The election of Donald Trump as President of the United States could result in major tax law changes in 2017. Proposed changes spelled out in Trump’s tax reform plan released earlier this year that would affect businesses include:
Author: Elana Korn (page 17)
Beware of income-based limits on itemized deductions and personal exemptions
Many tax breaks are reduced or eliminated for higher-income taxpayers. Two of particular note are the itemized deduction reduction and the personal exemption phaseout.
It’s time to harvest” investment losses”
If you hold investments outside of tax-advantaged retirement plans, you may be able to take steps before year end to reduce your 2016 tax liability.
Thinking big is the first step toward growing your business
Nearly every business owner wants to grow his or her company. But with growth comes risk, and that can keep you from taking the steps necessary to move forward. Yet if you don’t think big and come up with a long-term strategic plan, you’ll likely continue to spin your wheels.
What the self-employed need to know about employment taxes
In addition to income tax, you must pay Social Security and Medicare taxes on earned income, such as salary and self-employment income. The 12.4% Social Security tax applies only up to the Social Security wage base of $118,500 for 2016. All earned income is subject to the 2.9% Medicare tax.
Installment sales offer both tax pluses and tax minuses
Whether you’re selling your business or acquiring another company, the tax consequences can have a major impact on the transaction’s success or failure.
How can your business make the most of the cloud?
Like many companies, yours probably stores at least some of its business files, documents and information in “the cloud.” This is the widely used term referring to the seemingly infinite data storage capacity of the Internet.
Are you coordinating your income tax planning with your estate plan?
Until recently, estate planning strategies typically focused on minimizing federal gift and estate taxes, such as by giving away assets during life to reduce the taxable estate. Today, however, the focus has moved toward income taxes, making the coordination of income tax planning and estate planning more important.
Are you timing business income and expenses to your tax advantage?
Typically, it’s better to defer tax. One way is through controlling when your business recognizes income and incurs deductible expenses. Here are two timing strategies that can help businesses do this:
5 ways to speed up collections
Turning receivables into cash is among the most important things a business must do. Of course, it’s easier said than done. Here are five ways to speed up collections: