Our Blog

Pollyanna King, CPA, MST •

As you pour through your checkbook register and piles of receipts for tax reporting items, you may need to make a list of your 2018 charitable donations. For people who file using the itemized deduction method, and report your donations on Schedule A instead of using the standard deduction, you should have a list with the charity’s name, the date and the amount that was given followed by a grand total for your record of 2018 charitable donations.
 

Lena Rozzi, CPA •

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), passed in December 2017, was one of the largest tax reforms in decades. Needless to say, it caused numerous changes that affects many individual taxpayers.  Homeowners may notice changes to deductions related to their home mortgage interest effective for the 2018 tax year.
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Andrew Luce, CPA •

​If you are a business owner and keeping tabs on the new tax laws, you’ve likely heard a lot about a QBI (Qualified Business Income) tax deduction and how SSTBs (Specified Service Trade or Businesses) might miss out on this new 20% deduction.  Yes, there is a chance you won’t receive a full 20% deduction if you’re a married business owner, making over $315,000 (the beginning threshold for the QBI tax deduction phase-out), and in healthcare (one of the SSTB classifications), whereas a business owner of a landscaping company will likely fully benefit from this deduction with proper planning.  Before your mind starts racing about the inequalities of the new tax law, we should all be able to agree on at least one thing - the tax rates are lower this year (woohoo!), so it’s not recommended to make less money because you want to qualify for this 20% deduction.  Seriously, this 20% deduction wasn’t around in the past and you weren’t worried about making too much money so why worry about making too much money now when your rates are actually lower.  If you qualify for the deduction it will be gravy on top.  Also, there has been a lot published about this new rule and we are here to help you determine if you will benefit from this deduction but in the meantime keep the dough flowing!  If you’re unsure how this new deduction will impact your business and/or whether or not you’ll be included in the dreaded SSTB category, please feel free to contact me or one of our professionals. 

Alyssa Hodges, CPA •

Now that we’re past the end of 2018, it’s that time of year where you get to pull together all of your tax documents. Your official tax forms may not have started arriving yet, but you can start putting together all of your receipts! I bet you love going through stacks of papers to put medical receipts and charitable deductions in a shoebox for your tax preparer, or maybe you stuff them in an envelope instead. Not so fast! 
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Lena Rozzi, CPA •
IRS Proposes Safe Harbor for Taxpayers Seeking the Section 199A Deduction for Rental Real Estate Activities
 
On January 18, 2019, the IRS released additional guidance on the much anticipated Section 199A deduction as many taxpayers eagerly await the opening of tax season. Among other issues, the guidance offers taxpayers a proposed safe harbor in determining when rental real estate activities can be treated as qualified trade or business for the purpose of taking the Section 199A deduction. This guidance is provided by the IRS in response to taxpayer uncertainty whether rental real estate activities qualify as a trade or business for the purpose of the Section 199A deduction. 
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Today, January 28th is the opening day of tax season for calendar-year 2018 tax returns. This means that the IRS is officially accepting electronic tax returns and taxpayers can begin submitting their federal returns today. 
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​The accounts receivable and payable aging reports are helpful tools in QuickBooks to find out who you owe and who owes you quickly. The reports show the age of the receivables and payables so you know if you’re behind on a payment or if a customer is behind on a payment. However, you may have noticed that you have some zero balance lines. 
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Lena Rozzi, CPA •
The Role of the Partnership Representative and What It Means to Your Business
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The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 (BBA) made significant changes to the rules governing federal partnership tax audits by allowing the IRS to audit and determine, assess, and collect any tax due, including any corresponding penalties and interest, at the partnership level. Under the previous rules, the IRS could audit a partnership, but could only assess and collect any tax due at the partner level. These changes are expected to result in dramatically increased audit rates for partnerships. 
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New Hampshire offers an Education Tax Credit that allows for certain state taxes to be offset by a credit for making donations to approved scholarship organizations. In 2018 the program was updated so that more taxpayers are eligible for the credit.
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As we quickly approach the deadline for filing 1099-MISC, it is time to consider whether your business is ready to file.
 
The due date for furnishing 1099-MISC statements to recipients and to the IRS for the 2018 tax year is January 31, 2019. Form 1099-MISC, Miscellaneous Income, is an informational return used by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to report payments made to non-employee individuals or unincorporated businesses during the calendar year. As the filing of Form 1099 remains a hot topic with the IRS, it is more important than ever to consider whether you are required to file Form 1099 in the course of your trade or business.