Author: Tony Novak

  • Sample letter of instruction

    An earlier version of this post was originally published in 2011 when I was recovering from a long term disability that left residual cognitive and memory issues. My original intent was to help myself, my family, and others be better organized for disability or death. It is republished now updated with the use of new…

  • Who audits the State of New Jersey?

    This blog post sprung from a discussion among members of the New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants at a meeting this week that carried over into online discussion. I present the topic with a focus on our local area of Cumberland County. New Jersey has 1,900 separate governmental units that are required to have…

  • Our broken tax system

    This isn’t the type of tax blog post that I normally write. But after decades of writing and over 2,000 tax-related posts, columns and other publications, I sense that our tax system is spinning out of control, pulling our nation into a death spiral. It is time to speak out. Almost three decades ago I…

  • New Jersey small business survey

    The voice and thoughts of small business owners should be heard, and we are asking you to participate in a research group of 1,000 small business owners throughout New Jersey to respond to key public policy issues. The research will be conducted by the Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU) Rothman Institute of Entrepreneurship and FDU Poll,…

  • Tax preparers in trouble with IRS

    How do tax preparers get into trouble with the IRS? In 2018 the Office of Professional Responsibility, under the Internal Revenue Service, investigated over 2,600 cases of tax preparer misconduct. According to the Office’s latest report, the three most common problems were: Claiming false credentials on Form 2848 (Power of Attorney) or using that power…

  • Are tax free gains in your future?

    In general, it is more difficult to avoid capital gains taxes than ordinary income taxes. One simple way to avoid the capital gains tax is to gift the appreciated asset to a parent and inherit it back with a new, higher stepped up basis. But what is easy under the tax law might be more…

  • Two tips for new nonprofit organizations

    There are more than a million nonprofit businesses in the U.S. with more every day. State requirements that new cannabis companies be in nonprofit form bring more attention. Yet most nonprofit organizations are small volunteer-driven businesses with small budgets. They still need to make smart business management decisions, beginning with the business start-up. Starting out…

  • Accounting for volunteer services provided to a nonprofit organization

    The accounting treatment of services donated to a nonprofit frequently comes up in conversation. This blog post is meant to simplify three of the most common scenarios if those discussions: Should a nonprofit include the value of donated services in its reported revenue? No, unless the contributed service either: 1) creates a new non-financial asset,…

  • More employer-provided student loan benefits

    Last summer we were surprised to learn that IRS approved a way to allow employers to assist their employees with student loan payments on a tax-advantaged basis. I covered it in this blog post. Now a range of new proposals are on the table that are likely to propel this benefit forward. Two of the…

  • Sample small business bill payment policies and procedures

    Every small business – even one person firms where one person wears all the hats – benefits from having a well-considered bill payment policy. This sample policy is one that I drafted for a client with about $25,000 per month in expenses. The intent is to allow this to spark some ideas about how your…