• Be careful what you post!

    Can posting on social media be evidence in a tax dispute? In one case, the U.S. Tax Court said yes. The court allowed the IRS to present a woman’s blog posts as evidence. The taxpayer and her husband allegedly underpaid tax for multiple years. After the husband died, the wife sought “innocent spouse” relief, which the IRS denied. The blog posts were relevant because they [...]

    Published On: March 8, 2024Categories: Federal Tax Posts
  • Plan now to reimburse staffers, board members and volunteers

    Even if your not-for-profit organization rarely needs to reimburse staffers, board members or volunteers, reimbursement requests almost certainly will occasionally appear. At that point, will you know how to pay stakeholders back for expenses related to your nonprofit’s operations? If you have a formal reimbursement policy, you will. Plus, you’ll be able to direct individuals with reimbursement questions to your formal document and minimize the [...]

    Published On: March 7, 2024Categories: Featured, Not for Profit
  • Arm your nonprofit against financial threats

    Whether it’s inflation, trouble finding staffers in a tight labor market or cybersecurity, nonprofit leaders have a lot to worry about. If making financial forecasts is more difficult than usual, consider taking measures that will fortify your not-for-profit’s position, regardless of the challenges. Keep an eye on cash Your organization may still be struggling following the pandemic. Or perhaps tax law changes have led to [...]

    Published On: March 6, 2024Categories: Featured, Not for Profit
  • Why it’s important to get your company’s financials done on time

    Have you completed your company’s year-end financial statements yet? Most calendar-year entities issue their year-end financials by March of the following year. Lenders and investors may think the worst if a company’s financial reports aren’t submitted in a timely manner. Here are three assumptions your stakeholders could make when your financial statements are late. 1. Negative financial results No one wants to be the bearer [...]

    Published On: March 5, 2024Categories: Business, Featured
  • Will SS still be around?

    The long-term solvency of the Social Security trust fund has been a topic of concern for both Congress and individual taxpayers for years. Congress often puts forth bills to address the program’s projected financial shortfall. Some proposals aim to achieve financial balance by reducing costs (such as benefit amounts) while other proposals aim to achieve financial balance by raising revenues (such as payroll taxes). The [...]

    Published On: March 4, 2024Categories: Federal Tax Posts
  • New option for unused funds in a 529 college savings plan

    With the high cost of college, many parents begin saving with 529 plans when their children are babies. Contributions to these plans aren’t tax deductible, but they grow tax deferred. Earnings used to pay qualified education expenses can be withdrawn tax-free. However, earnings used for other purposes may be subject to income tax plus a 10% penalty. What if you have a substantial balance in [...]

    Published On: March 4, 2024Categories: Featured, Individual Tax
  • Fiscal Deficit

    The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has reported that the estimated federal budget deficit for the first four months of fiscal year 2024 reached $531 billion. That amount is $71 billion more than the deficit recorded during the same period during fiscal year 2023. Although revenues this year were $112 billion (8%) higher, outlays rose by $183 billion (9%). Note that a significant portion of the [...]

    Published On: March 3, 2024Categories: Federal Tax Posts
  • Make sure your ITIN is current!

    If you have an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN), make sure it’s current before you file your taxes. In general, certain nonresident and resident aliens, their spouses and dependents who aren’t eligible for Social Security Numbers use ITINs to file income tax and information returns. The IRS can still accept your return if your ITIN has expired, but the expiration may result in processing delays [...]

    Published On: March 2, 2024Categories: Federal Tax Posts
  • Inflation Reduction Act helping farmers

    One of the provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act is intended to provide financial help to farmers, ranchers and forest landowners who experienced discrimination from the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) prior to 2021. Applications for the USDA Financial Discrimination Assistance Program were due Jan. 17, 2024. The IRS recently released FAQs (https://bit.ly/42RXbWI  ) about the tax treatment of program payments taxpayers received. Payments generally [...]

    Published On: March 1, 2024Categories: Federal Tax Posts
  • If you didn’t contribute to an IRA last year, there’s still time

    If you’re gathering documents to file your 2023 tax return and you’re concerned that your tax bill may be higher than you’d like, there might still be an opportunity to lower it. If you qualify, you can make a deductible contribution to a traditional IRA right up until the April 15, 2024, filing date and benefit from the tax savings on your 2023 return. Who [...]

    Published On: March 1, 2024Categories: Featured, Individual Tax
  • Another reason to use direct deposit

    If you’re due a tax refund and are reluctant to receive it by direct deposit, here’s a reason to reconsider. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has reported a surge in check fraud schemes using the U.S. mail. The latest available figures from FinCEN show that from 2020 to 2022, the number of suspicious activity reports related to check fraud nearly doubled, to over 680,000. [...]

    Published On: February 29, 2024Categories: Federal Tax Posts
  • Tax-wise ways to take cash from your corporation while avoiding dividend treatment

    If you want to withdraw cash from your closely held corporation at a low tax cost, the easiest way is to distribute cash as a dividend. However, a dividend distribution isn’t tax efficient since it’s taxable to you to the extent of your corporation’s “earnings and profits,” but it’s not deductible by the corporation. 5 different approaches Thankfully, there are some alternative methods that may [...]

    Published On: February 29, 2024Categories: Featured, Small Business Tax
  • 6 ways nonprofit retirement plans are changing

    Some provisions of 2022’s SECURE Act 2.0 (a follow-up to the SECURE Act of 2019) have been in force for over a year — including several that affect 403(b) retirement plans. If your not-for-profit offers staffers a 403(b) plan, you likely made some minor changes in 2023 and may have made more significant ones on January 1, 2024. A few additional provisions are scheduled to become effective [...]

    Published On: February 28, 2024Categories: Featured, Not for Profit
  • Internal hiring can help fill your nonprofit’s open job positions

      In January 2024, the U.S. economy added 353,000 new jobs. At a current rate of 3.7%, the unemployment rate has remained lower than 4% for two years. Although that’s generally great news for jobseekers and the economy, it tends to make the task of hiring not-for-profit staffers challenging. So why not look internally? Promoting existing employees generally is less expensive than extern al hiring and [...]

    Published On: February 27, 2024Categories: Featured, Not for Profit