If you own a growing, unincorporated small business, you may be concerned about high self-employment (SE) tax bills. The SE tax is how Social Security and Medicare taxes are collected from self-employed individuals like you.
Author: Erica Ortsman (page 20)
How inflation will affect your 2024 and 2025 tax bills
Inflation can have a significant impact on federal tax breaks. While recent inflation has come down since its peak in 2022, some tax amounts will still increase for 2025. The IRS recently announced next year’s inflation-adjusted amounts for several provisions.
Here are the highlights.
Family business focus: Taking it to the next level
Family businesses often start out small, with casual operational approaches. However, informal (or nonexistent) policies and procedures can become problematic as such companies grow.
Employees may grumble about unclear, inconsistent rules. Lenders and investors might frown on suboptimal accounting practices. Perhaps worst of all, customers can become disenfranchised by slow or unsatisfying service. Simply put, there may come a time when you have to take it to the next level.
The amount you and your employees can save for retirement is going up slightly in 2025
How much can you and your employees contribute to your 401(k)s or other retirement plans next year? In Notice 2024-80, the IRS recently announced cost-of-living adjustments that apply to the dollar limitations for retirement plans, as well as other qualified plans, for 2025. With inflation easing, the amounts aren’t increasing as much as in recent years.
Get tax breaks for energy-saving purchases this year because they may disappear
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), enacted in 2022, created several tax credits aimed at promoting clean energy. You may want to take advantage of them before it’s too late.
On the campaign trail, President-Elect Donald Trump pledged to “terminate” the law and “rescind all unspent funds.” Rescinding all or part of the law would require action from Congress and is possible when Republicans take control of both chambers in January. The credits weren’t scheduled to expire for many years, but they may be repealed in 2025 with the changes in Washington.
If you’ve been thinking about making any of the following eligible purchases, you may want to do it before December 31.
3 types of retirement plans for growing businesses
When start-ups launch, their focus is often on tightly controlling expenses. Most need to establish a brand and some semblance of stability before funding anything other than essential operating activities.
From flights to meals: A guide to business travel tax deductions
As a business owner, you may travel to visit customers, attend conferences, check on vendors and for other purposes. Understanding which travel expenses are tax deductible can significantly affect your bottom line. Properly managing travel costs can help ensure compliance and maximize your tax savings.
Unlocking the mystery of taxes on employer-issued nonqualified stock options
Employee stock options remain a potentially valuable asset for employees who receive them. For example, many Silicon Valley millionaires got rich (or semi-rich) from exercising stock options when they worked for start-up companies or fast-growing enterprises.
We’ll explain what you need to know about the federal income and employment tax rules for employer-issued nonqualified stock options (NQSOs).
Business owners: Be sure you’re properly classifying cash flows
Properly prepared financial statements provide a wealth of information about your company. But the operative words there are “properly prepared.” Classifying information accurately isn’t always easy — especially as the business grows and its financial transactions become more complex.
Case in point: your statement of cash flows. Customarily, it shows the sources (money entering) and uses (money exiting) of cash. That may sound simple enough, but optimally classifying different cash flows can be complicated.
Under U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), statements of cash flows are typically organized into three sections: 1) cash flows from operating activities, 2) cash flows from investing activities, and 3) cash flows from financing activities. Let’s take a closer look at each.
How can you build a golden nest egg if you’re self-employed?
If you own a small business with no employees (other than your spouse) and want to set up a retirement plan, consider a solo 401(k) plan. This is also an option for self-employed individuals or business owners who wish to upgrade from a SIMPLE IRA or Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) plan.