Category Archives: Tips

What Kids Should Know About Summer Jobs And Taxes

Forbes contributor Kelly Phillips Erb always does a great job of taking a complex but important subject and breaking it down into easy-to-digest components. Today she’s back with an article on What Kids And Their Parents Should Know About Summer Jobs And Taxes.

Her basic points:

  1. You may not owe taxes, but you may still need to fill out tax forms.
  2. You may need to file and pay taxes even if you’re paid under the table.
  3. Don’t forget about state and local taxes.
  4. You may be able to claim job-related expenses.
  5. Consider using a tax professional.
  6. Save for a rainy day.

I see a lot of folks forgetting #1 and #4 (sometimes because they’re ignoring #2). Please take a moment to read the article and perhaps consult with a tax professional — if you meet with them in the off-season, they’ll probably be open to a short consultation/ training session, so that you’re armed to file these forms yourself come tax-time. A little investment now will get you a lot of savings (and compliance with tax agencies) in the future.

Chicago Small Business Improvement Fund Application Deadline July 9th

From the Logan Square Chamber of Commerce:

The application period is open for the Milwaukee/Fullerton TIF Small Business Improvement Fund (SBIF), a City of Chicago grant program available to commercial and industrial businesses, intended to help small business owners renovate, expand or start-up businesses along commercial and industrial corridors. Small business owners or property owners that lease to businesses in the Fullerton/Milwaukee TIF district can receive reimbursement grants of up to $100,000 for commercial projects to cover the cost of eligible remodeling work. The application period is open 6/6 – 7/9/18 at 5 PM.

Starting a Food Business in Chicago

Chicago folks who are interested in the licensing requirements needed when Starting a Food Business should consider attending the upcoming introductory course by The Hatchery, a small food business incubator.

Tickets are only $40 and the course is being held at the Industrial Council of Nearwest Chicago, 320 N Damen Ave. 1st Floor.

If you attend and find it valuable, please share in the comments below!

Hidden Feature: Calculator Within QuickBooks

It feels a little odd to consider the in-app calculator within QuickBooks a “hidden feature”, but in a recent QB Power Hour with Hector Garcia, he mentioned that it’s the one feature that clients are most stunned and enthused by… so I figured I should mention it here as well so that my own clients (and maybe colleagues) can make use of it if they’re not already aware of its power or existence.

In particular, I think that folks may not know the same calculator functions that exist in QB Desktop also exist in QB Online, since that wasn’t always the case. But it does support not only simple calculations, but also order of operations punctuation, such as the ability to calculate quantities in parentheses before any other arithmetic.

Try it out!

Source: Hidden Feature: Calculator Within QuickBooks — Go Get Geek!

How to Select Your Ideal Technology Stack

I came across this short, sweet, to-the-point article this week called How to Select Your Ideal Technology Stack.

This quote in particular resonated with me:

Where you have existing processes that work well, look for an app that will complement those processes. When things aren’t working so well, look for apps that will help overcome the roadblocks you are facing and then refine the process around the new app.

I’ll be heading to the Scaling New Heights conference tomorrow and my main goal is to identify existing apps that excite my colleagues, choose a few that might work well for our firm and clients, and I’ll be keeping the pointers from this article in mind.

If you have favorite apps for your industry, for personal productivity, or for accounting and bookkeeping or tax integrations, please share in the comments below.

Energy-Saving Solutions for Small Businesses

Not sure how many of you are aware that a great program exists for small businesses in the Chicago area: Small Businesses Energy Assessments | ComEd.

I discovered this program from the back-end, as I have a couple of clients who participate as “trade allies” — small businesses request a free energy assessment and then ComEd pays for part of the contracting work to bring workplaces up-to-date to be more efficient in energy use. It’s a win-win-win for the small business needing the upgrades, the small business doing the contracting work, and the environment. The savings on energy costs alone make it worth the while, but the incentives certainly help with motivation.

So, just in case you weren’t already aware of the program, here it is. Sign up today for a free energy assessment, with no strings attached.

And as a reminder, I don’t accept payments for blog posts! This is a program I’ve seen many of my clients benefit from, and thought I should spread the word to others.

Business Entertainment Expenses No Longer Deductible

I’ve been meeting with clients lately who are extremely concerned about many of the confusing elements of the new tax law. And it is confusing — many CPAs are holding off on issuing any recommendations that aren’t reversible, waiting for a technical corrections bill and IRS guidance.

But one less confusing provision of the new tax law is clear — entertainment expenses are no longer deductible. Period.

The old law allowed a 50% deduction for entertainment expenses if business was discussed before, during, or afterwards. Starting January 1, 2018, unless the event has a direct business purpose, it cannot be deducted at all.

A few practical takeaways here:

  1. If entertaining a client or sales connection, take them out to dinner instead of an event — and be careful that there is no entertainment component, like live music or theater.
  2. Promotional events are still 100% deductible as marketing and advertising, so make sure your company has branding, signage, program recognition and advertising, etc. as a part of the gig.
  3. There are rare situations where entertainment isn’t “Entertainment”, because a direct business purpose exists. For example, a luthier might take a potential client to hear a performance played on her instrument for the express purpose of illustrating the sound in a concert hall. The IRS might accept situations such as these as having a “direct business purpose” — but proper documentation will be essential.
  4. This doesn’t mean you can no longer make business deals on the golf course or at the ball game — just make sure not to write them off on your tax return. There are other non-deductible expenses that are still a cost of doing business (such as parking tickets or other penalties), and Entertainment expenses should be tracked accordingly.

