Nondeductible IRA contributions require careful tracking
Posted January 2, 2020 / No comments
If, like many people, your traditional IRA holds a mixture of deductible (after-tax) and nondeductible (pretax) contributions, it’s important to track your contributions carefully to avoid double taxation of distributions. Why? Because the IRS treats distributions as a blend of pretax and after-tax dollars. If you treat distributions as fully taxable, you’ll end up overpaying.
Read MoreIRS confirms large gifts now won’t hurt post-2025 estates
Posted December 19, 2019 / No comments
The IRS has issued final regulations that should provide comfort to taxpayers interested in making large gifts under the current gift and estate tax regime. The final regs generally adopt, with some revisions, proposed regs that the IRS released in November 2018. The need for clarification The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) temporarily doubled
Read MoreSmall Businesses: It may not be not too late to cut your 2019 taxes
Posted December 16, 2019 / No comments
Don’t let the holiday rush keep you from taking some important steps to reduce your 2019 tax liability. You still have time to execute a few strategies, including: Buying assets.Thinking about purchasing new or used heavy vehicles, heavy equipment, machinery or office equipment in the new year? Buy it and place it in service by
Read MoreRisk assessment: A critical part of the audit process
Posted December 13, 2019 / No comments
Audit season is right around the corner for calendar-year entities. Here’s what your auditor is doing behind the scenes to prepare — and how you can help facilitate the audit planning process. The big picture Every audit starts with assessing “audit risk.” This refers to the likelihood that the auditor will issue an adverse opinion
Read MoreAdopting a child? Bring home tax savings with your bundle of joy
Posted December 10, 2019 / No comments
If you’re adopting a child, or you adopted one this year, there may be significant tax benefits available to offset the expenses. For 2019, adoptive parents may be able to claim a nonrefundable credit against their federal tax for up to $14,080 of “qualified adoption expenses” for each adopted child. (This amount is increasing to
Read More2020 Q1 tax calendar: Key deadlines for businesses and other employers
Posted December 10, 2019 / No comments
Here are some of the key tax-related deadlines affecting businesses and other employers during the first quarter of 2020. Keep in mind that this list isn’t all-inclusive, so there may be additional deadlines that apply to you. Contact us to ensure you’re meeting all applicable deadlines and to learn more about the filing requirements. January
Read MoreCounting your employees for ACA compliance purposes
Posted December 6, 2019 / No comments
It seems like a simple question: How many full-time workers does your organization employ? But, when it comes to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the calculation can be complicated — and the answer is important. Potential penalty The number of workers you employ determines whether your organization is an applicable large employer (ALE). If you’re
Read MoreFAQs about prepaid expenses
Posted December 6, 2019 / No comments
The concept of “matching” is one of the basic principles of accrual-basis accounting. It requires companies to match expenses (efforts) with revenues (accomplishments) whenever it’s reasonable or practical to do so. This concept applies when companies make advance payments for expenses that will benefit more than one accounting period. Here are some questions small business
Read MoreNew Sales Tax Rate 2020
Posted December 4, 2019 / No comments
New sales tax rate changes are going into effect for 2020. The Illinois Dept. of Revenue has issued a bulletin (No. FY 2020-9) informing retailers and servicepersons that, effective Jan. 1, 2020, certain taxing jurisdictions have either imposed or changed their local sales tax rates on general merchandise sales. Cash registers and computer programs must
Read MoreForm 1099-K Guidance
Posted December 4, 2019 / No comments
The Illinois Dept. of Revenue has released a bulletin (No. FY 2020-14) detailing new filing requirements for Forms 1099-K issued to a payee with an Illinois address. Beginning with tax year 2019, Forms 1099-K due March 31, 2020, must be filed with Illinois if the payer is required by the IRS to electronically file Forms
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