2019 – 08/20 Naming a beneficiary is a routine step for several types of accounts. Doing so assures the balance will go to the designated person when you die, or be divided as you wish among multiple people. Beneficiary designations are needed for life insurance policies, as well as annuities, retirement plans and IRAs. This…
2019 – 08/15 Are you a surviving spouse who inherited an IRA? The beneficiary of a deceased spouse’s IRA must decide whether to roll it over into his or her own IRA, or leave the IRA in the deceased spouse’s name. Advantages to making the spousal rollover or election are that spouses, over age 59…
2019 – 08/16 Generally, amounts withdrawn from an individual retirement account (IRA) before age 59-1/2 are subject to an additional 10% tax. Exceptions exist, including when the funds are used for a first-time home purchase. One taxpayer took a distribution to purchase her first home, but the IRS applied the 10% tax. The distribution was…
2019 – 08/13 Taxpayers who use their homes for business may qualify to claim home office deductions on their tax returns. To determine if you’re eligible, here are several points to keep in mind. The home office deduction is available to both homeowners and renters. The home must be your principal place of business. Deductible…
Operating a business as an S corporation may provide many advantages, including limited liability for owners and no double taxation (at least at the federal level). Self-employed people may also be able to lower their exposure to Social Security and Medicare taxes if they structure their businesses as S corps for federal tax purposes. But…
Like most business owners, you’ve probably been urged by industry experts and professional advisors to identify the most important key performance indicators (KPIs) for your company. So, just for the sake of discussion, let’s say you’ve done that. A natural question that often follows is: Now what? You know you’re supposed to keep an eye…
2019 – 08/07 The IRS has launched the Tax Withholding Estimator, a new online tool that replaces the IRS Withholding Calculator. According to the IRS, the “Estimator” offers employees, as well as retirees and self-employed persons, a more user-friendly tool for tailoring the amount of income tax they have withheld from wages and pension payments….
2019 – 08/12 Does your business provide company cars to owners and key employees? This perk provides substantial valuable benefits for those provided with cars, as well as tax deductions for employers. There are complex rules for valuing the personal use of the cars. We can help you with the details. Be aware there are…
2019 – 08/12 Attention, businesses: The U.S. General Services Administration has posted the domestic per diem rate table for fiscal year 2019 on its website. The rates are in effect from Oct. 1, 2018 through Sept. 30, 2019. The information is used by employers who pay a per diem allowance to employees for business travel…
2019 – 08/12 A second draft of the 2020 Form W-4 is now available. The IRS expects no substantive changes when the form’s final version is published. The new form doesn’t change the computation of withholding contained in the earlier draft. The previous version of Form W-4 calculated a taxpayer’s income tax withholding using a…
Kurt Wunderlich, Associate Wealth Advisor, 8/8/2019 Marriage, it turns out, is even more than hefty emotional commitment, a blending of families, and the awesome chance to add another crazy aunt or uncle to your family tree. Specifically, when you are married, you become a single economic unit. Your partner’s successes are your successes; similarly, your…
2019 – 08/12 In the past few months, many businesses and employers nationwide have received “no-match” letters from the Social Security Administration (SSA). The purpose of these letters is to alert employers if there’s a discrepancy between the agency’s files and data reported on W-2 forms, which are given to employees and filed with the…
2019 -08/07 Many business owners reach a point where managing the financial side of the enterprise becomes overwhelming. Usually, this is a good thing — the company has grown to a point where simple bookkeeping and basic financial reporting just don’t cut it anymore. If you can relate to the feeling, it may be time…
2019 – 08/06 During this annual sales tax holiday, you can buy most clothing, footwear, school supplies and backpacks (sold for less than $100) tax free from a Texas store or from an online or catalog seller doing business in Texas. In most cases, you do not need to give the seller an exemption certificate to buy qualifying items…
2019 – 08/05 “Summer is a season when people have fun, yet get things done,” the IRS said in a recent “Tax Tip.” Now that the standard deduction is so high, fewer taxpayers itemize deductions. But if you do, here’s a brief look at topics to keep in mind when planning this summer. State and…