Source: The party’s over! Businesses can’t write off entertainment expenses under new tax law – MarketWatch

What it was like to be a female CPA in the 1970s

This podcast by the Journal of Accountancy is pretty mind-blowing: What it was like to be a female CPA in the 1970s – Journal of Accountancy podcast

I am embarrassed and delighted to say that I had no idea how difficult things used to be for women in my field. Not to say that I never deal with gender issues in the workplace, or that I haven’t been the victim of discrimination or condescension due to being female — but most of the tax conferences I attend are 50/50, and the accounting tech conferences actually lean toward majority-women. It’s simply not the same world it used to be in my industry.

In all sincerity: many thanks to those that made it possible for me to be clueless. I’m proud to bear witness to your struggle now that I know more!

Missed the Tax Deadline? Tips From the IRS to Help

The IRS sent an “outreach” email to professional organizations today asking us to share this information with taxpayers.

The tax filing deadline has come and gone. If you didn’t file a tax return or an extension, but should have, you need to take action now. Here are some tips to help you:
• There is no penalty for filing a late return after the tax deadline if a refund is due.
• If you didn’t file and owe tax, file a return as soon as you can and pay as much as possible to reduce penalties and interest.
• For those who qualify, IRS Free File is still available on IRS.gov through October 15 to prepare and file returns electronically.
• If you don’t qualify for IRS Free File, you can use Free File Fillable Forms to e-file. This option uses electronic versions of IRS paper forms. It does some of the math, and works best for those who are comfortable doing their own taxes.
• You can get fast answers about your refund by using the Where’s My Refund? tool available on IRS.gov and through the IRS2Go mobile app. All you need is your Social Security number, tax filing status and the exact amount of your refund. Where’s My Refund? is updated no more than once every 24 hours, usually overnight, so you don’t need to check the status more often.
• If you owe taxes, you can view your balance, pay with IRS Direct Pay, by debit or credit card or apply online for a payment plan, including an installment agreement. Before accessing your tax account online, you must authenticate your identity through the Secure Access process. Several other electronic payment options are available on IRS.gov/payments. They are secure and easy to use. If you pay electronically, you’ll receive immediate confirmation when you submit your payment. Also, with Direct Pay and EFTPS, you can opt in to receive email notifications about their payments.
• If you need more time to pay your taxes, you can apply for an installment agreement with the IRS. The best way to apply is to use the IRS Online Payment Agreement tool. Once you complete the online process, you’ll receive immediate notification of whether your agreement is approved.
• No matter how or when you file, you should keep a copy of your tax return and all supporting documents.

Register for National Small Business Week Events, April 30-May 4

There’s so much going on for National Small Business Week that you simply don’t want to miss.

For starters, the IRS is preparing a special series of presentations to help people navigate difficult tax issues, including the following National Small Business Week Webcasts. Two 30-minute sessions are available each day: Session 1 at 11 am and Session 2 at 1 pm ET.

April 30th: Can I Deduct This?
Session 1 – https://www.webcaster4.com/Webcast/Page/1148/25449
Session 2 – https://www.webcaster4.com/Webcast/Page/1148/25478

May 1st: Employee versus Independent Contractor 
Session 1 – https://www.webcaster4.com/Webcast/Page/1148/25479
Session 2 – https://www.webcaster4.com/Webcast/Page/1148/25480

May 2nd: Pay Now? Pay Later? Can’t Pay?
Session 1 – https://www.webcaster4.com/Webcast/Page/1148/25481
Session 2 – https://www.webcaster4.com/Webcast/Page/1148/25482

May 3rd: Small Business Resources 
Session 1 – https://www.webcaster4.com/Webcast/Page/1148/25483
Session 2 – https://www.webcaster4.com/Webcast/Page/1148/25485

May 4th: Paycheck Check-Up
Session 1 – https://www.webcaster4.com/Webcast/Page/1148/25486
Session 2 – https://www.webcaster4.com/Webcast/Page/1148/25487

Closed Captioning will be available for Session 2 only.  CE will not be offered. Email SBSE.SL.Web.Conference.Team@irs.gov with any questions.

They are also highlighting particular products that may assist small business owners with questions about taxes and recordkeeping.

In addition, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and SCORE Association will host a free, three-day Virtual Conference during SBA’s 2018 National Small Business Week, May 1-3.The Virtual Conference, which takes place from 12:30-6:30 p.m. ET each day, includes a series of webinars led by private sector employers that give practical advice on current business strategies. Topics for the webinars include discrimination and harassment in the workplace, the U.S. economic outlook and its impact on small businesses, cybersecurity for small businesses and more. The Virtual Conference also includes chat rooms where business owners can network with other owners and aspiring entrepreneurs.

Source: Register Today for National Small Business Week