Beyond Spreadsheets: Modern Solutions for Budgeting and Planning
By: Jim Norton, CPA Microsoft’s Excel is the undisputed champion among the tools used historically by accounting and finance professionals. While Excel reigns supreme for quick one-off projects and projections, it does not support activities that contribute tremendous value to your organization in the form of strong governance, critical financial management, and enforcing accountability for…
Lessons Learned from Adoption of Topic 606, Revenue Recognition
In May 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2014-09 Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606) to clarify revenue recognition guidance and thereby improve financial reporting. Nonprofit entities who adopted the standard early quickly learned that there is a significant learning curve to properly recognizing revenue under the new…
2021 Tax Strategies for Small Businesses
National Small Business Week will be celebrated September 13-15 this year to honor America’s small businesses and recognize their hard work. More than half of Americans either own or work for a small business, and they create about two out of every three new jobs in the U.S. each year.[1] This month’s tax planning article…
Tax Advantaged Strategies Help Save and Pay for College
The cost of attending colleges and universities in the U.S. is among the highest in the world, according to the latest OECD statistics. For college students in the 2022-2023 academic year, the average cost of tuition and fees was $39,400 at private colleges, $10,940 at in-state public colleges, and $28,240 at out-of-state public colleges –…
Beware: Teleworking Arrangements May Cause State Tax Withholding Issues
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many employers shut down their regular workplaces, either partially or wholly, as a safety precaution and instructed their employees to work from home. While some employees have returned to work, many are still working from home. Some employers have found that using remote workers is a sound strategy going forward. As a…
Following Up on Coronavirus-Related Distributions from IRAs
If you were adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, you may have taken a tax-favored coronavirus-related distribution (CVD) from a traditional IRA last year. This privilege was allowed under the CARES Act, which was signed into law on March 27, 2020. What steps can you take now to achieve the optimal federal income tax results? CVD…
2021 Year-End Tax Planning Series
The Year-End Tax Planning Series provides a roadmap for taxpayers navigating the many tax planning opportunities available this year. The content includes guidance for the various provisions enacted to help US taxpayers recover from the economic hardship associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Tax Credits for Families Tax Strategies for Small Business Tax Advanced Savings Strategies…
Tax Credits for Families
Energy Tax Credit for Homeowners For 2021, homeowners may be able to take a tax credit of 26% of the costs of qualified solar electric property, solar water heating property, small wind energy property, geothermal heat pump property, and fuel cell property. The credit remains at 26% of the qualifying costs for systems installed in…
Don’t Run Afoul of Private Inurement Rules
Most not-for-profit executives are aware of the prohibition against private inurement. Generally, nonprofit directors and executives — and their family members — aren’t allowed to personally benefit from their positions while putting their organization at a disadvantage. Penalties for violating the private inurement mandate could include financial sanctions for violators and, in the rare worst-case scenario,…
Deadline Coming: Follow Up on Your PPP Loans
Payroll Protection Plan (PPP) loans were a lifeline for many small business owners during the worst of the pandemic-driven economic slowdown. In total, the Small Business Administration (SBA) approved nearly 12 million PPP loans, averaging $67,000. But all good things must come to an end. The PPP program stopped accepting loan applications on May 31, 2021….