by Leif Jensen | Jan 24, 2017 | General |
Time is our most precious resource. We all have an expiration date; we just don’t know when that date will occur. Surprisingly one of my kids has recognized this much sooner than I did when I was young. He has quit low paying jobs, believing that his time was...
by Leif Jensen | Jan 23, 2017 | General |
Death, one of the inevitable constants in our world, next to taxes. Do you have a plan for how to deal with yours? My in-laws told my mother and her husband about their plans to be cremated, and that they had already prepaid for this service. So all that...
by Leif Jensen | Jan 18, 2017 | General |
How many phone apps do you have on your cell/smart phone right now? I bet you have no idea. I know I don’t. DO you have apps that you have never used? I know I do, I have 3 Sudoku apps that I have never used. I gravitate to one and only use that one. ...
by Leif Jensen | Jan 16, 2017 | General |
If the combined value of the couples’ estate at the first spouse’s death is less than the Federal exclusion amount, the surviving spouse and the other heirs of the estate are not likely to spend the time or money to prepare a Federal Form 706 to make the deceased...
by Leif Jensen | Jan 11, 2017 | General |
There is a project in the works to determine if the US can line up with underdeveloped countries, such as Kenya and Honduras. The goal of the project is to capture data that reveals if free money on a regular basis (basic income) really does help people escape...
by Leif Jensen | Jan 10, 2017 | General |
I was recently at an ICPAS Chapter meeting where an IRS Special Agent (the ones who carry guns) was discussing the increase in payroll withholding cases. There has been a 33% increase in investigations into payroll tax issues. This is where employers do not pay...
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. ...
