Tax

The days of the calendar year are vanishing quickly, but there still may be some last-minute strategies that business owners can use to lower their 2019 tax bills. Here are five to consider: Postpone invoices. If your business uses the cash method of accounting, and it would benefit from deferring income to next year, wait until early 2020 to send invoices. Accrual-basis businesses can defer recognition of certain advance payments for products to be delivered or services to be provided next year...

In light of the recent legalization of recreational cannabis in Michigan, the industry is rapidly growing and changing. Business owners and entrepreneurs are seeing the infinite opportunities, but they should be aware of the many risk areas to avoid fallout. The cannabis industry is a tightly regulated and high-risk business, and on the financial side, those involved must prepare to have their financial and tax information scrutinized. Click here to read the full article in the Grand Rapids Business Journal...

October 15 — Personal federal income tax returns for 2018 that received an automatic six-month extension must be filed today and any tax, interest and penalties due must be paid. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) Report 114, “Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts” (FBAR), must be filed by today, if not filed already, for offshore bank account reporting. (This report received an automatic extension to today if not filed by the original due date of April 15.) If a six-month extension was obtained, calendar-year C corporations should file their 2018 Form 1120 by this date...

Some medical expenses may be tax deductible, but only if you itemize deductions and you have enough expenses to exceed the applicable floor for deductibility. With proper planning, you may be able to time controllable medical expenses to your tax advantage. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) made bunching such expenses beneficial for some taxpayers. At the same time, certain taxpayers who’ve benefited from the medical expense deduction in previous years might no longer benefit because of the TCJA’s increase to the standard deduction...

Businesses across the United States are receiving thousands of dollars by taking advantage of the Research and Development (R&D) tax credit. But, unfortunately, there are still many who aren’t fully benefiting from the credit because of misconceptions and uncertainty about applicability. The R&D tax credit is one of the most underutilized tax savings opportunities for taxpayers, so how do you know if you qualify? Background Enacted in 1981 by the Economic Recovery Tax Act, the R&D tax credit rewards companies for investments in developing new or improved products, processes, or techniques, and developing and improving upon production/manufacturing processes...

When the TCJA was passed, the big estate planning news was that the federal gift and estate tax exclusion doubled from $5 million to an inflation-indexed $10 million. It was further indexed for inflation to $11.18 million for 2018 and now $11.4 million for 2019...

Among the many great challenges of parenthood is what to do with your kids when school lets out. Do you keep them at home and try to captivate their attention yourself or with the help of sitters? Or do you send them off to the wide variety of day camps now in operation? There’s no one-size-fits-all answer, but if you choose the latter option, you might qualify for a tax break!..

Many taxpayers learned some tough lessons upon completing their 2018 tax returns regarding the changes brought forth by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). If you were one of them, or even if you weren’t, now’s a good time to check your bracket to avoid any unpleasant surprises next April. Under the TCJA, the top income tax rate is now 37% (down from 39.6%) for taxpayers with taxable income over $500,000 for 2018 (single and head-of-household filers) or $600,000 for 2018 (married couples filing jointly)...

People interested in Qualified Opportunity Zone (QOZ) investments, which invest capital gains proceeds in economically underdeveloped areas and can earn tax-free returns, are now able to move forward with more certainty. Earlier this month, the U.S. Treasury Department issued more proposed regulations on QOZ investments that helped clarify investor concerns and ease their hesitation...

Most individuals don’t regard themselves as businesses, trying to turn a profit and beat the competition. But, occasionally, it may help to look at your financial situation this way to determine where you might cut expenses and boost cash flow. Here are some tips. Lay out your financials Where an executive might reach for financial statements to get a read on the company’s standing, you can create or update a net worth statement...