Tips for Long-Distance Teamwork
Many people today must work together and cooperate as a team while separated geographically. With accelerated advances in communications and travel, more and more people are colleagues from a distance. Barbara Pate Glacel, co-author of “Light Bulbs for Leaders: A Guide Book for Team Learning,” developed the following tips for succeeding in long-distance teamwork: Find…
Decipher the Form 990 Sections on Compensation Reporting
Most tax-exempt organizations must file Form 990 with the IRS. This form, titled Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax, has significant implications for not-for-profit organizations. The compensation of officers, directors, trustees, key employees and others in tax-exempt organizations has always been scrutinized by the IRS. That is why compensation reporting is so important on…
Recent Developments May Affect Passive Investors with Losses
Do you materially participate in a business or rental activity — or are you just a passive investor who isn’t directly involved in a project’s day-to-day operations? The IRS has prescribed seven tests to help individuals classify income, gains and losses from activities as passive or nonpassive. (See “PAL Basics” below.) The passive activity loss…
What Does the Government Look at When Evaluating Proposals?
The government has a responsibility to evaluate every bid, first of all, by the responsiveness of an offer of solicitation. This is a very technical process of making sure the paperwork you’ve submitted conforms to all the essential requirements of the solicitation. This means exact conformance to all the specifications, drawings, descriptions and standards, as…
Competition in Subcontracting
Does your U.S. Government contract include requirements for you to obtain competition for goods and services acquired in the performance of your contract? The U.S. government pursues full and open competition in its acquisitions to the maximum extent possible. There are also requirements in many prime contracts for the prime contractor to do the same….
What You Need to Know About 529 Plan Withdrawals
The big advantage of Section 529 college savings plans is that withdrawals used to cover qualified higher education expenses are free from federal income tax (and usually state income taxes too). That part is very easy to understand, but the full story on withdrawals is not so simple. What are qualified expenses? What happens if…
Can You Have Too Much Money in Tax-Deferred IRAs?
In some cases, individuals reach a point where deferring taxes to the max is counter-productive. There are several reasons why this happens. For one thing, while deferring taxes is a good idea when personal tax rates are going down or staying the same, it’s likely that federal income tax rates have bottomed out and could…
Update on Home Mortgage Interest Deductions
If you own a home with a mortgage, you should receive an IRS form from your lender each year with information that is used to claim an itemized deduction for qualified residence interest. For 2016, that form should include additional information that could trigger unwanted attention from the IRS. Here’s what you should know about…
Answer an Important Question: Are Your Directors Independent?
Not-for-profit organizations that file IRS Form 990 must indicate the number of independent voting members or directors of the governing body. (This is entered on Parts 1 and VI.) The IRS is not the only group interested in these facts. Two other groups also focus on the number of independent directors: state attorneys general and…
‘Loan Payments’ Can Be Taxable Corporate Distributions to Shareholders
There can be negative tax consequences when purported loan payments are recast as corporate distributions to shareholders. In some cases, the courts have ruled that withdrawals from two closely held corporations were constructive corporate distributions rather than loan proceeds and repayments. As such, the withdrawals triggered taxable dividends and capital gains for the shareholders. Corporate…