With the fiscal (cliff, bump, curve, impediment) approaching, everyone is writing about how this will affect (investing, jobs, taxes, mortgages, home building, charity). I figured that gave me the right to write (had to use that one) about their crazy thoughts. The chart that is seen right below is the one that forced me to respond.
Continue reading Charitable Giving…
I admit it. I consider myself pretty smart. OK, wickedly smart. But, that does not mean I’m infallible. Nor does it mean that I know everything (even if I try to do so).
Continue reading Kool-Aid Thinking
The fiscal cliff. Or, the fiscal stepstool. I’m not trying to say it’s not important- it is. (See my previous post on this matter, here.) We need our politicians to get off their own cliffs and negotiate- honestly. But, that rarely happens. We have at least two problems. We have a deficit problem- and we have a recession problem. To some degree, they are related. If we were booming, then our deficits would be down- way down. But, we’re not-we are barely keeping even. (Sorry, 2% growth is just that. )
Continue reading Taxes and Deficits
When we travel on business, we are required to track our expenses. ( OK, only if we expect to deduct these costs as legal expenses.) Typically, that means that we keep our receipts and prepare an expense report. (Substantiation is required by IRC 274 (d).)
Continue reading Food, Entertainment, and the IRS
It’s that time of year again. Tax planning- which really should occur all year long, but so many of you love to wait until now. Which could be a little late, but let’s hope not too late.
Continue reading 2013 Tax Changes?
If you are considering the purchase of a property for investment, one you plan to rent to others, we need to talk. Too many folks buy these properties and then find that, unlike conventional businesses, rental property management has its own set of regulations- and tax considerations. (Part of the reason is that real estate businesses, while cash flow positive, often create negative income considerations for taxes, since depreciation can be a substantial factor. And, as opposed to other businesses that don’t show a profit for 3 of 5 years, these are allowed to continue and are not considered “hobbies”.)
Continue reading So you want to be a real estate mogul?
Note: The expressions in this post may offend some folks’ senses- but all of our sensibilities.
Continue reading Really? Tax-Exempt?
What? The IRS is actually giving businesses a break? Is hell freezing over? Well, I don’t know about the latter, but the former is certainly true. On the 21st of September, the IRS announced program Fresh Start.
Continue reading Is Hell Freezing Over?
No politics. That’s the promise I made for this blog. But, this is civics. And, it extends to a tremendous lesson for entrepreneurs. Nevertheless, I will work hard to keep my politics out of this discussion.
Continue reading Protect Your Ass(ets)
It’s time- you finally realize that what we’ve been telling you is really NOT optional. Maybe even the IRS has just audited you- and that’s a lousy way to find out we’re right. Little scraps of paper don’t impress the IRS. If you are running a business, whether it’s incorporated or not, you need to have an accounting system. Yes, if your business is small enough, you can use a spreadsheet. But, really that takes more time than you think. Instead of using a spreadsheet, you should at least use Quicken Home and Business. It only costs $ 75 or so- and you can invoice and track payments with it, too. If you have inventory, then you probably need QuickBooks or Microsoft Accounting programs. If you are a lawyer, then PCLaw or Clio make more sense. And, since today is already well into the year, you are going to have to enter AT LEAST all the transactions for this fiscal year (whether it’s calendar or not, it needs to match how you report your data to the IRS). No, you won’t get them all entered today, but you should do so as soon as possible- as well as keeping all current entries in the system you chose. (You may elect to not enter previous years, and there are some good reasons for doing so, into this system, as we have reported earlier this month. It probably makes sense to use a spreadsheet that matches the format your chosen system employs, so you can compare data from year to year.) Entering this data will let you maintain accurate profit and loss statements, sales tax reports (if necessary), bank reconciliations, and accounts payable/receivable records.
Continue reading Do I really have to? (Yes, Business Manager, you must!)