Author: Tony Novak
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Tax penalty relief
Are tax penalty notices putting a damper on your holiday? Are you concerned about an imminent account levy by IRS, the state or locality? Get help at minimal expense at a fraction of the total saved.
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Turmoil in cyber currency and beyond
Bitcoin has lost 80% of its value since I wrote this pessimistic prediction “Turned Sour on Bitcoin” a year ago. Last week the cyber currency market dropped $700 Billion. Of course this does not happen in a bubble. The overall stock market appears to have peaked and may be entering an extended bear market. Real estate…
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What to expect when outsourcing small business payroll
I often mention to small business owners that one of the easy and surefire ways a small business can get improved level of service, save time and save money is to set up an outsourced payroll service. These are remote services; there is no need to be close to your business. Small businesses can easily…
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Why are so many paying higher income taxes this year?
65% of taxpayers will pay less federal income tax in 2018. Only 6.5% will pay more (1). This isn’t news. We’ve known for months and had reliable sources of data to back this up. The problem is that many of the people in this 6.5% don’t seem to know. That means that they did they…
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2019 Tax Saving Checklist for Attorneys
Forecast 2019 taxes now based on 2018 year-to-date results. (If you don’t have 2018 YTD then we really need to talk). Use a Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA) for tax-free payments of out-of-pocket expenses Use a Qualified Small Employer Health Reimbursement Arrangement (QSEHRA) for insurance assistance Add a Health Savings Account (HSA) for long term health…
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When does it make sense to prepare your own tax return?
If your income is less than $66,000 then it is easy to file your tax return on your own. This service is free and available online. See these resources for details. Early indications I’ve read from comments by other tax accountants of the promised ‘post card return’ indicate that this approach would result in a…
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Five factors that put you at greatest risk of higher income taxes
Most people across the country will have lower federal income taxes in 2018 than in 2017. But that’s not true of my core group of clients in the Philadelphia and New Jersey area. This blog post list the characteristics that put a taxpayer at highest risk of facing a higher tax bill this coming spring.…
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It’s apparently a good time to be a tax criminal
Data points extracted from the most recent The Internal Revenue Service Advisory Council Public Report, November 2018: IRS budget has been cut $14.5 billion since 2010 Close to 24,000 jobs amounting to 25% of work force were cut More than 17,000 of those former employees were working in enforcement IRS staff is aged; 40.5 percent are…
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A fresh look at RMDs
Background Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) are a common topic of focus in personal financial planning. This is nothing new. I first published this blog post titled “IRAs and the Retirement Income Myth” based on 2005 and 2006 data. The underlying big picture issue is the split in needs between the “haves” and “have-nots”: Relatively few…
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US Supreme Court’s Mount Lemmon Fire District case impact on small business employee benefits
The US Supreme Court decision issued last week in the case of Mount Lemmon Fire District v. Guido et at. appears to have employee benefit implication to some small business. In general, federal employment laws and specifically employee benefit laws, include applicability provisions that often exempt small business employers or modify the compliance requirements. This case…