Health Care Reporting

For those who have been breathlessly waiting, employer reporting of worker health coverage has started! Beginning in 2016, companies with 50 or more full-time-equivalent employees must use IRS Form 1095-C to report 2015 insurance data for each full-timer to the...

Health Reform Law’s

As time passes more and more employers are becoming subject to the health reform law’s employer mandates. Starting in 2016, every company with at least 50 full-time-equivalent employees are required to offer affordable health coverage to full-timers and their...

Another Service Provider ceases because of Springfield

Good afternoon everyone, Today I received 5 calls from different clients informing me that their homemaker from Cure Home Care advised them that today would be their last day of service. The reason given was that Cure was not able to pay their employee salaries any...

Airport Security

Airport Security will be even more fun at O’Hare shortly.  The feds are expected to implement their rules in 2016 only allowing drivers licenses that have security features such as holograms as valid ID for passing through security. Looking at my driver’s license I...

Generation Z is coming

There are 70 million kids born after 1998.  They are expected to start making their mark. They are defined as those who have never known the internet to not be widely available and necessary. Gen Z-ers are expected to continue to challenge merchants, and eventually...

Client Not Taken

Imagine making $250,000 a year in your business. Your business pays all of your business and household bills, including car payments. In other words, your business covers every aspect of your living expenses. Also, you never have to pay a nickel in FICA, federal taxes...

Urban Gardening

This is a topic that I have been reading about for years.  Actually the first time I did it was 100 years ago in a “Spenser” novel by Robert B. Parker.  The bad guys had a roof garden on top of their fortified building to feed the gang and minimize the need to leave...

The New Metrics

There seem to be new metrics in place to value and evaluate businesses.  I have heard this referred to as the “Unicorn Syndrome”.  There are mythical valuations of businesses that have special valuations that are defying traditional measures. Some of those named in...

Head Shot

I remember when I was in High School each year when we got our yearbooks there was one coach who used his H.S. Graduation photo for his picture for the yearbooks.  It was ridiculous and we all laughed at the idea that this was how he represented himself, even back...

Generation Z

A number of businesses have prided themselves on their youth culture, filing their ranks with Millennials, slowly forcing out the Gen X’ers and Boomers.  Now in some circles as the Millennials who are near or over 30 are feeling the gentle hand on their backs pushing...

Retailers and Restaurants

The IRS has announced a new guideline for restaurants and retailers who refresh their premises every 5 to 10 years. They are now able to deduct 75% of their costs under the safe harbor, beginning January 1, 2014. The remaining 25% needs to be capitalized. Typically...

Auto Enrollment 401K

Auto enrollment is a relatively new idea to businesses.  Once hired after the probationary period employees are automatically enrolled into the company’s 401K Plan. As no surprise this practice does increase employee participation in retirement plans. A recent study...

Too broke to retire

According to a new Government Accountability Office (GAO) analysis finds that among households with members aged 55 or older, nearly 29 percent have neither retirement savings nor a traditional pension plan. My typical business client does not fit in this category. ...

Trust donations not allowed

Typically if the trust document is the road map as to how the deal with the issues that arise from running the trust.  If the document is silent as to a point (Trust Situs) the state’s governing laws take effect. So if a trust does not specifically make mention of a...

Fiduciary Accounting Income

Fiduciary Accounting Income (FAI ) is unlike taxable income or GAAP income, which is why most trustees hire CPA to deal with 1041’s instead of tackling it themselves.  Occasionally tax practitioners have difficulties with this concept as well. Interest on a municipal...

Lack of immediate options

Unfortunately I have a client that is in an unusual position.  They want to minimize their taxes, but December is too late to effectively plan for them. They make a reasonable amount of interest income.  But, they get a lot of dividends and a lot of capital gains. ...

Customer Experience

As we know consumers have many purchasing options whether we are selling a good or a service.  So we have to be concerned about the customer experience. This has become a primary way to differentiate your brand, from our competitors. The customer experience is to work...

Back to Basics

I believe now is the time for most entrepreneurs to go back to basics with their businesses.  Whether you had a record breaking year or gains or losses, I think now is the time to review who you are and what you are doing and for whom. Are you using the best business...

2016 IRS Mileage rates

Beginning on Jan. 1, 2016, the standard mileage rates for the use of a car (also vans, pickups or panel trucks) will be: 54 cents per mile for business miles driven, down from 57.5 cents for 2015 19 cents per mile driven for medical or moving purposes, down from 23...

Delisted penny stock

I wrote before on how I purchased a stock from a company I had worked at long ago.  They had kept pushing me to buy the stock when I was there. I hated the job, most of the people I worked with and for.  There was no way I was going to buy into the business.  I saw it...

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