Traditionally, important tax and financial records have been stored as hard copies in desk drawers, filing cabinets and safe deposit boxes. These days, however, it’s become increasingly popular and easy to digitize documents and store them electronically. Is this the right move for you? THE CASE FOR GOING DIGITAL One of the biggest advantages of [...]
Do you have investments outside of tax-advantaged retirement plan? If so, you might still have time to reduce your 2019 tax bill by selling some investments – you just need to carefully select which investments you sell. BALANCE GAINS AND LOSSES If you’ve sold investments at a gain this year, consider selling some losing investments [...]
Many people want to pass assets to the next generation during their lifetimes, whether to reduce the size of their taxable estates, to help family members or simply to see their loved ones enjoy the gifts. If you’re considering lifetime gifts, be aware that the type of assets you give can produce substantially different tax [...]
If you hold a business-related debt that’s become worthless or uncollectible, a “bad debt” deduction may allow you to cut your losses. But there are a few hoops to jump through. BUSINESS OR NON-BUSINESS? Business bad debts generate ordinary losses: non-business bad debts are reported as short-term capital losses. The latter can be used only [...]
Setting Up Sales Tax in QuickBooks, Part 2 Now that you have your sales taxes set up, you’ll be able to use them in transactions and reports. Last month, we talked about the process of setting up sales taxes in QuickBooks. To recap a bit, you first have to go to Edit | Preferences | [...]
Any business owner who’s acquired, constructed or substantially improved a building this year – or even in previous years – should read up on the tax benefits of a cost segregation study. Undertaking one may allow you to accelerate depreciation deductions, which reduce current taxes and boost cash flow. REAL VS. TANGIBLE IRS rules generally [...]