by Leif Jensen | Jan 9, 2017 | General |
An employee’s larceny doesn’t void a penalty for undeposited payroll taxes in this case. After the company’s owner learned about the embezzlement and that the taxes were unpaid, he had the firm pay part of its liability to IRS and he loaned the business money for the...
by Leif Jensen | Jan 5, 2017 | General |
Employers are now required to file W-2s with the federal government by Jan. 31, this is up from the prior deadlines of Feb. 28 for paper returns and March 31 for e-filings. This earlier deadline matches the date for sending copies of the forms to employees. The Jan....
by Leif Jensen | Jan 4, 2017 | General |
In a recent tax case it was decided that partnership expenses cannot be taken directly on a partner’s tax return. A taxpayer reported on Schedule C income and expenses from two side businesses that he operated with his brother. Even though no partnership return...
by Leif Jensen | Jan 3, 2017 | General |
The tax burden on the wealthy has gone up, according to IRS statistics. The top 1% of individual filers paid 39.5% of all federal income taxes in 2014, the most recent year the Revenue Service has analyzed (yes, they are behind). This is an increase from 37.8%...
by Leif Jensen | Dec 28, 2016 | General |
I was invited to be a guest at a BNI meeting and another CPA stated that he was meeting with clients to changes to their planning strategies based upon the swirling rumors and hearsay. I was astounded by this. I had just been interviewed by a reporter from the Daily...
by Leif Jensen | Dec 27, 2016 | General |
Standard mileage fell to 53½¢ per mile, down 0.5¢ from 2016. The rate for medical travel and moving dropped 2¢, to 17¢ a mile next year. The allowance for charitable driving will stay put at 14¢ a mile. It’s fixed by law. You can also claim the cost of parking...
by Leif Jensen | Dec 22, 2016 | General |
For personal taxes the timing rules differ for tax-deductible items, such as charitable donations. So long as the checks are in the mail by year-end, you are able to lock in a 2016 write-off. For deductible charges made with a bank credit card, you can claim...
by Leif Jensen | Dec 20, 2016 | General |
As we progress into the Age of the “Internet of Things” seemingly everything from baby monitors to the US electric grid is vulnerable to hackers who are able to exploit lax security and wreak havoc on businesses and individuals. Beyond the thoughts of a major...
by Leif Jensen | Dec 19, 2016 | General |
DO you have a financial plan? If so when was it originally done? When did you last have it updated? How often should you have it updated? The answer to some of these questions in my mind actually rests with how close you are to retirement. I am aware of...
by Leif Jensen | Dec 14, 2016 | General |
We are working with a new client that had themselves set-up as an LLC. A Sole LLC! A Sole LLC is a disregarded entity as far as the IRS is concerned. They are required to file a Schedule C with their personal tax return. This is also an entity type that I am...
by Leif Jensen | Dec 13, 2016 | General |
In a recent case a married couple had their gambling losses disallowed due to their shoddy recordkeeping. They were not able to use their gambling losses to offset winnings, according to the Tax Court. The couple worked as house poker players at a...
by Leif Jensen | Dec 12, 2016 | General |
The IRS is out there attempting to catch tax cheats. I just read about on way in which they were successful. The IRS has agents go under cover posing as prospective buyers of a taxpayer’s business. It seems that this was done in order to get the seller to reveal that...
by Leif Jensen | Dec 7, 2016 | General |
What is your management style? Long ago I was interviewing with a very timid Controller. I remember her as a very mousey person, very unsure of herself, especially since she was hiring a peer. If I remember it correctly she was going to become Treasurer and...
by Leif Jensen | Dec 6, 2016 | General |
We have had some clients pass recently. Some were surprises other were as expected and can be. What we all need to do is have a plan or as much of a plan as possible for these circumstances. There should be wills, trusts and estates set up and funded. ...
by Leif Jensen | Dec 5, 2016 | General |
Now that the election is over and all the liberals are complaining, there continues to be talk of moving out of the US. One if you can find a country that will take you. It is not as easy to setup a household in another country as you may believe. The US may...
by Leif Jensen | Nov 30, 2016 | General |
To incorporate of not to incorporate… If you are a “Trader” there are a number of issues that exist before you. One that may have the most impact on your tax situation may be where or not you incorporate or not. There are distinct benefits to...
by Leif Jensen | Nov 29, 2016 | General |
I am currently reading the latest book in the continuation of the Tom Clancy series. In the novel, the Russian President is looking to move $8 Billion dollars out of Russia and into secret accounts and a Bitcoin launderer is being used to obscure the trail from any...
by Leif Jensen | Nov 28, 2016 | General |
I was finally cleaning my office and I stumbled over a “Code of Ethic” that I printed off the internet. This came from Frank Abagnale’s website. I have heard him speak a couple of times in the past and he mentioned this “Code of Ethics”. As a firm of CPA’s we...
by Leif Jensen | Nov 25, 2016 | Case Study |
What motivates you? Is it the typical trio; money, wealth or power? In other words, why do you do what you do for a living? I was asked this question recently at a software convention, where a number of sessions were structured around this question. I am...
by Leif Jensen | Nov 22, 2016 | General |
I have a client who has a few employees, but refers to one in particular as a blue collar office worker. Apparently this employee will not start until it is exactly the time to start the day. They also end the day exactly on time as well. It does not matter...
