The Trust Fund Recovery Penalty: Who can it be personally assessed against?

TAX PENALTY word on calculator. Business and tax concept. Time to pay tax in year.

If you own or manage a business with employees, there’s a harsh tax penalty that you could be at risk for paying personally. The Trust Fund Recovery Penalty (TFRP) applies to Social Security and income taxes that are withheld by a business from its employees’ wages.

Hiring family members can offer tax advantages (but be careful)

Family Business meeting

Summertime can mean hiring time for many types of businesses. With legions of working-age kids and college students out of school, and some spouses of business owners looking for part-time or seasonal work, companies may have a much deeper hiring pool to dive into this time of year.

Are you married and not earning compensation? You may be able to put money in an IRA

When one spouse in a married couple not earning compensation, the couple may not be able to save as much as they need for a comfortable retirement. In general, an IRA contribution is allowed only if a taxpayer earns compensation. However, there’s an exception involving a “spousal” IRA. It allows contributions to be made for a spouse who is out of work or who stays home to care for children, elderly parents or for other reasons, as long as the couple files a joint tax return.

In financial planning, forecasts and projections aren’t the same

Business documents and touchpad with charts on desk

Businesses are rightly encouraged to regularly generate professionally prepared financial statements. Doing so is important for both understanding your own financial position and providing accurate, comprehensive information to stakeholders such as investors, lenders and advisors.

When can seniors deduct Medicare premiums on their tax returns?

If you’re age 65 and older and have basic Medicare insurance, you may need to pay additional premiums to get the level of coverage you want. The premiums can be costly, especially for married couples with both spouses paying them. But there may be an advantage: You may qualify for a tax break for paying the premiums.

Why businesses may want to consider ESG in strategic planning

Hand holding a notepad with esg concept

When engaging in strategic planning, business owners and their leadership teams must consider various factors. These commonly include the state of your industry, the national and local economies, the company’s financial position and cash flow, and opportunities in the marketplace.

Reduce the impact of the 3.8% net investment income tax

High-income taxpayers face a regular income tax rate of 35% or 37%. And they may also have to pay a 3.8% net investment income tax (NIIT) that’s imposed in addition to regular income tax. Fortunately, there are some ways you may be able to reduce its impact.

Avoid succession drama with a buy-sell agreement

Recently, the critically acclaimed television show “Succession” aired its final episode. If the series accomplished anything, it was depicting the chaos and uncertainty that can take place if a long-time business owner fails to establish a clearly written and communicated succession plan.

Keep these DOs and DON’Ts in mind when deducting business meal and vehicle expenses

If you’re claiming deductions for business meals or auto expenses, expect the IRS to closely review them. In some cases, taxpayers have incomplete documentation or try to create records months (or years) later. In doing so, they fail to meet the strict substantiation requirements set forth under tax law. Tax auditors are adept at rooting out inconsistencies, omissions and errors in taxpayers’ records, as illustrated by one recent U.S. Tax Court case.

Is it time for a targeted marketing campaign?

The arrow hits one of the targets. Marketing campaign , target audience, advertising methods. Advertise the product to democratic and gender groups. Anayltics or data management. Increase the sales

If you’ve been in business a while, you might assume that you know exactly who your customers are. But, as the saying goes, “life comes at you fast.” Customer desires, preferences and demographics can all shift before you know it.