You still have time to make your 2018 traditional and Roth IRA contributions. The deadline for most taxpayers is April 15, 2019. If you qualify, deductible contributions to traditional IRAs can lower your 2018 tax bill. Even nondeductible contributions can be beneficial because of tax-deferred growth. The 2018 contribution limit is $5,500 (plus $1,000 for those age 50 or older on Dec. 31, 2018). However, your deduction or contribution may be reduced or eliminated based on your income. Contact us to learn more about retirement saving in your situation.

If your company is merging with or acquiring another business, it’s important to understand how the transaction will be taxed. For tax purposes, a transaction can basically be structured in two ways: stock (or ownership interest) or assets. For tax and nontax reasons, buyers usually prefer to purchase assets, while sellers generally prefer stock sales. Buying or selling a business may be the most important deal you’ll ever make, so seek professional tax advice as you negotiate. After a deal is done, it may be too late to get the best tax results. Contact us.

If you participate in a qualified retirement plan, such as a 401(k), you must generally begin taking required minimum distributions (RMDs) no later than April 1 of the year after which you turn age 70½. The penalty for withdrawing less than the RMD is 50% of the portion that should have been withdrawn but wasn’t. However, there’s an exception that may apply to certain people if they’re still working for the entire year in which they turn 70½. The RMD rules are complex. Contact us to customize a plan based on your individual retirement and estate planning goals.

Here are a few key tax deadlines for businesses during Q2 of 2019. APR. 1: File with the IRS if you’re an employer that will electronically file 2018 Forms 1097, 1098, certain Forms 1099 and/or Form W-2G. APR. 15: If you’re a calendar-year corporation, file a 2018 income tax return (Form 1120) or file for a six-month extension (Form 7004) and pay any tax due. APR. 30: Employers report income tax withholding and FICA taxes for Q1 2019 (Form 941) and pay any tax due. Contact us to learn more about filing requirements and ensure you meet all applicable deadlines.

If you’re the parent of a child age 17 to 23, and you pay all (or most) of his or her expenses, you may be surprised to learn you’re not eligible for the child tax credit. But there’s a $500 dependent tax credit that may be available to you. That can provide some extra spending money! To qualify, you and your child must pass certain tests. These include: The child lives with you for over half the year; the child is over age 16 and up to age 23 if he or she is a student; and you provide over half of the child’s support for the year. Contact us for more details.

Related party transactions and relationships aren’t necessarily bad. But they raise some concerns about the risk of misstatement or omission in financial reporting. In recent years, updated professional standards have led external auditors to focus more attention on related parties. This scrutiny may help avert corporate failures and lead to improvements in accounting transparency and disclosures. We need your help throughout the audit process to identify, evaluate and disclose all related party relationships and transactions, openly and completely.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act created a federal tax credit for employers that provide qualified paid family and medical leave to employees. However, it’s subject to numerous rules and is only available for the 2018 and 2019 tax years. An eligible employer can claim a credit equal to 12.5% of wages paid to qualifying employees who are on family and medical leave, if the leave payments are at least 50% of the normal wages paid to them. For each 1% increase over 50%, the credit rate increases by 0.25%, up to a maximum credit rate of 25%. Contact us for more information.

Did you make large gifts to your heirs in 2018? If so, it’s important to determine whether you’re required to file a gift tax return by April 15 (Oct. 15 if you file for an extension). Generally, you’ll need to file one if you made 2018 gifts that exceeded the $15,000-per-recipient gift tax annual exclusion (unless to your U.S. citizen spouse) and in certain other situations. But sometimes it’s desirable to file a gift tax return even if you aren’t required to. If you’re not sure whether you must (or should) file a 2018 gift tax return, contact us.

Did you make large gifts to your heirs in 2018? If so, it’s important to determine whether you’re required to file a gift tax return by April 15 (Oct. 15 if you file for an extension). Generally, you’ll need to file one if you made 2018 gifts that exceeded the $15,000-per-recipient gift tax annual exclusion (unless to your U.S. citizen spouse) and in certain other situations. But sometimes it’s desirable to file a gift tax return even if you aren’t required to. If you’re not sure whether you must (or should) file a 2018 gift tax return, contact us.

If you own a business and don’t have a tax-advantaged retirement plan, it’s not too late to establish one and reduce your 2018 tax bill. A Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) can be set up for 2018 as long as you do it before your 2018 income tax return filing deadline. You have until the same deadline to make 2018 contributions and claim a potentially substantial deduction on your 2018 return. Contributions are discretionary and may be as large as $55,000 for 2018. Contact us with questions and to discuss whether it makes sense for you to set up a SEP for 2018.