Recent News

Understanding your obligations: Does your business need to report employee health coverage?

Employee health coverage is a significant part of many companies’ benefits packages. However, the administrative responsibilities that accompany offering health insurance can be complex. One crucial aspect is understanding the reporting requirements of federal agencies such as the IRS. Does your business have to comply, and if so, what must you do? Here are some answers to questions you may have. What is the number of employees before compliance is required? The Affordable Care Act (ACA), enacted in 2010, introduced several employer responsibilities regarding health coverage. Certain employers with 50 or more full-time employees (called “applicable large employers” or ALEs)...

2024 Q4 tax calendar: Key deadlines for businesses and other employers

Here are some of the key tax-related deadlines affecting businesses and other employers during the fourth quarter of 2024. Keep in mind that this list isn’t all-inclusive, so there may be additional deadlines that apply to you. Contact us to ensure you’re meeting all applicable deadlines and to learn more about the filing requirements. Note: Certain tax-filing and tax-payment deadlines may be postponed for taxpayers who reside in or have a business in a federally declared disaster area. Tuesday, October 1 The last day you can initially set up a SIMPLE IRA plan, provided you (or any predecessor employer) didn’t...

Businesses must stay on guard against invoice fraud

Fraud is a pernicious problem for companies of all shapes and sizes. One broad type of crime that seems to be thriving as of late is invoice fraud. In the second quarter of 2024, accounts payable software provider Medius released the results of a survey of 1,533 senior finance executives in the United States and United Kingdom. Respondents reported that their teams had seen, on average, 13 cases of attempted invoice fraud and nine cases of successful invoice fraud in the preceding 12 months. The average per-incident loss in the United States was $133,000 — which adds up to about $1.2 million...

It’s time for your small business to think about year-end tax planning

With Labor Day in the rearview mirror, it’s time to take proactive steps that may help lower your small business’s taxes for this year and next. The strategy of deferring income and accelerating deductions to minimize taxes can be effective for most businesses, as is the approach of bunching deductible expenses into this year or next to maximize their tax value. Do you expect to be in a higher tax bracket next year? If so, then opposite strategies may produce better results. For example, you could pull income into 2024 to be taxed at lower rates, and defer deductible expenses...

6 key elements of a business budget

Every business needs a budget, but not every budget looks the same. Some companies have intricately detailed ones, others rely on simple templates generated with off-the shelf software, and still others forego formal budgets in favor of a “fly by the seat of your pants” approach. (That last option isn’t recommended.) Because budgeting is such an essential part of running a business, it’s easy to take for granted. You may fall into a routine that, over time, doesn’t keep up with your company’s evolving needs. To identify areas of improvement, here are six key elements of a business budget and...

Navigating tax complexities: Craft partnership agreements and LLC operating agreements with precision

Partnerships are often used for business and investment activities. So are multi-member LLCs that are treated as partnerships for tax purposes. A major reason is that these entities offer federal income tax advantages, the most important of which is pass-through taxation. They also must follow some special and sometimes complicated federal income tax rules. Governing documents A partnership is governed by a partnership agreement, which specifies the rights and obligations of the entity and its partners. Similarly, an LLC is governed by an operating agreement, which specifies the rights and obligations of the entity and its members. These governing documents...