Here’s everything you need to know about your 2020 taxes Get out your pencils and calculators: The IRS has released a breakdown of what’s ahead for the 2020 tax year. Taxpayers who’ve been paying close attention will notice that the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act overhauled the tax code. Those sweeping changes include a higher… Read More

Have you been planning to invest in your business but just couldn’t come to terms with paying the full price? I know where you’re coming from. And if you can wait, it’s definitely worth holding out for Black Friday / Cyber Monday. For small-business owners, the Thanksgiving shopping season is a perfect opportunity to refresh… Read More

As small business owners, we’re resourceful and take pride in doing things ourselves. This resourcefulness is helpful when we start our business as we can minimize costs and run a tight ship. But as our business grows, so to do our responsibilities. With so many tasks and limited time in the day, A DIY approach… Read More

Business travelers who incur expenses while traveling away from home have new per-diem rates to use in substantiating certain of those expenses (Notice 2019-55). The new rates are in effect from Oct. 1, 2019, to Sept. 30, 2020. The IRS on Wednesday provided the 2019–2020 special per-diem rates, including the transportation industry meal and incidental… Read More

Commissioner Charles Rettig wants practitioners and others to become “highly engaged” in an enhanced relationship with the IRS as the Service continues to develop its thoughts on a potential reorganization required by the Taxpayer First Act, P.L. 116-25, he told the AICPA National Tax Conference in Washington on Thursday. This engagement is a shared responsibility,… Read More

It seems that it is often young entrepreneurs who make the headlines and receive most of the recognition for their accomplishments. Think of Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook), Matt Mullenweg (WordPress) and Pete Cashmore (Mashable) — all in their early 20s, and high up on the list of successful entrepreneurs. But the age of the founder is… Read More

Business owners often handle their own bookkeeping for many reasons that include fear of delegating sensitive financial information, wanting complete control and keeping staff costs lean. Those reasons, while certainly valid for startups and smaller operations, grow increasingly impractical as your business grows. Delegating Accounting Duties Some owners delegate accounting duties to trusted family members… Read More

Owning a successful business and actually running one are two quite different things. You might have huge amounts of capital and plenty of regular customers, but your business won’t thrive if you don’t have effective bookkeeping skills as well — at least if you intend to run the financial side of things yourself. Bookkeeping is an essential role that every business owner… Read More

More than 40 years after the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) was enacted, the SEC and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) continue to crack down on schemes in which bribes are paid to foreign officials with the intent to advance business interests. In an effort to conceal illicit payments, individuals involved in illegal activity… Read More

When I review a client’s tax return, I always try to grab the low-hanging fruit first- — simple, easy deductions that can quickly have a big impact on my clients’ bottom lines. Here’s my power list of the most underused write-offs and tax deduction strategies business owners should consider: Technology, electronic equipment and supplies Electronics, tech,… Read More