Our Financial Blog
Planning for Your Retirement – New Wrinkles from the SECURE 2.0 Act
In 2019 Congress passed legislation named the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act – shortened to the SECURE Act – that included a number of retirement plan changes and enhancements. In late December, 2022, the SECURE 2.0 Act was passed and signed...
Knowing how scammers pose as the IRS can help taxpayers protect themselves
Crooks are always looking for new ways to scam unsuspecting taxpayers. Scammers impersonate the IRS by phone or email, in person, or by mail or delivery service – and cost people their time and money. By staying vigilant against schemes and scams, taxpayers can...
Taxation and Sales of Inherited Property Get Beneficial Treatment
If you are the recent beneficiary of an inheritance, you may be wondering if you will need to pay tax on the cash, stocks or real property that you received. Generally, the answer is no, and you don’t even need to report the receipt of the inheritance on your income...
Homeowners: review these house-related deductions and programs
The summer months are a popular time to buy or sell a house. New homeowners should put reviewing the tax deductions, programs and housing allowances they may be eligible for on their move in to-do list. Deductible house-related expensesMost home buyers take out a...
Mid-Year Tax Planning Checklist
Waiting until after the close of the tax year to worry about your taxes can result in missed opportunities that could have reduced your tax liability or provided financial benefits. Mid-year is the perfect time for tax planning. The following are some events that can...
Employee or Independent Contractor – A Primer for Employers and Employees
It is not uncommon for employers to misclassify employees as independent contractors, either to intentionally avoid their withholding and tax responsibilities or because they are not aware of the laws regarding the issue. Misclassifying a worker can have significant...
Learn the warning signs of Employee Retention Credit scams
Businesses and tax-exempt organizations should watch out for telltale signs of misleading claims involving the Employee Retention Credit. Scammers and unscrupulous promoters continue to run aggressive broadcast advertising, direct mail solicitations and online...
Your Entrepreneur Start-Up Guide: The Best Practices to Help Motivate Success
Ask any experienced entrepreneur and they will tell you that the difference between running a business and running a successful business is massive. To truly give yourself the best chance of success, and to help achieve your overall goals in the most effective ways...
Building on filing season 2023 success, IRS continues to improve service, pursue high-income individuals evading taxes, modernize technology
Thanks to Inflation Reduction Act resources, the IRS delivered dramatically improved service in filing season 2023. IRS achieved an 87% level of service. Through the end of filing season, IRS answered 3 million more calls, cut phone wait times to three minutes from 28...
Relief For Some 2023 IRA RMDs
On July 14, 2023, the IRS issued Notice 2023-54 announcing that traditional IRA owners who will attain age 72 in 2023 (that is, individuals born in 1951) will have to take their first required minimum distribution (RMD) by April 1, 2025, rather than April 1, 2024....
Tax Changes Coming After 2025
By now you have probably gotten used to the provisions in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) that became effective January 1, 2018. But don’t forget, most of the tax changes made by the TCJA are not permanent and will expire (sunset) after 2025. This will have an...
What’s Best, FSA or HSA?
Many employers offer health flexible spending accounts (FSAs) and health savings accounts (HSAs) as part of their employee benefits packages. Both plans allow you to set aside money to pay medical expenses with pre-tax dollars, providing a significant tax benefit. But...
Tax tips for new parents
Kids are expensive. Whether someone just brought a bundle of joy home from the hospital, adopted a teen from foster care, or is raising their grandchild. There are several tax breaks that can help. Here are some tax tips for new parents Get the child a Social...
IRS, Security Summit partners warn taxpayers of new scam; unusual delivery service mailing tries to trick people into sending photos, bank account information
The Internal Revenue Service warned taxpayers to be on the lookout for a new scam mailing that tries to mislead people into believing they are owed a refund. The new scheme involves a mailing coming in a cardboard envelope from a delivery service. The enclosed letter...
Divorced, Separated, Married or Widowed This Year? Unpleasant Surprises May Await You at Tax Time
Taxpayers are frequently blindsided when their filing status changes because of a life event such as marriage, divorce, separation or the death of a spouse. These occasions can be stressful or ecstatic times, and the last thing most people will be thinking about are...
Employer-Offered Benefits That Can Save You Money and Taxes
Tax law includes several tax- and financially favored benefits that employers can offer or provide to their employees. This article is intended to make you aware of these perks, with the caveat that all employers, especially small businesses, may not provide all, or...
Have You Gotten Bad Tax Advice?
The U.S. Tax Code is used for more than just collecting taxes. It is used by the Government as a means of providing lower-income individuals with social benefits such as the earned income tax credit, child tax credit and health care subsidies. It also is used to...
6 Common Tax Mistakes That Can Land You in Trouble with the IRS
You'd be hard-pressed to find someone out there willing to argue against the idea that taxes are complicated. There's a reason why most people dread it on some level every time April rolls around. Making mistakes is commonplace, yes - but it's also critical to...
Procrastinating on Filing Your Taxes?
If you have been procrastinating about filing your 2023 tax return or have not filed other prior year returns, you should consider the consequences, including the penalties, interest, and aggressive enforcement actions. Plus, if you have a refund coming for a prior...
7 Helpful Bookkeeping Tips for E-Commerce Companies
By far, one of the biggest (and most unique) challenges facing e-commerce companies today has to do with the uncertain nature of the entire enterprise. Nobody could have predicted the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. One side effect of this was that e-commerce...