news; cpa-insights

During this tax season, it can pay to understand the two types of tax breaks the IRS offers. The first includes tax deductions, which reduce your taxable income before determining your tax bill. The second is a tax credit, which reduces any taxes you owe. Both can help reduce your 2019 tax bill, whether you … Read more

Ray recently received a letter from the IRS, saying that he underpaid his 2017 taxes by a few thousand dollars, which he wants to dispute. What are his next steps? Can his tax professional help him resolve this dispute with the IRS? For starters, Ray shouldn’t panic. Instead, he should consult a tax professional to … Read more

The beginning of another year means it’s time to get ready for the annual task of filing your tax returns. Whether you file as an individual, a business or both, you can get a head start by working with a tax professional to find every tax break to which you’re entitled. GETTING READY If you’re … Read more

Many people make resolutions to coincide with the advent of the New Year, including becoming more financially secure. If you want to improve your financial outlook, now is a good time to take steps to achieve this goal. TAP THE EXPERTS You go to a doctor for medical care and a mechanic to fix your … Read more

Before you retire, consider planning for your required minimum distributions (RMDs). This can be more complicated than you imagine if you have significant retirement assets in qualified plans, such as 401(k) accounts and IRAs, but you can achieve a tax-friendly result with a little planning. KNOW THE RULES Generally, you must begin taking RMDs by … Read more

RULE OF THUMB In most cases, three years should be sufficient, according to the IRS. However, this statute of limitations goes out the window if you don’t report more than 25% of your gross income on a return, file a false return or don’t file at all. You must keep your records indefinitely in the … Read more

QUESTION: I own a small business, but I’m required to give my personal social security number when I apply for business credit. Do I need to know my business credit score, too? ANSWER: It can’t hurt. Many small business owners receive credit based primarily on their personal credit strength, but building a business credit rating … Read more

More than 25.5 million taxpayers who filed individual 2016 income tax returns reported non-farm sole proprietorship activity. That’s a 1.2% increase from 2015. Total profits from non-farm sole proprietorships decreased 2.4% during this time, although total profits as a percentage of business receipts were 23.1%, the second-highest level in this data series that began in … Read more

Publicly traded companies are used to undergoing financial audits — it’s a requirement for most of them – but privately held companies can generally keep their finances private. However, lenders and some insurance companies may require you to have an audit performed. And, in any event, an audit can help owners pinpoint problem areas and … Read more

In December of 2017, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was signed into law, which created IRS code section 199A, the Qualified Business Income Deduction. While the details of the code are inexhaustible, for our purpose it is only important to understand the basic nature of the 199A deduction. In a sentence, the 199A deduction … Read more