Camera Phones: Neat Technology + Liability Risks
The camera phone may be an important business tool, but the technology comes with heavy security risks. A person carrying a tiny phone with a built-in camera can easily press a button, take a photo and transmit it over the Internet before anyone notices. The result could be intellectual property theft or embarrassing images of employees…
Are You Ready for the New IRS Partnership Audit Rules?
Legislation enacted in 2015 established a new IRS audit regime for partnerships and limited liability companies (LLCs) that are treated as partnerships for tax purposes. Here’s a comparison between the old and new partnership audit rules, along with a summary of recently proposed guidance to help partners prepare for the changes that are effective starting with…
Disability Insurance and the Buy-Sell Agreement
If you own a small family business, you’ve probably heard of “buy-sell agreements.” In fact, your professional advisers may have mentioned the need for one. A buy-sell agreement has three main functions: To ensure an orderly transfer of your business when you die; To set a value on the business for transfer and tax purposes; To…
Don’t Overlook a Roth IRA if You Are Self-Employed
Saving for retirement on a tax-advantaged basis should be on nearly everyone’s financial “to do” list. Making contributions to a Roth IRA is one tax-wise way to save, because you can take withdrawals after age 59 1/2 that are free from federal income tax, assuming you’ve had at least one Roth account open for more than five…
Dealing With A State Corporation Commission
No matter what type of business you’re in, sooner or later you’ll probably have to deal with your local State Corporation Commission (SCC) or Secretary of State. More Suggestions On Communicating With SCC Offices Try the websites first. If you can’t find the information or forms you need there, try the toll-free number. After being on…
Veterans Returning Home: What Are the 401(k) Make-Up Elective Rules?
Question: We have several employees who recently returned to their jobs after being on military leave. In addition to making elective deferrals for the current year to our 401(k) plan, some are asking if, and how, they can make additional deferrals for the time they were on leave. Can you review for us the Uniformed Services…
Improved Workplace Injury Coding System Now Required
A required change in the way businesses must report workplace injuries may help your company save money. The full name for the updated process is: International Classification of Diseases, Modification and Procedural Coding Systems, Revision 10. But the commonly used abbreviation is ICD-10. After several delays, ICD-10 became effective in October 2015, for all employers, agencies and…
Weigh Three IRA Options
Choosing a retirement plan for your business can be complicated, particularly when one type of account may have several variations. But it’s the differences that help you decide which makes the best fit for your company. Take Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) for example. A major advantage of IRAs is the ability to save for retirement while…
What’s Best? Silent or Talking Employees?
Employees generally like to talk with each other during the workday. A supervisor’s inclination might be to tell them to shut up and get back to work. Should this be the supervisor’s best reaction? What to Do? Hire smart people and let them talk to one another. The vast majority of corporate knowledge is the information…
Documents You Must Keep for Tax Purposes
In one not-for-profit article, we described why your organization needs to keep accurate records and how a good recordkeeping system can help prove that you are complying with various laws. (Click here to read the article.) However, there are probably stacks of documents that come through your organization and you don’t want to file away every slip of…