Author: Tony Novak
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Tax adjustments required now
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act snuck up on us quickly. Make changes took affect January 1, 2018 and many people are beginning to realize that they may have a tax problem in 2018. There are three simple things that all taxpayers should do immediately: Estimate your current year’s income tax liability under the new…
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Tax savings with accountable plans
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act snuck up on many of us. Suddenly in January 2018 tens of millions of Americans are denied a range of tax deductions that have been part of our personal and business financial culture for more than a lifetime. While most taxpayers will see a decrease in taxes, some of us…
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Home office deduction for employees in 2018
See this blog post “Five tax deductions you will miss this year” for other deductions eliminated in 2018. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act now in effect for 2018 no longer allows for employee1 home office deductions. This is a significant tax change that, according to the IRS, adds up to billion lost deductions, and increased…
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TAX TIP: Be ready to prove ‘Head of Household’ status
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act requires paid tax preparers to take additional steps to verify claims of Head of Household status. The new due diligence requirements are intended restrict an ineligible taxpayer from filing as a head of household. Under IRC §6695(g) a tax preparer who fails to meet these requirements results in a…
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Summary of Tax Reform for Individual Taxpayers
This summary is an excerpt from “Understanding the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act”by Samuel A. Donaldson, Georgia State University College of Law, January 3, 2018. Individual Ordinary Income Tax Brackets Originally, Republican leadership sought to reduce both the number of individual income tax brackets and the tax rates. Under prior law, seven tax brackets ranging from 10% to…
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3 steps to perfect small business bookkeeping
Small business bookkeeping in a perfect world would involve three steps: STEP 1: Enter transactions as they occur by the person actually making the transaction. For example, you stop to buy gasoline. You snap a photo of the receipt on your cell phone and enter the transaction on your mobile phone accounting app. Later you…
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Law firm productivity: the missing six hours
How to boost law firm productivity Industry results are consistent with last year The nation’s law firms share the same business productivity problems as I have observed and written about in small accounting practices like mine, according to industry data compiled by Clio1. The findings are substantially the same as a similar report in 2016.…
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We Fix TurboTax Returns
Over the past few years we’ve noticed acceleration of a trend that is confirmed by other tax accountants. Most of the audit notices from IRS are based on errors in TurboTax returns. This is not to say that there is anything wrong with TurboTax or that IRS is targeting these returns but rather that it…
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The Basics of Medicaid Planning
This blog post lists key issues in bullet format and is not intended as a complete discussion of any issue. A more thorough consideration is helpful for any aspect that may pertain to your family’s situation. Definition: “Medicaid planning” refers to the specialized field of financial planning that recognizes that it is possible to simultaneously keep financial assets while,…
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Overview of post-ACA federal health insurance law affecting small businesses
After the sweeping changes brought by the Affordable Care Act of 2010 that were phased in over the following several years, these federal actions then further molded small business health benefit plans: IRS Notice 2013-54 – restrictions on employer health care reimbursements not coordinated with ACA insurance plans. IRS Notice 2015-17 – restricts an employer…