Featured

If you’re interested in investing in tax-free municipal bonds, you may wonder if they’re really free of taxes. While the investment generally provides tax-free interest on the federal (and possibly state) level, there may be tax consequences. Here’s how the rules work. Purchasing a bond If you buy a tax-exempt bond for its face amount, either on the initial offering or in the market, there [...]

The Social Security Administration recently announced that the wage base for computing Social Security tax will increase to $160,200 for 2023 (up from $147,000 for 2022). Wages and self-employment income above this threshold aren’t subject to Social Security tax. Basics about Social Security The Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) imposes two taxes on employers, employees and self-employed workers. One is for the Old Age, Survivors [...]

What do you do with your financial statements when your auditor delivers them? Resist the temptation to just file them away — they’re more than an exercise in compliance. With a little finagling, you can calculate key financial ratios from line items in your company’s financial statements. These metrics provide insight into historical trends, potential areas for improvement and how the business is likely to [...]

Businesses can provide benefits to employees that don’t cost them much or anything at all. However, in some cases, employees may have to pay tax on the value of these benefits. Here are examples of two types of benefits which employees generally can exclude from income: A no-additional-cost benefit. This involves a service provided to employees that doesn’t impose any substantial additional cost on the [...]

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler spoke during a recent webcast to commemorate the 20-year anniversary of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Gensler recommended that the SEC take a “fresh look” at its rules on the issue of auditor conflicts of interest. He also asked the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) to add auditor independence standards to its 2023 agenda. Here’s why independence matters [...]

Perhaps your not-for-profit has lost a few board members in the turmoil of the past few years. Or maybe your current lineup simply isn’t meeting your organization’s leadership challenges. There are many reasons to review and rebuild a board of directors. But there’s no excuse to ignore problems and hope they’ll work themselves out. Here’s how to perform a board makeover. Rebuilding effort Start by [...]

People give to charity for many reasons — to “make a difference” or “give back,” to reduce their tax burden and even to impress their peers. These many motivations can be frustrating for not-for-profits looking for a magic formula. In the absence of one, you need to keep your eyes and ears open and be prepared to act on information as it becomes available. Dollars [...]

Autumn is here and many not-for-profits are starting to think about their 2023 budgets. If your budget process is on autopilot, you might want to pause and think about changing things up this year — particularly if you’ve experienced recent shortfalls or found your budget to be less resilient than is ideal. Here’s how to rethink budgeting. A holistic approach Your nonprofit may not always [...]

IRS audit rates are historically low, according to a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report , but that’s little consolation if your return is among those selected to be examined. Plus, the IRS recently received additional funding in the Inflation Reduction Act to improve customer service, upgrade technology and increase audits of high-income taxpayers. But with proper preparation and planning, you should fare well. From [...]

Despite widespread fears of recession in recent months, hiring remains strong in the United States. Employers added 528,000 jobs in July 2022 and many organizations seeking new workers are having trouble filling positions. If your not-for-profit has open slots, you might want to look to military veterans. This demographic can have a harder time finding civilian jobs, and tax breaks may be available for employers [...]

In today’s tough job market and economy, the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) may help employers. Many business owners are hiring and should be aware that the WOTC is available to employers that hire workers from targeted groups who face significant barriers to employment. The credit is worth as much as $2,400 for each eligible employee ($4,800, $5,600 and $9,600 for certain veterans and $9,000 [...]

If you have a child or grandchild who’s going to attend college in the future, you’ve probably heard about qualified tuition programs, also known as 529 plans. These plans, named for the Internal Revenue Code section that provides for them, allow prepayment of higher education costs on a tax-favored basis. There are two types of programs: Prepaid plans, which allow you to buy tuition credits [...]

Now that fall is officially here, it’s a good time to start taking steps that may lower your tax bill for this year and next. One of the first planning steps is to ascertain whether you’ll take the standard deduction or itemize deductions for 2022. Many taxpayers won’t itemize because of the high 2022 standard deduction amounts ($25,900 for joint filers, $12,950 for singles and [...]

Here are some of the key tax-related deadlines affecting businesses and other employers during the fourth quarter of 2022. 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. Note: Certain tax-filing and tax-payment deadlines may be postponed for taxpayers [...]