If you and your employees are traveling for business this summer, there are a number of considerations to keep in mind. Under tax law, in order to claim deductions, you must meet certain requirements for out-of-town business travel within the United States. The rules apply if the business conducted reasonably requires an overnight stay.
If you’re age 65 and older and have basic Medicare insurance, you may need to pay additional premiums to get the level of coverage you want. The premiums can be costly, especially for married couples with both spouses paying them. But there may be an advantage: You may qualify for a tax break for paying the premiums.
Using the cash basis of accounting may make sense for your not-for-profit organization — at least at this stage. Many smaller nonprofits use the cash basis to prepare their financial statements because it’s generally quick, easy and intuitive and can alert them to current cash flow challenges. However, there’s a potential problem with cash basis accounting: It can require year-end adjustments. Let’s look at the issue.
High-income taxpayers face a regular income tax rate of 35% or 37%. And they may also have to pay a 3.8% net investment income tax (NIIT) that’s imposed in addition to regular income tax. Fortunately, there are some ways you may be able to reduce its impact.
Your not-for-profit organization can’t count its cybersecurity program effective unless it properly trains employees. If staffers visit “dangerous” websites, mix work and personal accounts, or can’t recognize a social engineering scheme, they may open the door to hackers. Both new employee training and refresher courses for longtime staffers can protect your organization.
If you’re claiming deductions for business meals or auto expenses, expect the IRS to closely review them. In some cases, taxpayers have incomplete documentation or try to create records months (or years) later. In doing so, they fail to meet the strict substantiation requirements set forth under tax law. Tax auditors are adept at rooting out inconsistencies, omissions and errors in taxpayers’ records, as illustrated by one recent U.S. Tax Court case.
You may think you don’t need to make any estate planning moves because of the generous federal estate tax exemption of $12.92 million for 2023 (effectively $25.84 million if you’re married.
A few years ago, the popular and well-compensated executive director of a west coast youth soccer league was accused of fraud. After scrutinizing the club’s books, the league’s board of directors couldn’t account for $80,000. Criminal charges were eventually dropped, but many similar cases have concluded in embezzlement findings and significant losses.
The IRS recently released guidance providing the 2024 inflation-adjusted amounts for Health Savings Accounts (HSAs).
HSA fundamentals
An HSA is a trust created or organized exclusively for the purpose of paying the “qualified medical expenses” of an “account beneficiary.” An HSA can only be established for the benefit of an “eligible individual” who is covered under a “high-deductible health plan.” In
In recent years, many workers have become engaged in the “gig” economy. You may think of gig workers as those who deliver take-out restaurant meals, walk dogs and drive for ride-hailing services. But so-called gig work seems to be expanding. Today, some nurses have become gig workers and writers in Hollywood who recently went on strike have expressed concerns that screenwriting is becoming part of the gig economy.