Business Disaster Recovery Plan Essentials

2019-07-02T20:51:06-04:00November 29th, 2017|

Irish writer Oscar Wilde advised us to "expect the unexpected." He would have made a good disaster planner. Small businesses are the most impacted because they do not usually have a formal disaster recovery plan. As a result, 40 to 60 percent of small businesses close permanently after a disaster, according to Liberty Mutual Insurance. [...]

The Equifax Breach And You: Be Proactive

2019-07-02T20:51:06-04:00November 27th, 2017|

Earlier this year, hackers were able to breach the security of Equifax, one of the three national credit reporting agencies. More than 143 million Americans – nearly half the entire country – were exposed to the attack, and may have had their personal information stolen (including names and birthdates, and Social Security and driver's license [...]

Business Tax: Time to Consider Section 179?

2019-07-02T20:51:06-04:00October 30th, 2017|

Section 179 expensing can be a very powerful tax-planning tool for small- and medium-sized businesses acquiring capital assets. While it doesn't change the amount of depreciation you can take over the life of capital purchase, it can change the timing by allowing you to deduct your purchase in the first year you place it in [...]

How to Fix Your Overfunded Retirement Account

2017-10-27T16:34:15-04:00October 23rd, 2017|

Is socking away large sums in a tax-deferred retirement account ever a bad idea? It is when you exceed the annual IRS limits. And intentional or not, the penalties can be painful. Here's how overfunding occurs and what steps to take to fix an overfunded retirement account. When do overfunding situations occur? Overfunding retirement accounts [...]

Renew Your ITIN Now

2017-10-27T16:24:39-04:00October 16th, 2017|

If you have an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) rather than a Social Security number (SSN) you may need to take action or you'll be unable to file a tax return for 2017. What to know about ITINs ITINs are identification numbers issued by the U.S. government for individuals who do not qualify to receive an SSN. An ITIN [...]

5 Tax-Loss Harvesting Tips

2017-10-27T15:51:24-04:00October 9th, 2017|

Though the markets have been up strongly this year, your investment portfolio may have a few lemons in it. By using the tax strategy of tax-loss harvesting, you may be able to turn those lemons into lemonade. Here are some tips: Tip #1: Separate short-term and long-term assets. Your assets can be divided into short-term and [...]

Contractor or Employee?

2017-09-26T19:50:53-04:00September 26th, 2017|

Is a worker an independent contractor or employee? This seemingly simple question is often the contentious subject of numerous IRS audits. As an employer, getting this wrong could cost you plenty in the way of Social Security, Medicare and other employment-related taxes. Here is what you need to know. As the worker If you are [...]