The tax consequences of the sale of an investment, as well as your net return, can be affected by a variety of factors. You’re probably focused on factors such as how much you paid for the investment vs. how much you’re selling it for, whether you held the investment long-term (more than one year) and the tax rate that will apply.
But there are additional details you should pay attention to.
If your employees incur work-related travel expenses, you can better attract and retain the best talent by reimbursing these expenses. But to secure tax-advantaged treatment for your business and your employees, it’s critical to comply with IRS rules.
Reasons to reimburse
While unreimbursed work-related travel expenses generally are deductible on a taxpayer’s individual tax return (subject to a 50% limit for meals and entertainment) as a miscellaneous itemized deduction,
Debt is an integral part of many for-profit companies’ strategic plans, yet it has traditionally carried a stigma in the not-for-profit world. That view is changing, as more organizations borrow money for major capital purchases, new program funding and other reasons. But before your nonprofit borrows, it’s important to understand that it takes prudent financial management and reliable donor support to pay back a loan.
Exhaust other options
You may think your organization has a good rationale for borrowing,
With school letting out you might be focused on summer plans for your children (or grandchildren). But the end of the school year is also a good time to think about Coverdell Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) — especially if the children are in grade school or younger.
One major advantage of ESAs over another popular education saving tool, the Section 529 plan, is that tax-free ESA distributions aren’t limited to college expenses;
In today’s competitive environment, offering employees an equity interest in your business can be a powerful tool for attracting, retaining and motivating quality talent. If your business is organized as a partnership, however, there are some tax traps you should watch out for. Once an employee becomes a partner, you generally can no longer treat him or her as an employee for tax and benefits purposes, which has significant tax implications.
All charitable donations aren’t created equal — some provide larger deductions than others. And it isn’t necessarily just how much or even what you donate that matters. How the charity uses your donation might also affect your deduction.
Take vehicle donations, for example. If you donate your vehicle, the value of your deduction can vary greatly depending on what the charity does with it.
Determining your deduction
You can deduct the vehicle’s fair market value (FMV) if the charity:
If you recently filed for your 2016 income tax return (rather than filing for an extension) you may now be wondering whether it’s likely that your business could be audited by the IRS based on your filing. Here’s what every business owner should know about the process.
Catching the IRS’s eye
Many business audits occur randomly, but a variety of tax-return-related items are likely to raise red flags with the IRS and may lead to an audit.
Many not-for-profit youth sports leagues are at risk for fraud and don’t even know it. Because cash transactions are common and leagues usually are managed by volunteers with little oversight, it’s easy for crooked individuals to take advantage of the situation. Unfortunately, sports league fraud is usually committed by board members or officers who are well known and respected in their communities. How then can your league prevent this crime?
Simple steps
By far the most important step you can take is to segregate duties.
It can be difficult in the current job market for students and recent graduates to find summer or full-time jobs. If you’re a business owner with children in this situation, you may be able to provide them with valuable experience and income while generating tax savings for both your business and your family overall.
Shifting income
By shifting some of your business earnings to a child as wages for services performed by him or her,
It’s a smaller business world after all. With the ease and popularity of e-commerce, as well as the incredible efficiency of many supply chains, companies of all sorts are finding it easier than ever to widen their markets. Doing so has become so much more feasible that many businesses quickly find themselves crossing state lines.
But therein lies a risk: Operating in another state means possibly being subject to taxation in that state.
HBL CPAs is a full-service Certified Public Accounting firm based in Tucson, Arizona. HBL has been providing tax services, accounting services, auditing and attestation services, consulting services, and various other services since 1973.
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