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The employer's role in documenting alien employees is a balancing act. Under the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) you must verify through examination of certain documents that your employees are authorized to work in the United States. At...

As the Old Saying Goes: Better Safe than Sorry. As you know, we spend a lot of time in this e-newsletter talking about tax return filing responsibilities. But not everyone is required to file. If a person's income falls below prescribed levels, he...

What do pumpkin patches, ski resorts, ice cream shops and accounting firms have in common? They're all seasonal businesses that experience a surge in revenues during their busy seasons that tapers off in the slow season. Seasonal peaks and troughs...

The average organization loses 5% of its annual revenues to fraud, according to the 2016 Report to the Nations on Occupational Fraud and Abuse published by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE). Bear in mind, that's the top line of...

Saving for retirement on a tax-advantaged basis should be on nearly everyone's financial "to do" list. By making contributions to a Roth IRA, self-employed people are using one tax-wise way to save. This is because you can take withdrawals after age...

A company can use workers provided through an employee leasing company or professional employer organization (PEO) to save money on benefits such as health and life insurance, as well as administrative costs. Employee Leasing Versus...

Medical malpractice insurance isn't just a requirement -- it's also a major practice expense. Selecting the terms of coverage is a complex, critical task, as is evaluating insurance carriers. In fact, the future of the practice and the reputation of...

Saving for retirement can be tough if you’re putting most of your money and time into operating a small business. However, many retirement plans aren’t difficult to set up and it’s important to start saving so you can enjoy a...

The owners of many companies launch their enterprises with a business plan — a written document outlining the company’s strategic objectives and practical means of accomplishing them. Likewise, many owners leave their businesses via a...

Many tax breaks are reduced or eliminated for higher-income taxpayers. Two of particular note are the itemized deduction reduction and the personal exemption phaseout. Income thresholds If your adjusted gross income (AGI) exceeds the applicable...

Many retirement plan sponsors consider converting to new providers starting with the new plan year. For calendar year plans, that means January 1. If this is the case for your company, now is a good time to ensure your service provider is truly...

Digital disruption is described as the changes that occur when new technologies and businesses models have a negative effect on existing goods and services. Despite some activity, many companies are lagging when it comes to transforming to take on...

  IRS: We Disagree with Court Decision Involving Customer Loyalty Discounts The IRS recently announced its "nonacquiesence" with a federal appeals court decision that held a retailer that issued loyalty discounts...

With today's technology, many companies and their employees have figured out that at least some work can be done from home. The idea seems an ideal solution for some work-related problems. Working from home eliminates commuting time and expense,...

If your business is hit by a hurricane, windstorm, blizzard, or other natural disaster, or if it falls victim to arson or terrorism, you might have to close up shop for a while. As a result, you could suffer a major loss of income. Types...

In some cases, individuals reach a point where deferring taxes to the max is counter-productive. There are several reasons why this happens. For one thing, while deferring taxes is a good idea when personal tax rates are going down or staying the...

In addition to income tax, you must pay Social Security and Medicare taxes on earned income, such as salary and self-employment income. The 12.4% Social Security tax applies only up to the Social Security wage base of $118,500 for 2016. All earned...

Like many companies, yours probably stores at least some of its business files, documents and information in “the cloud.” This is the widely used term referring to the seemingly infinite data storage capacity of the Internet. Using the...

Whether you're thinking about starting your own business or investing in a start-up, there's an exciting tax break that could sweeten the deal: Gains from selling qualified small business stock (QSBS) that you acquire on or after September 28, 2010,...

Tired of preparing all the documentation needed to support business travel expenses? If your business reimburses employees for actual travel expenses, employees are required to collect receipts as they travel, noting the time, place and business...