Lou Alice's blog

Late on Friday, 3/20/20 the IRS officially announced that, because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, tax returns due April 15 will not have to be filed until July 15 this year. Notice 2020-18 was released hours after Treasury Secr

Treasury, IRS and Labor announce plan on 3/18/20 to implement Coronavirus-related paid leave for workers and tax credits for small and midsize businesses to swiftly recover the cost of providing Coronavirus-related leave

In a press conference on March 17, 2020 Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced that individuals and corporations can delay their tax payments for 90 days due to the coronavirus pandemic. Individuals can defer up to $1 million in payments for 90 days from the April 15 deadline. Corporations can defer up to $10 million in payments for 90 days. During that time, the IRS will not charge interest or penalties.

The IRS has provided tax relief for Putnam County residents due to the March 3^rd disaster.  The tax relief postpones various tax filing and payment deadlines that occurred starting on March 3. As a result, affected individuals and businesses will have until July 15, 2020, to file returns and pay any taxes that were originally due during this period. This includes 2019 individual and business returns normally due on April 15, as well as various 2019 business returns due on March 15.

The optional standard mileage rates for business use of a vehicle will decrease slightly in 2020 after increasing significantly in 2019.  For business use of a car, van, pickup truck, or panel truck, the rate for 2020 will be 57.5 cents per mile in 2020, down from 58 cents per mile last year.  Taxpayers can use the optional standard mileage rates to calculate the

Many small business owners are happy to share their business tips with other entrepreneurs. Check out 15 top business tips from small business owners which can help you run and grow your business effectively.  (reprinted from Hartford Small Biz Ahead, link below)  

We are cautious in saying this, but we do believe congress has finally done something that helps the middle class!  The recent tax reforms will have the largest impact on business owners and corporations.  However, having now prepared a number of 2018 tax projections for our individual clients, we are finding that everyone is going to benefit.

Here are four major tax law changes that will make the most impact on the middle class, beginning in 2018:

By Lou Alice Funk, CPA, MBA

Much has been said in the media about the new Tax Cuts & Jobs Act, and it is indeed full of changes that will affect all of our clients in differing degrees.   The substantive effects of those changes begin in 2018, so the tax returns we are working on this season will not be greatly affected.  However, we feel that all of our business clients would benefit from a review of the new provisions.

Do you know your "power percentage"?  A lot of people measure their financial health by their credit score. But how much does a good credit score matter to a person who is about to retire?  You can't borrow your way through a 25-year retirement.  Check out this article that describes a quick way to measure your personal financial health as it relates to retirement readiness.

Sales Tax Compliance seems to be getting even more complicated. Avalara recently released 12 sales tax tips to help small businesses achieve greater success and security. Below is a summary of the article and the full document can be found at www.avalara.com.

1.  Determine if you have created nexus within a state.

2.  Check if you are required to file your sales tax return electronically.

3.  Find out if you are required to make pre-payments.