One way your business can find and keep valuable employees is to offer an attractive compensation package. Fringe benefits are an important incentive — especially those that are tax-free. Here’s a rundown of some common perks and their tax implications. • Medical coverage. If you maintain...
Many businesses use independent contractors to keep payroll taxes and fringe benefit costs down. But using outside workers may result in other problems. The IRS often questions businesses about whether workers should be classified as employees or independent contractors for federal employment tax purposes. If the...
If you run your business as an S corporation, you’re probably both a shareholder and an employee. As such, the corporation pays you a salary that reflects the work you do for the business — and you (and your company) must remit payroll tax on...
Many businesses host a picnic for employees in the summer. It’s a fun activity for your staff and you may be able to take a larger deduction for the cost than you would on other meal and entertainment expenses. Deduction limits Generally, businesses are limited to deducting...
A great deal of attention is paid to individual tax identity theft — when a taxpayer’s personal information (including Social Security number) is used to fraudulently obtain a refund or commit other crimes. But businesses can also be victims of tax identity theft. Significant consequences Business tax...
If you have incomplete or missing records and get audited by the IRS, your business will likely lose out on valuable deductions. Here are two recent U.S. Tax Court cases that help illustrate the rules for documenting deductions. Case 1: Insufficient records In the first case, the...
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. Tax implications Each entity type has advantages...
You can only deduct losses from an S corporation, partnership or LLC if you “materially participate” in the business. If you don’t, your losses are generally “passive” and can only be used to offset income from other passive activities. Any excess passive loss is suspended...