News and Posts

If your not-for-profit is looking for significant ways to cut costs, one of the best ideas is to target your workspace. Sharing an office or other facility can help you slash rent or pay a mortgage, as well as cut utilities expenses. These arrangements can also provide other, less obvious cost-busting benefits, such as enabling you to share equipment, supplies, services and even staffers. But [...]

Let’s say you own real estate that has been held for more than one year and is sold for a taxable gain. Perhaps this gain comes from indirect ownership of real estate via a pass-through entity such as an LLC, partnership or S corporation. You may expect to pay Uncle Sam the standard 15% or 20% federal income tax rate that usually applies to long-term capital [...]

Are your not-for-profit’s board members independent? Your immediate response is probably, “of course!” But contrary to what many nonprofit leaders and staffers might think, director independence goes beyond avoiding conflicts of interest. In fact, the IRS has a four-part definition of independence. If a majority of your organization’s board members don’t meet all four criteria, the IRS, donors and other stakeholders could call your governance [...]

Get ready: The upcoming presidential and congressional elections may significantly alter the tax landscape for businesses in the United States. The reason has to do with a tax law that’s scheduled to expire in about 17 months and how politicians in Washington would like to handle it. How we got here The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), which generally took effect in 2018, made [...]

Let’s say that one of your not-for-profit’s employees makes significant personal purchases on a credit card you’ve provided for work-related expenses. You may think the outcome is relatively straightforward: The individual is fired and referred to law enforcement for prosecution, and you recover the funds. Unfortunately, obtaining a criminal conviction may be difficult. Plus, you might not want the negative publicity. Your credit card issuer is [...]

Most businesses have websites today. Despite their widespread use, the IRS hasn’t issued formal guidance on when website costs can be deducted. But there are established rules that generally apply to the deductibility of business expenses and provide business taxpayers launching a website with some guidance about proper treatment. In addition, businesses can turn to IRS guidance on software costs. Here are some answers to [...]

The SECURE 2.0 Act made some enhancements to IRA qualified charitable distributions (QCDs) that may benefit your not-for-profit organization — so long as donors know about them. You can encourage your supporters to contribute more by boning up on the new rules and communicating their tax advantages. QCDs to RMDs First, the basics: QCDs were established in 2006 and became permanent in 2015. Taxpayers age 70½ [...]

While many facets of the economy have improved this year, the rising cost of living and other economic factors have caused many businesses to close their doors. If this is your situation, we can help you, including taking care of various tax responsibilities. To start with, a business must file a final federal income tax return and some other related forms for the year it [...]

If your nonprofit has investment income, dividends, interest, rents and annuities, they’re generally excluded when calculating unrelated business income tax (UBIT). However, income from debt-financed property typically is taxable. So it’s important to segregate income from such property and include it in UBIT calculations to help ensure you don’t trigger unwanted IRS attention. What counts as UBI? Income produced from debt-financed property generally is taxable [...]

Are you buying a business that will have one or more co-owners? Or do you already own one fitting that description? If so, consider installing a buy-sell agreement. A well-drafted agreement can do these valuable things: Transform your business ownership interest into a more liquid asset, Prevent unwanted ownership changes, and Avoid hassles with the IRS. Agreement basics There are two basic types of buy-sell [...]

According to nonprofit BoardSource, not-for-profit boards that meet monthly should be able to cover all business in one to two hours. If your meetings last longer, they may lack planning and focus. This can ultimately harm your organization as busy board members lose confidence in your leadership — and even quit. Here’s how to hold productive meetings that don’t run long. Agenda items Once you’ve set [...]

You may know the difference between nonprofit and for-profit accounting systems, but do your newest employees and board members? Not-for-profits and businesses share certain similarities. For example, both must carefully track transactions and produce accurate, timely financial statements. But there are enough differences between the two that you may want to provide training for new board members and staffers who come from corporate backgrounds. Profit [...]

It’s critical for business owners and managers to understand how to present contingent liabilities accurately in the financial statements. Under U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), some contingent losses may be reported on the balance sheet and income statement, while others are only disclosed in the footnotes. Here’s an overview of the rules for properly identifying, measuring and reporting contingencies to provide a fair and [...]

Brad, the development director of an international environmental charity, was thrilled to learn from a fundraising staffer that one of the charity’s past supporters was promising to make a new, six-figure donation. But there was a catch: The donor was going to attach restrictions to her gift. She didn’t, for example, want her money used in various countries where the charity had operations. Although Brad [...]