by Leif Jensen | Apr 30, 2018 | General |
Tapping an IRA the wrong way in a divorce can be a costly blunder. Sometimes you need to talk to a CPA. A divorce court ordered a man to pay $100,000 in a nontaxable transaction into an IRA titled in his ex-wife’s name. He was also ordered to pay her attorney fees....
by Leif Jensen | Apr 25, 2018 | General |
Depreciation for restaurant, retail and leasehold remodeling rules have changed under the new tax law. They are now consolidated under the grouping of qualified improvement property (QIP). Congressional Republicans intended to give QIP a 15-year depreciable life and...
by Leif Jensen | Apr 24, 2018 | General |
The deduct-ability of the cost of client meals is murky under the new tax law. So there is a sharp divide forming among tax practitioners on this issue. Some say that client meals, such as at a restaurant for a business dinner or a post-golf lunch at a country club,...
by Leif Jensen | Apr 23, 2018 | General |
We get a lot of calls during the year asking inquiring about our services. Most of those end when they find out that we charge for our services. At least one almost expected us to pay him to be a client; he was a waste of time and spent too much of our time on the...
by Leif Jensen | Apr 18, 2018 | General |
I recently meet with a potential client who was looking at purchasing an existing franchise business. The purchase price in my mind was too much for what they would be getting for their money. But I have also seen it the other way around. I have seen a purchaser who...
by Leif Jensen | Apr 17, 2018 | General |
The Illinois Annual Report, that annoying little bit of business that comes round once a year. Most businesses have delegated this responsibility to an outside Registered Agent. But now after years of moving in this direction the state of Illinois has a method to...
by Leif Jensen | Apr 16, 2018 | General |
As a teen I had a job at Toys R Us, I started as a seasonal worker, but was kept on after the holiday season Like the rest of the world and definitely as a teen, I thought ok this will be a breeze, no one buys toys after Christmas so we will get paid to show up and...
by Leif Jensen | Apr 11, 2018 | General |
I recently met with a new client; they were referred to us by an existing client who likes the fact that tells them the truth even if they don’t always like what we say. The new client was looking to buy an existing franchise and wanted someone to tell them the truth...
by Leif Jensen | Apr 10, 2018 | General |
The Ho Chi Minh philosophy is as follows “Control all the villages and the city falls”. This philosophy would be utilized when you have a consumer product and you can’t get in front of the right people at the whale table. I was at a networking event and was...
by Leif Jensen | Apr 9, 2018 | General |
The fiction of the US filing their return on a postcard is not in the future, this despite the promises made by some key GOP taxwriters. In truth based on the new tax law only a few lines from the current Form 1040 will be eliminated next year. Granted many filers...
by Leif Jensen | Apr 4, 2018 | General |
In a recent tax case; claiming a large bad debt deductions lead an investor to some tax woes. The investor had his S corporation advance funds to small companies in return for financial control and a minority equity interest. Later, the S corporation claimed a...
by Leif Jensen | Apr 3, 2018 | General |
With the passage of the new tax bill Congress effectively killed the requirement for individual health coverage by repealing the penalties under the individual mandate for post-2018 years. But two fines for noncompliance with the employer mandate go up for 2018. Firms...
by Leif Jensen | Apr 2, 2018 | General |
Trump’s infrastructure initiative is missing a key piece: How to pay for it. The recommended solution is to raise the federal gasoline tax, which has remained steady at 18.4¢ a gallon since 1993. There’s a push by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to hike the tax to 43.4¢,...
by Leif Jensen | Mar 28, 2018 | General |
Trump is again calling for increased oversight of paid preparers. The IRS is thrilled at the prospect. The Service has been asking for this ever since an appeals court struck down its regulations requiring unenrolled preparers to pass a competency exam and take tax...
by Leif Jensen | Mar 27, 2018 | General |
The IRS is giving us something that no one was asking for. A new tax return for seniors only. Seniors age 65 and older will get a new, simplified tax return to fill out, granted it is not for this tax filing season. It will take the Service some time to develop the...
by Leif Jensen | Mar 26, 2018 | General |
A sure sign that consumers are feeling good: consumers are drinking more in bars and restaurants, compared with at home. Having a drink out costs far more, and folks generally only do a lot of it when they’re optimistic about their finances. By contrast, recessions...
by Leif Jensen | Mar 21, 2018 | General |
Comcast holds a virtual monopoly on internet in my world (home and office), when I last went to try to price compare AT&T does not cover either my home of office. So Comcast is the monopoly I have to live with. At least for now other businesses are just starting...
by Leif Jensen | Mar 20, 2018 | General |
The Senate amendment to the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act 2017” directs the Secretary of the Treasury to promulgate due diligence requirements for paid preparers in determining eligibility for a tax payer to file as head of household. So we are now again put in the...
by Leif Jensen | Mar 19, 2018 | General |
The Democrats are hoping that net neutrality will drive young voters to the polls this fall in their favor. Many are upset by the overturn on net neutrality barring telecoms from charging more for faster internet speeds or controlling content. The party...
by Leif Jensen | Mar 14, 2018 | General |
Some refunds will be held up by the IRS. Filers who are claiming the earned income tax credit as well as taxpayers claiming the refundable child tax credit will have to wait until Feb. 27 before their refunds are deposited into their bank accounts. And...
