The Surface Transportation and Veterans Health Care Choice Improvement Act of 2015 changed the due date for filing FinCEN Form 114 [Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBARs)] to April 15 of the following calendar year, with a six-month…
The Surface Transportation and Veterans Health Care Choice Improvement Act of 2015 changed the due date for filing FinCEN Form 114 [Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBARs)] to April 15 of the following calendar year, with a six-month…
If you itemize, you can deduct either state and local income taxes or state and local sales taxes. Deducting sales tax can be valuable if you reside in a state with no or low income tax or purchased a major…
Bonus depreciation allows businesses to offset the costs of investing in equipment and other qualified assets more quickly. Claiming bonus depreciation on your 2017 tax return may be particularly beneficial. Why? Deductions save more tax when rates are higher, and…
Auditors closely evaluate how you report work in progress (WIP) inventory. Why? WIP relies on management’s estimates. Inexperienced or dishonest managers sometimes inflate these estimates, which makes the company appear healthier than it really is. Auditors consider whether allocations of…
Providing employee benefits can help businesses attract and retain the best workers. But the cost can be out of reach for some small businesses. Two tax credits can help make benefits more affordable for eligible small employers: 1) a credit…
For 2018, fewer taxpayers will be eligible for a home office deduction. Employees claim home office expenses as a miscellaneous itemized deduction. For 2017, this means there’s a tax benefit only if these expenses plus other miscellaneous itemized expenses exceed…
Do you read the fine print in financial statement footnotes? It’s often worth the effort. Comprehensive disclosures contain a wealth of valuable information and can reveal hidden risk factors, such as unreported or contingent liabilities, related-party transactions, accounting changes (including…
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, in addition to generally reducing individual tax rates, eliminates personal exemptions, increases the standard deductions and expands the child credit. For some taxpayers, a higher standard deduction may compensate for lost exemptions and even…
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) curtails business deductions for meals, entertainment and transportation. Under the TCJA, deductions for business-related entertainment expenses, once 50% deductible, are disallowed. Meal expenses related to business travel are still 50% deductible, but the…
Prior to enactment of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), a taxpayer could convert a traditional IRA into a Roth IRA, pay tax on the conversion, and then later decide to reconvert the Roth IRA back into a traditional…