As the end of the year approaches, small business owners need to meet with accountants or tax preparers to review tax-planning strategies. “Every accountant is going to be sitting with their entrepreneur clients in the next few weeks to see what they can do, both on the business- and the personal-tax side, before the end of the calendar year,” says Michael Custer, a CPA and principal at Kaufman Rossin & Co. in Miami. The end of the year is quickly coming upon us and we haven’t even had our Thanksgiving turkey. Regardless, if you’re a small business owner, it means…
Whether you make every deal for your business with a handshake or you fastidiously create, execute, and file away every bit of paperwork, you probably don’t like paperwork. And, you’re not alone. Unfortunately, a new IRS rule may involve even more paperwork for you, if your business gets paid by credit cards. As the Wall Street Journal reports, this year credit-card companies are required to track the dollar amounts that individual merchants get from credit card transactions. In turn, the credit card companies then report this information to both the IRS and the merchant on 1099-k forms. The IRS made…
Not so fast: With unique assets, things aren't always straightforward. More specifically, owners of unique assets – such as family businesses, legacy real estate and valuable art, coin and other collections – need to consider specialized risk management. When you own a small business, and especially if you and your family are the sole owners of a not-so-small business, it’s important to remember that personal planning and financial planning are not separate activities. Unique assets call for comprehensive planning; whether legacy real estate or a valuable collection, but this is especially true if the asset is a business. Financial Planning…
If you’re a small business owner using independent contractors, then you’ve probably been watching the new IRS independent contractor amnesty campaign. I’ve written about this subject here before and it has become a hot topic for many business news sources. Now, there’s a new twist – will the states adopt the campaign too? According to Forbes, states may be entering the fray in their own way. Taking on talent is a big deal. Indeed, hiring itself can be a big deal on a small budget; so many employers walk a fine line with their workers; are they employees or are…
Bankruptcy can be a tough issue, especially to the small business owner whose customer has fallen on hard times. Problem #1: You’ve likely lost a customer for your products or services. Problem #2: You’ve likely lost the ability to collect the money the customer still owes you. Problem #3: The future potential bankruptcy “preference” may pull even more money from your coffers, as a Smart Business article points out. The bankruptcy of another means their ability to pay you is severely compromised, unless you’re “secured.” However, what if you were paid and the payment is deemed to have been a…
As baby boomers age — and economic upheaval keeps people in the workforce longer — the issue of how to deal with employees with dementia and cognitive impairment will continue to be kicked around the nation’s courtrooms and boardrooms. Do you have a loved one with dementia? If the statistics hold, many more of us will have loved ones with dementia in the future. Unfortunately, with workers (who still have employment) staying on the job well into retirement, that means we will have many co-workers with dementia, too. A recent story out of DeKalb County (i.e., Atlanta) illustrates this coming…
We have lately seen a rash of cases where the corporate veil was busted primarily for lack of adequate capitalization. Thus, business owners should take the time to analyze their O&O and make sure that they are now — and continue to be — adequately capitalized for whatever they are doing and whatever agreements they are entering. The corporate veil is not an unlimited defense… as yet another owner of a sole shareholder corporation has discovered in a recent case, Bogosian v. All American Concessions, 2011 WL 4460362 (E.D.N.Y., Slip Copy, Sept. 26, 2011). So, what did him in? As…
Are you a small business owner? Do you have any “independent contractors”? Really? Then, watch out! The IRS is looking for revenue. Surprised? Don’t be. If you use independent contractors, then you might need to exercise a bit more diligence. Why, the IRS may consider them to be “employees” masquerading in a tax-cheating disguise. It’s quite common for small business owners to rely on independent contractors, especially in lean times. And, from the perspective of the IRS, the difference can be huge in tax and legal terms. Why? An employer doesn’t have to withhold taxes or pay any benefits (instead,…
There’s a lot of commotion surrounding President Obama’s jobs bill. Small businesses, for one, are lukewarm since their concern is less for tax-breaks and more for actual revenues. But the biggest detractors so far may just be charities and those that give to them: the bill proposes eliminating some of the deductions for charitable giving amongst high earners. The jobs bill comes out to a $447 billion price tag, and much of it would be paid for by limiting the tax deductions for charitable giving amongst top earners making $200,000 a year or more. Currently, these earners can deduct 35…
If you’re a small business owner and an entrepreneur, then you ought to check out the new patent law and the most major changes to it in some 60 years. With the stroke of a pen, President Obama recently signed the America Invents Act into law. You may not have heard much in the media about this new law, because both parties agreed to it. While the devil is in the details, and many remain to be seen, many regard the law as less than favorable to entrepreneurs. The biggest change is that instead of being a first-to-invent system (i.e.,…
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