“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.” Such is the tale of the 2018 tax return filing season. The tax savings promised by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) helped many small business owners, while a few did not realize any significant tax savings, and a smaller few failed to take advantage of the deductions offered. Here's a list of a few tax savings that helped small business owners:
Topics: Taxes
In the last article, we looked at what information companies in the Hit and Quit and the Short Range-Long Term needed in order to be successful. In part two of our series, we will discuss the final two categories of the question, How Long Do You Plan to be in This Business?
Before we begin discussing what is needed from a financial standpoint for each of these categories, let me clarify how companies in these categories think. Their thinking is different from the first two categories we discussed in the last article.
Topics: business management
Earlier this year, I presented on a topic called Be the CEO. That presentation mentioned certain questions that should be discussed with your trusted advisor, i.e. your Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Fractional Chief Financial Officer (CFO), or CFO, at the beginning of the engagement. One of those questions will be the topic of a two-part article series, How Long Do You Plan to be in This Business?
Topics: Business Operations, business management
No business owner likes to receive an IRS notice that they’re being audited. What resources are available to you to handle an IRS audit? Do you need to keep receipts in order to complete an audit? How long should you keep records in case you are audited?
Learn how others do it. Download our guide to growth.
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) created a new opportunity for business owners and taxpayers with capital gains to shield taxes on those gains if the investment is made into a Qualified Opportunity Zone.
As we move through December, students will start taking final exams. Think back to your school days; were you a crammer or a planner? Imagine studying and preparing all year for an exam on material that is completely new to you. You are told you can study for twelve months and the exam will begin after a one month wait. This is the situation we find ourselves in with the new tax law. The time for studying will end this month, and after about another month to approve tax forms, update tax software, and provide tax information, the final exam will begin. Will you receive a passing grade on your tax return exam?
As the calendar turns to November, it’s important to take a look at what you’re winning and losing with the 2018 tax law changes. You may want to know what your situation will look like compared to 2017 using the 2018 tax changes. Some business owners feel like they are losing a lot, because that’s what they hear— from the news, media, their friends, and maybe even their family. However, they may not lose at all. In fact, by losing deductions, business owners may win.
Let’s look at a comparison. Our comparison is designed to determine what’s lost with the new tax law changes, using the same financial information for each year.
Topics: Taxes
As the rain slows down, it's time to start cleaning up. If your business was affected by the recent rains, that cleanup will take on a different meaning. It’s easy to determine what kind of cleanup effort has to take place if you’re standing in several inches or feet of water. But if you’re a business owner and you’re trying to determine how to clean up with the new 20% deduction for qualified business income (QBI), you may need to look a little harder.
A business owner wears many hats. The old adage “chief cook and bottle washer” applies in many small businesses. The conventional thinking is that your business is your vision, and the only way to see it carried out is to do it all yourself. Another line of thinking is that because you enjoy handling any given aspect of the job, there is no need for someone else to do it.
Without help, you will only be able to do so many tasks. The tasks that need immediate attention will get done first, because they are the ones that are needed to keep the business running. The short, medium, and long range tasks will seldom, if ever, be completed. This is true if you are a freelance consultant, restaurant owner, manufacturer, or service provider. Most business owners are very good at hiring from the bottom up, but the breakout moment for a small business owner is when they hire or contract for upper management or senior level positions. One of these positions is a Chief Financial Officer (CFO).
Nearly everyone knows about the famous 1970s television series ”The Brady Bunch:” two parents, six children, a housekeeper, and a dog all under one roof. In fact the house shown as the exterior on the show just sold for 3.5 million dollars.
Now, in 2018, another bunch is looking to sweep across America and grab ahold of the American taxpayer: the bunching of charitable donations, deductions, and contributions on one tax return for maximum effectiveness.
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