it can help you attract and retain employees. If you don’t, you might want to start, because changes under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) make such reimbursements even more attractive to employees. Travel reimbursements also come with tax benefits, but you must follow a method that passes muster with the IRS. The TCJA’s impact Before the TCJA, unreimbursed work-related travel expenses were generally deductible on an employee’s individual tax return (subject to a...
read more2018 Q4 Tax Calendar: Key Deadlines for Businesses and Other Employers
Here are some of the key tax-related deadlines affecting businesses and other employers during the fourth quarter of 2018. Keep in mind that this list isn’t all-inclusive, so there may be additional deadlines that apply to you. October 15 If a calendar-year C corporation that filed an automatic six-month extension: File a 2017 income tax return (Form 1120) and pay any tax, interest and penalties due. Make contributions for 2017 to certain employer-sponsored retirement plans. October 31 Report income tax withholding and FICA taxes for third...
read moreYou Might Save Tax if Your Vacation Home Qualifies as a Rental Property
If you own a vacation home and you both rent it out and use it personally, you might save tax by taking steps to make sure it qualifies as a rental property this year. Vacation home expenses that qualify as rental property expenses aren’t subject to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act’s (TCJA’s) new limit on the itemized deduction for state and local taxes (SALT) or the lower debt limit for the itemized mortgage interest deduction. Rental or personal property? If you rent out your vacation home for 15 days or more, the expenses you can deduct depend on...
read more
