Our Blog

Karyn Richardson, CPA •

Determining what to classify an individual who provides services to your business is sometimes a slippery slope. Business owners often prefer to have as many independent contractors as possible – no payroll taxes or benefits to pay, and no employment and labor laws to follow. Individuals may want to be considered an employee to have access to benefits and legal protection. Per the IRS, the general rule is “that an individual is an independent contractor if the payer has the right to control or direct only the result of the work, not what will be done and how it will be done”. Sounds clear and concise, but what does control really mean?
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Today the IRS issued some highly anticipated guidance on the deductibility of business meals after the passing of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The IRS still expects to publish proposed regulations but in the meantime, taxpayers can rely on Notice 2018-76.
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Last week the IRS issued questions and answers on the new general business credit to for employers who provide paid family and medical leave to their employees. This is a new credit that was formed as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.

Alyssa McBride, CPA •

​The time for spring cleaning may be past, but your accounting records might benefit from a cleanup. If you have used the same accounting system for a number of years, you could have accounts or transactions that you don’t use anymore that are taking up space and cluttering your system.

Following are some recommendations for cleaning up your records:
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Alyssa McBride, CPA •

If you have been listening to business news recently, you probably heard of the Supreme Court Case “South Dakota v. Wayfair”. There is a lot of talk in the news, but nothing seems to specifically say, this is going to impact you because...
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Karyn Richardson, CPA •

The passing of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in December 2017, especially the new Internal Revenue Code Section 199A, has created a lot of buzz in the business community. In simple terms, the new provision allows pass-through entities (Sole Proprietorships, S Corporations, and Partnerships) to deduct 20% of the earned business income on the owner’s individual tax return. However, with tax law, nothing is that simple, as there are many exceptions and income limitations. There remains many unanswered questions, as little to no guidance has been released from the Internal Revenue Service to date. 

Donna Deos •

As being one of the few people here at Mason + Rich, PA without an accounting degree, I can tell you the title of this article scares me too. Before working here, I wouldn’t have had the first clue about what to do and I can also relate to the panic that runs through folks when they see anything from the IRS.
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What I have learned both by being raised by an Accountant and by working here at M+R is, the first thing to do is Don’t Panic!

Andrew Luce, CPA •

The IRS recently updated one of their publications which provides details for tax rules associated with employer provided fringe benefits (Publication 15-B). Some of you may ask, what are fringe benefits and why should I take the time to understand them?  

Alyssa McBride, CPA •

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 created a lot of changes for taxpayers. One area that you should not overlook is the change to meals and entertainment. Entertainment is now nondeductible. Also no longer fully deductible are workplace meals, these now fall into the 50% deductible category. What is most concerning is that there is a current lack of information on business meals, these could be 50% deductible or they could fall into the nondeductible category. This could be a significant change for many taxpayers. We will keep you updated as more information becomes available. 

While we wait on the resolution, we have one recommendation you can immediately put in place:

Karyn Richardson, CPA •

Now that we are nearing the mid-year mark, it is a good time to review how your business has done thus far and project where it is going for the remainder of the year. Many people believe that tax planning is something that happens in December, but successful tax planning is an on-going process that requires the business owner and their tax advisors to communicate and evaluate the business and the owner’s personal tax situation on a continuous basis.

When reviewing your year-to-date numbers, consider the following:
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