Month: December 2015
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A small business adviser’s year in review: 2015
(still in draft format) 2015 was an active year of change in services for small business management. The opportunities, tools and resources are quite different today than they were only 12 months ago. There is much good news about small business accounting systems. Costs are coming down and quality is going up. I took additional…
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Where are the checklists for 2015 small business tax changes?
Accountants handling difficult tax and audit issues typically work from checklists. Checklists are a well-proven tool in many other work activities outside of tax and financial statement preparation. This year all of the significant federal tax law changes affecting small businesses pertain directly to the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. Accounting organizations like AICPA…
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Common errors with small business health plans
I often read adviser comments online that reflect a common tax error about small business health plans and especially employer payments or reimbursements for individual health insurance. In some cases the same errant thinking even extends to tax treatment of uninsured health benefits. Some advisers think that it is appropriate to account for employer-provided health…
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A missing email mystery
I had an unnerving computer experience this week that remains somewhat of a mystery. At home in the living room on the evening of Tuesday November 24 I spent about an hour preparing a client email communication. I recall that I was pleased with this work; that it contained some innovative ideas; and that I discussed…
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2016 tax deadlines for small business owners
February 2 – W2s to employees and 1099s to contractors February 29 – Form 1095-B for uninsured health plans, W2s and 1099s to IRS March 15 – due date for corporation tax returns April 15 – regular individual tax filing deadline and deadline for filing extensions September 15 – extended tax filing deadline for corporate…
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Watchlist for tax preparers: 2015 small business health plans
2015 brought dramatic changes to the way that small business health benefits are handled for wage and income tax reporting purposes. Harsh new penalties now apply to small businesses who may still be unaware of the new rules. Until recently many accountants believed that we would see relief provisions to these laws since so many small employers…
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Small business ACA compliance toolkit available for 2015
My firm Freedom Benefits offers a 2015 compliance toolkit to help small business employers who find themselves on the wrong side of 2015 ACA requirements. The tax penalties can be significant for the tens of thousands of firms affected. Equally important, IMO, is the need to effectively communicate the required changes to employees who are…
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Toolkit for small business health plans
There are three significant changes to federal income tax law this year that affect many small businesses. (While there were other 2015 tax law changes that affected small businesses most of the others were adjustments to inflation and those other changes cannot be impacted by the tax planning actions of small business employers). All three…
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Tax extenders bill good for small businesses
The so -called “tax extender bill” for 2015 contains two provisions that are of particular interest to small businesses. Both are welcome developments.: Make permanent the Section 179 election to expense rather than capitalize and depreciate business assets. This is an important tax planning strategy and a useful accounting simplification tool for many businesses. Delay the…