You’re in business, now what? Choosing the type of legal entity that a business will operate under is one of the most important issues that clients face. There are several options in most cases, and no right or wrong answers, though there are advantages and disadvantages to all of the choices. Sole Proprietorship This is […]
Now that the new tax bill has passed both the house and senate, we have a few days left before the end of the year for strategic tax planning.
Small Business Health Insurance Reimbursement Penalty Eliminated Congress recently acted to remove one of the most unreasonable penalties small business owners could possibly face. In the last few years, along with the continued implementation of the Affordable Care Act, the IRS had begun enforcing a penalty against employers who reimbursed their employees for the cost […]
A recent survey by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) regarding financial literacy among 15 year old students reported disheartening results for U.S. teens. Especially worrisome was the high number of students, primarily from disadvantaged backgrounds, who performed far below the baseline score on the survey. In the U.S., unlike some of the other […]
President Obama recently instructed the Department of Labor to draft new rules under which members of same-sex couples who are legally married would be eligible for unpaid time off to care for their spouse, just as members of heterosexual married couples are entitled to. The announcement represents continued progress in determining the ramifications of last […]
President Obama recently announced plans to expand on a 2010 law that capped student loan repayments at 10% of the borrower’s monthly income. The expansion will cover borrowers with older loans who were ineligible for relief under the original law. The goal is to reduce the burden of student loan debt payments on recent graduates […]
Businesses that attempt to gain healthcare coverage for their employees via ACA exchanges are risking severe penalties, up to $36,500 per year per employee according to a recent IRS ruling. Some employers had hoped to reduce their health care costs by allowing their employees to purchase individual coverage on the ACA exchanges and then reimbursing […]
A few days ago, I came across the article linked below regarding IRS notices many small businesses are receiving regarding potential income under-reporting. The gist of it is that credit card processing companies are now required to issue Forms 1099-K to businesses that accept credit and debit cards as a form of payment. The forms report […]
On Wednesday, October 30th the Social Security Administration announced that Social Security recipients would see an increase in benefits of 1.5% as a result of the 2014 Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA). Additionally, the taxable social security wage base will increase to $117,000 from $113,700 as a result of an increase in average wages. The […]
The IRS announced on October 22nd that the start of the 2014 tax filing season would be delayed by one to two weeks as a result of the 16 day federal government shutdown. Originally the start of the filing season had been planned for January 21st, 2014, but now the IRS plans to begin accepting […]
The IRS has announced that, as part of a number of functions which are suspended during the federal government shutdown, federal income tax refunds will not be issued during the lapse in appropriations. The nation’s tax law remains unchanged however, so taxpayers should continue to file and pay their taxes according to the normal schedule. […]
Over the course of the past month two regulatory rulings have been issued which provide greater clarity regarding the federal treatment of legally married same-sex couples in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court decision which struck down the Defense of Marriage Act earlier this summer. First, on August 29th the IRS ruled that all […]