Business Tax
5 Tips When Calling the IRS – How to Talk to a Real Person
If you need to call the IRS and talk to a person to get help, you most likely are already frustrated and stressed. Placing the call doesn’t help your anxiety level because it is easy to get lost in the myriad of automated responses… “Choose 1 for this”, “Choose 2 for that”, etc. Sometimes you…
Read MoreState And Local Tax (“SALT”) Cap Workaround
State And Local Tax (“SALT”) Cap Workaround [updated & reposted – Rick] Many states have passed legislation which allows for a SALT Cap workaround. Background: Taxpayers can deduct the larger of the Standard Deduction or their Itemized Deductions on their individual tax return. Itemized deductions include charitable contributions, mortgage interest expense, medical expenses over 7.5% of…
Read MoreReduce Taxes Now! Take Steps Before Dec. 31st!
If you wait until April 15th to try and reduce your income tax, there will be very few things you can do. Now, before December 31st, review your situation and take action to minimize your current income tax. There is some uncertainty in which tax provisions Congress may decide to extend, but the majority…
Read MoreIdaho “SALT” Cap Workaround
IDAHO – State And Local Tax (“SALT”) Cap Workaround Idaho passed legislation allowing for a SALT Cap workaround beginning in the 2021 tax year. In the past, many taxpayer’s were able to include all of their State and Local Taxes (“SALT”) as an itemized deduction. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) limited the SALT…
Read MoreOregon “SALT” Cap Workaround
OREGON – State And Local Tax (“SALT”) Cap Workaround Oregon passed legislation allowing for a SALT Cap workaround beginning in the 2022 tax year. In the past, many taxpayer’s were able to include all of their State and Local Taxes (“SALT”) as an itemized deduction. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) limited the SALT…
Read MoreImplementing the $2,500 Expensing Threshold May Not Be Best Practices for Your Business
A capitalization policy is used by a business to set a threshold for determining when a asset purchase should be recorded as a fixed asset (and depreciated), or when the expenditure can be expensed in the current year. The IRS has allowed certain businesses with applicable financial statements with written capitalization policies to establish this…
Read MorePart 1 – How will the Increased Minimum Wage Rate Impact Your Business?
Part 1 – How will the increased minimum wage rate impact your business? Many states have, or are considering, increasing the minimum wage rate. As a business owner and/or manager, it is important that you have a clear understanding of the impact that a wage rate increase has on your operations. This is the…
Read MorePart 2 – Managing a Minimum Wage Rate Increase – Increasing Prices, Sales Volume & Cutting Costs
Part 2 – Managing a Minimum Wage Rate Increase – Increasing Prices, Sales Volume, Cutting Prices, etc. This is the second post in a series of posts relating to dealing with an increase in a minimum wage rate. The first post dealt with estimating the impact that a wage rate increase would have on your…
Read MorePart 3 – Increasing The Minimum Wage Rate: Solution or Problem?
Part 3 – Increasing The Minimum Wage Rate: Solution or Problem? Many states have, or are considering, increasing the minimum wage rate. I’ve written two articles to help business owners/managers analyze the impact a wage rate increase (Part 1), and to discuss some of the primary strategies in dealing with it (Part 2).…
Read More2015 Tax Legislation Passed in Time for Christmas (and for Year-End Tax Planning)
UPDATE: 2015 Tax Legislation Passed on December 18, 2015… just in time for Christmas, and for your 2015 year-end tax planning. I expected Congress to pass legislation extending the 50+ key tax provisions (nick-named “extender tax provisions”), but my expectation was that it would be a one or two year extension. That is what has…
Read More