Recently Enacted Tax Breaks for Small Businesses

Keeping track of tax changes these days is quite a task. Congress is constantly tweaking the tax laws in an effort to stimulate the economy and deal with the budget deficit. The following is a compilation of recent changes to keep you up date. Cell Phones No Longer Listed Property – This means that cell […]

Charity Purchases and Auctions

A regular form of fundraising by charitable organizations consists of sales or auctions of property or services at a price in excess of value. These are referred to as “quid pro quo” contributions or dual payments made that consist partly of a charitable gift and partly of consideration for goods or services provided to the […]

QuickBooks Income Tax Reports And Filtering Options: Target The Right Output

April 15 is getting uncomfortably close. QuickBooks, of course, can’t do your taxes for you. But it helps you lay some of the groundwork. Following up on last month’s column on customizing reports, we’ll look at the program’s tax-related reports and its powerful report-filtering options. But first, you’ll need to make sure that this output […]

It’s Not Too Late

It’s not too late to make an IRA and/or SEP contribution or undo a Roth IRA conversion for 2011. Generally, after the close of the year you can no longer take steps to alter the outcome of your tax return. However, both IRA contributions and SEP contributions can be made for a year after it […]

Are You Liable for a Gift Tax Return?

Frequently, taxpayers think that gifts of cash, securities, or other assets they give to other individuals are tax-deductible and, in turn, the gift recipient sometimes thinks income tax must be paid on the gift received. Nothing is further from the truth. To fully understand the ramifications of gifting, one needs to realize that gift tax […]

It’s Tax Time! Are You Ready?

If you’re like most taxpayers, you find yourself with an ominous stack of “homework” around TAX TIME! Unfortunately, the job of pulling together the records for your tax appointment is never easy, but the effort usually pays off when it comes to the extra tax money you save! When you arrive at your appointment fully […]

Year-end Capital Gains Strategies

2011 has produced some significant gyrations in the financial markets that have had an impact on everyone’s portfolios. But for tax purposes, gains and losses are not measured by the increased or decreased value of your portfolio, but by gains and losses recognized from the sale of capital assets during the year. So you still […]

It’s Time for Year-End Tax Planning

We have compiled a checklist of actions based on current tax rules that may help you save tax dollars if you act before year-end. Regardless of what Congress does late this year or early next, solid tax savings can be realized by taking advantage of tax breaks that are on the books for 2011. For […]

Unmarried Couples and Home Mortgage Interest

It is becoming increasingly common for couples to live together and remain unmarried, which can lead to potential tax problems when they share the expenses of a home but only one of the couple is liable for the debt on that home. Home mortgage interest can generally be deducted only by a person who is […]

Don’t Forget Your Retirement!

Even though retirement may be years away, and it may not be the most pressing issue on your mind these days, don’t forget your retirement contributions, especially with generous government incentives involved. There are a variety of retirement plans available to small businesses that allow the employer and employee a tax-favored way to save for […]