Posts by Richard Huffman

The IRS recently published amended final regulations that will allow designated Roth account owners to tailor the tax results from their distributions.  This gives owners of the accounts greater flexibility in personal tax planning.  Here are the details, including an example of how the new guidance can lower taxes on distributions from designated Roth accounts. Does your employer offer a 401(k), 403(b) or governmental 457 plan? If so, you may be able to set up a designated Roth account through your company’s plan. Then your Roth account will be allowed to receive designated Roth contributions that are taken out of
Read More

Qualifying business vehicle purchases may be eligible for Section 179 depreciation, 50% first-year bonus depreciation and regular depreciation deductions. Combined, these deductions can be substantial. But the favorable tax rules may not last. If you’re considering purchasing an SUV or other heavy vehicle for business, it could make sense to act before year end in case the rules are changed after Election Day. Favorable depreciation rules for business use of “heavy” SUVs, pickups and vans were locked in by the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes (PATH) Act of 2015. By taking advantage of these rules, you may be able to
Read More

Cybercriminals never seem to give up, and for good reason: Their chances of success make it worthwhile. A recent poll entitled “IT Threats and Data Breaches” found that 94% of companies reported experiencing some form of “external threat.” After spam, the most commonly reported cyberthreats were viruses, worms, spyware, phishing attacks and network intrusion. Although less common, corporate espionage was also reported by nearly one-fifth of survey respondents. As a result, a new industry — employee cybersecurity training — has sprouted up. While it’s true that there will always be employees who will click on anything, it’s still critical for
Read More

Have you met with your tax adviser to plan for 2016? The tax year is almost half over, and several new and expanded tax-saving opportunities are available under recent legislation. Moreover, some tax breaks have been made permanent, adding certainty to a few of your tax planning strategies. Here are some ideas for individuals and small businesses to lower their tax obligations this year.   Numerous tax breaks have been retroactively expanded for 2015 and beyond — or, in some cases, been made permanent — under the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes (PATH) Act of 2015. Now that the dust
Read More

This election season, Republicans and Democrats don’t seem to agree on much. But 95% of voters — regardless of which U.S. presidential candidate they favor — support American-made products. The vast majority of Americans also favor training programs, trade enforcement, tax incentives and a national strategy to support U.S. manufacturing, according to the Alliance for American Manufacturing. This organization is a not-for-profit, nonpartisan partnership of leading domestic manufacturers and the United Steelworkers labor union. With the momentum that’s building behind the Made-in-America label, it may be time for your business to rethink its supply chain partners and marketing strategy. Assessing
Read More

A change in the rules governing overtime has been coming for two years, with a sneak preview of proposed modifications last year. But on May 18, the Department of Labor (DOL) came out with its new final rules, which take effect on December 1, 2016. The rules will significantly raise the salary level used to determine whether employees are eligible for overtime and will affect more than 4 million salaried employees, according to the DOL. The Obama administration’s goal was to reset the income threshold to the point it would have reached, with period inflation adjustments, had it not been
Read More

Many business owners fail to follow the strict tax rules for substantiating vehicle expenses. But if your business is audited, the IRS will most likely ask for mileage logs if you deducted vehicle expenses — and it tends to be especially critical of the amount deducted if you’re self employed or you employ relatives. While the basics seem simple, there are numerous exceptions. Mileage Logs Taxpayers can deduct actual vehicle expenses, including depreciation, gas, maintenance, insurance and other vehicle operating costs. Or they can use the standard mileage method, which allows a deduction based on the standard rate for each
Read More

Congress originally devised the alternative minimum tax (AMT) rules to ensure that high-income individuals who take advantage of multiple tax breaks will owe something to Uncle Sam each year. In recent years, however, that concept has eroded. Now, even upper-middle-income taxpayers are likely to owe the AMT. Here’s an overview of how the AMT works and possible ways to minimize it. AMT Basics Think of the AMT as an alternate set of tax rules that are similar to the regular federal income tax system. But there are key differences. For example, under the AMT rules, certain types of income that
Read More

After several years of processing, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued new fiduciary regulations on April 6. A previous attempt, back in 2010, was scrubbed when the investment community roundly criticized it as overkill. The new regulations seek to update the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) enacted in 1974. Back then, the focus of ERISA was on traditional defined-benefit plans. Today, IRAs and 401(k) plans are far more prevalent in retirement planning. In announcing the final regulations, the White House asserted that conflicts of interest in the retirement advice business cost Americans roughly $17 billion each year. That’s
Read More

If you are about to ask for a business loan, expect to deal with the issue of covenants — constraints lenders impose on your company to keep it operating within specified financial ratios and to prevent it from taking certain actions. These clauses are meant to help the lender mitigate risk and get its money back. But if you are not careful, they can put your company in a stranglehold. Under some very strict loan agreements, if your firm violates a covenant, it can automatically go into default and be forced to pay the loan in full immediately. Typical commercial-loan
Read More