If you’re divorcing, it’s important to review your estate plan as early as possible, for two reasons: First, you may wish to revise your plan immediately to prevent your spouse from inheriting or gaining control over your assets if you die or become incapacitated before the divorce is final. Second, although a divorce judgment or settlement automatically extinguishes certain of your former spouse’s rights, some documents must be modified to… Read More
Is an HSA right for you?
To help defray health care costs, many people now contribute to, or are thinking about setting up, Health Savings Accounts (HSAs). With these accounts, individuals can pay for certain medical expenses on a tax advantaged basis. The basics With HSAs, you take more responsibility for your health care costs. If you’re covered by a qualified high-deductible health plan, you can contribute pretax income to an employer-sponsored HSA — or make… Read More
Business tax credits
Is your business hiring this summer? If the employees come from certain “targeted groups,” you may be eligible for the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC). This includes youth whom you bring in this summer for two or three months. The maximum credit employers can claim is $2,400 to $9,600 for each eligible employee. 10 targeted groups An employer is generally eligible for the credit only for qualified wages paid to… Read More
Donating your vehicle
Let’s say you’re buying a new car and want to get rid of your old one. You’ve heard ads claiming you can get a tax deduction for donating a car to charity. But this may not result in a big deduction — or any at all. It depends on whether you itemize and what the charity does with the vehicle. For cars worth more than $500, the deduction is the… Read More
Check your paycheck tax withholding
Due to the massive changes in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), the 2019 filing season resulted in surprises. Some filers who have gotten a refund in past years wound up owing money. The IRS reports that the number of refunds paid this year is down from last year — and the average refund is lower. As of May 10, 2019, the IRS paid out 101,590,000 refunds averaging $2,868…. Read More
Donation, Charity & Tax Deductions
While donations to charity of cash or property generally are tax deductible (if you itemize), donations of time or services aren’t. Additional rules apply; contact us with questions.
Payroll Tax
For small businesses, managing payroll can be one of the most arduous tasks. A crucial aspect is withholding and remitting to the federal government the appropriate income and employment taxes. If your business doesn’t, you, personally, as the business’s owner, could be considered a “responsible party” and face a 100% penalty. This is true even if your business is an entity that normally shields owners from personal liability, such as… Read More
Green Tax Credits
Considering making energy efficient improvements to your home? For 2018, you may be eligible for a tax credit of 30% of expenditures for installing qualified solar electricity generating equipment, solar water heating equipment, wind energy equipment, geothermal heat pump equipment and fuel cell electricity generating equipment. Additional rules and limits apply. Contact us to learn more.
C Corporation vs Pass-Through Entity
On the surface, the TCJA’s new, flat 21% income tax rate for C corporations may make choosing C corp structure for your business seem like a no-brainer. After all, 21% is much lower than the 37% top rate that applies to pass-through entities (such as partnerships and S corps). But C corps can still be subject to double taxation. And pass-through entity owners may be eligible for the TCJA’s new… Read More
