Tax Cheer for Holiday Gifts to Employees
With the holidays fast approaching, you might want to reward your employees for all their hard work in 2018. Gift-giving ideas include gift cards, holiday turkeys and achievement awards. Although your intent may be essentially the same in all these situations, the tax outcome for recipients of your goodwill may be quite different. Typically, it depends on the…
The Audit Dance: A Well-Choreographed Routine
Think of your not-for-profit organization and its external auditor as dance partners performing a well-choreographed routine. To execute the dance properly, each dancer must complete specific moves and coordinate timing with his or her partner. Likewise, your organization and its audit firm each have particular duties in the audit process but share the same end goal:…
Becoming a Great Place to Work: It is Not About the Money
“It is easy to understand why companies have focused on… pay, parking, cafeteria discounts, etc.” when trying to attract, retain and motivate workers, stated Gallup in introducing its research on its Management Journal website. Why? Because it’s usually fairly easy to tinker with those variables. The problem is, “these factors do not really make a difference to the best,…
IRS Ups the Ante on Retirement Contributions
Every year, the IRS releases cost-of-living adjustments to qualified retirement plan amounts. For tax year 2019, many of the limits applicable to pensions and other retirement plans will increase. But some will remain unchanged from 2018. Annual Adjustments The following limits will increase for 2019 based on the cost of living: The elective deferral limit for…
Make a Tax-Smart Redemption of C Corp Stock
Do you have too much of your net worth tied up in your family C corporation? Consider bailing out some or all of that hard-earned wealth with a stock redemption. Here’s an explanation of why the federal income tax results for stock redemptions are far better today than in the past when much higher tax rates…
Go It Alone with a 401(k) Plan
If your business is essentially a one-person operation, there’s an option to help you save more money for retirement: The Solo 401(k) plan. Ordinarily, traditional defined contribution retirement plans allow annual contributions that are limited to either 25% of salary if you’re employed by your own S or C corporation or 20% of self-employment income if you operate…
Tuition Reimbursement: How to Prevent Fraud
Investing in employee education and training is crucial to the long-term success of most companies. In order to remain competitive, many employers offer tuition reimbursement programs to attract and retain talented employees. The programs also provide tax benefits. The vast majority of employees that participate in tuition reimbursement programs do so to comply with their companies’…
Surprise: Little Wins Motivate Employees Best
The best way to motivate employees, day-after-day and long-term, is by “facilitating progress – even small wins.” That’s the surprise finding gleaned from research detailed in the new book The Progress Principle: Using Small Wins to Ignite Joy, Engagement and Creativity at Work. Co-authors are Teresa Amabile and Steven Kramer. Amabile is the Edsel Bryant Ford Professor of Business…
Are You Eligible for the New Dependent Credit and HOH Filing Status?
The IRS continues to publish guidance to clarify provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). Here’s what you need to know about qualifying for the new $500 tax credit for dependents and beneficial head of household (HOH) filing status based on having a non-qualifying-child dependent. New Non-Qualifying-Child Dependent Credit For 2018 through 2025, the…
Should You Outsource Your Accounting Functions?
As your not-for-profit strives to use its resources as effectively as possible, you might at some point consider outsourcing the functions that fall under your accounting and financial umbrella. But wait: You’ll need to weigh the pros and cons before making this important decision. What Are the Potential Advantages? Not-for-profit organizations often outsource work in areas…