I’m a Service Company and Formed an LLC. Should I Make an S Corporation Election?

{2:42 minutes to read} Twenty years ago, your choices when forming a company were basically to incorporate or not. Now we have an entity called LLC. However, the IRS does not recognize LLCs as business entities.

• A 1-person LLC files as if it were a sole proprietor.
• A multiple person LLC (or LLP) files as a partnership.

LLCs  and LLPs can, however, elect to be taxed as a corporation, which then puts them into the situation where the owners must decide if they are going to be a regular C corporation or an S corporation.

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Which Business Entity Is Right for You?

{3:42 minutes to read} Starting a business? What type of business entity should you be? For a small business person, there are various types of entities that can be the vehicle you need to run your business.

Corporation

There are 2 types of corporations: a C-Corporation (C-Corp) or an S-Corporation (S-Corp).

Is Your Family Living on a Budget or Practicing “Creative Finance?”

{3:06 minutes to read} Throughout my career, I have seen many of my clients flourish and others, unfortunately, not. Whether a business or family flourishes has to do with a great many factors. However, one of the things I’ve noticed is that an abundance of the people who ended up struggling did so because they had very little idea of what it cost them to live on a day-to-day, month-to-month, year-to-year basis.

It’s made me think that maybe I should talk more to my clients about the value of budgeting, so today we are going to focus on:

• Personal budgeting

The most important thing I can say to you is that you cannot, I repeat, you cannot live on more than what you make. This is very important considering the number of people in the last few years that fell behind in mortgage payments and are far in debt to credit cards. I understand that an unexpected event (disability, sickness, losing a job, etc.) can cause a financial hardship even to the best of budgeters. But living within one’s means will make one better prepared for those life events we cannot control.

Small Business Record Keeping

{3:48 minutes to read} We often get questions at our accounting firm from our clients, especially our small business clients, regarding what kind of records they should keep, how they should keep them, and so forth.

Many times with a small business, either the owner keeps their own records, or their spouse/significant other keeps the records. These people may be trained in their own business, but not necessarily in record keeping.

Letter from the IRS? Don’t Panic!

{3:48 minutes to read} The IRS mails many notices and letters to taxpayers each year. There are a variety of reasons why this might happen. Here are some things you should know in case you receive one.

First, do not panic. You can often take care of any notice by simply responding to it. The IRS notice will usually be about a specific issue on your Federal tax return and/or tax account, such as: 

If You Missed the Tax Deadline, Don’t Fret!

{2:42 minutes to read} For whatever reason, you did not file your taxes on time:

• Maybe you forgot;
• Maybe your accountant forgot;
• Maybe you just don’t care.

Well, you should care, because it’s not best practices to fail to file a tax return if you are required to. 

Sadly Tax Season Is Over. What to Do Now?

{3:48 minutes to read} So you visited with your tax preparer and hopefully they gave you some good advice.  Now it’s time to put some of that advice into action.

When it’s not tax time, there are things that all taxpayers should do in order to alleviate their tax burden for the next year. 

Does Net Investment Income Tax Apply to You?

{2:12 minutes to read} As many of you know, in 2013 a new tax came into being. It is called the Net Investment Income Tax.

This is a tax on investment income, at a rate of 3.8%, on the lesser of either your net investment income or the amount by which your modified adjusted gross income exceeds a threshold based on your filing status. 

A Refresher on Capital Gains and Losses

{3:54 minutes to read}  Most taxpayers are aware of capital gains and losses, because somewhere along the way they might have sold some stocks and/or bonds. Just to clarify a little more about what capital gains/losses are, and what is reportable and not, I offer the following:

Capital Assets

Capital assets include property such as:

3 “Tips” on Tip and Gratuity Income

{1:50 minutes to read} If you receive tips or gratuities at work, there are some things you should know about that type of income as it relates to taxes. To help, here are a few “Tips.”