It’s common for parents, grandparents and others to make gifts to minors and college students. Perhaps you want to help fund education expenses or simply remove assets from your taxable estate. Or maybe you’re hoping to shift income into a...
It’s natural that your estate planning efforts focus on big-ticket items, such as real estate, business interests, retirement assets and brokerage accounts. But don’t ignore the “small stuff,” like artwork, jewelry, furniture, antiques, clothing and collectibles. These items may not...
When looking to manage benefits costs, employers have many ideas to consider. One in particular is whether and how to offer health care insurance to their employees’ spouses. The Affordable Care Act doesn’t require spousal coverage. It only requires coverage...
Both public and private companies can elect to use “pushdown” accounting when there’s a merger, acquisition or other change-in-control event. What does this mean — and when might this alternative reporting method be advantageous? Understanding your options Pushdown accounting refers...
A principal consideration for any new or existing business is choosing an appropriate legal entity. Available options in most states include C corporations, S corporations, general and limited partnerships, limited liability companies (LLCs), limited liability partnerships (LLPs) and sole proprietorships....
In addition to income tax, you must pay Social Security and Medicare taxes on earned income, such as salary and self-employment income. The 12.4% Social Security tax applies only up to the Social Security wage base of $118,500 for 2016....
Have you dreamed of spending your golden years in a tropical paradise or a culture-rich European city? If so, it’s important to understand the potential tax and estate planning implications so there are no surprises. These include: 1. Double taxation....
Questions arise all the time among business owners. The Best First Step Toward Growing Your Business is one of those questions. The saying to “think big” is a great starting point. Nearly every business owner wants to grow his or...
Experience has taught well to watch your balance sheet. This is a financial tool for business owners that any company around longer than a year will come to rely heavily upon. Face value You can’t always take a balance sheet...
There is a science to pulling together business losses that can be deducted from a business owner’s taxes. The role the owner takes in that business is a key determining factor. You can only deduct losses from an S corporation,...