Category: Small Business
-
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…
-
Small business tax changes for 2015 (for tax preparers)
A summary of changes for small business tax return preparers Tax return preparers and small business owners filing federal tax returns for 2015 need to be aware that the instructions for several IRS tax forms have changed as a result of the phased-in implementation of the Affordable Care Act. (Perhaps it is just coincidental but it…
-
Small business tax changes for 2015 (for owners)
Tax laws change every year and so we are forced to learn and adapt. The good news for 2015 is that most of the tax changes affecting small businesses are minimal and involve only adjustments for inflation. The four most significant changes affecting small business taxes for 2015 all relate to health care and ongoing implementation…
-
The proper way for S corporations to report health benefits of shareholders
U.S. federal tax law differentiates the tax accounting methods for employee health benefits from the treatment of self-employed individuals. Operators of small businesses organized as S corporations under state law are considered to the self-employed for income tax reporting but are typically also employees of the S corporation. Employer paid health benefits are most commonly…
-
Plan ahead to avoid tax penalties on W2 health benefits
We are only weeks away from the first required reporting of employee health benefits on employee W2 forms. I suspect that payroll companies that serve small businesses are still working on communications and procedures for this. The fact is that the payroll companies don’t have access to the data to complete this requirement and their…
-
Surprising lawmaker response to small business tax relief effort
Today a representative from the Washington DC office of the National Federation of Independent Businesses met with a staff member at NJ Senator Menendez’ office in a last minute attempt to gain support for small business tax relief from the Affordable Care Act. See yesterday’s blog post for background on this story. Up to 100,000 small…
-
FreshBooks Certified Accountant
I just completed about 4 or 5 hours of accountant training for FreshBooks small business accounting platform. It has some impressive features and I’m sure I’ll write about them soon. The short version of my review: FreshBooks is an excellent choice for sole proprietors who bill for their time. Support is excellent; they are “trying…
-
Revenue Ruling 99-6 LLC partnership conversion to disregarded entity
I have a client who is considering converting an LLC that has elected treatment as a partnership to a disregarded entity owned by husband and wife in a community property state. The goal is to simplify accounting and tax reporting while still retaining the liability benefits of the LLC. No information is available as to…
-
A real life health care payment mix-up
This is a real-life personal health care story that I am trying to settle right now. I know that the same pattern is repeated for countless health care consumers every day. That’s why I posted it here. I rounded off the numbers for easier communication. The situation unfolds like this: Last month I required a…
-
The delicate issue of professional snobbery
An administrator for a small trade association invited me to participate in a panel discussion on issues related to the Affordable Care Act as it affects the small businesses of the member firms. The brief biography of the other invitees was underwhelming. The offer was extended by telephone where I had no time to prepare a…