Blog
Don’t Get Stung With Penalties Due to Worker Misclassification
By Michael Flerchinger, CPA With the continual increase of costs in ranching it is becoming ever more important to find ways to save money where you can. A common area to cut costs is in employee wage expense. Many people consider the strategy of hiring someone...
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy: Cost Effectively Reducing Operating Costs
Guest Post by Leif Elgethun, VP Site Based Energy Companies haven’t always looked at energy consumption as an opportunity to reduce operating costs and improve their bottom line. As long as the lights came on and equipment ran, utility bills would get paid. For...
How Higher-Bracket Taxpayers Can Take Advantage of the 0% Long-term Capital Gains Rate
The long-term capital gains rate is 0% for gain that would be taxed at 10% or 15% based on the taxpayer’s ordinary-income rate. If you have loved ones in the 0% bracket, you may be able to take advantage of it by transferring appreciated assets to them. The...
Timing Business Income and Expenses to Your Tax Advantage
Typically, it’s better to defer tax. Here are two timing strategies that can help businesses do this: 1. Defer income to next year. If your business uses the cash method of accounting, you can defer billing for your products or services. Or, if you use the accrual...
AMT Triggers Could Boost Your Tax Bill if You’re Not Careful
A fundamental tax planning strategy is to accelerate deductible expenses into the current year. This typically will defer — and in some cases permanently reduce — your taxes. But there are exceptions. One is if the additional deductions this year trigger the...
Self-employed? Save More by Setting up Your Own Retirement Plan
If you’re self-employed, you may be able to set up a retirement plan that allows you to make much larger contributions than you could make as an employee. For example, the maximum 2014 employee contribution to a 401(k) plan is $17,500 — $23,000 if you’re age 50 or...
Want to be in our Christmas Video? Dancing?
This event has been postponed until further notice. That's right. We said "dancing". Last year, we sent a Christmas video message to our clients and friends, wishing them a Merry Christmas, Accountant style. This year, we have a new trick up our sleeve and it...
Maximizing Depreciation Deductions in an Uncertain Tax Environment
For assets with a useful life of more than one year, businesses generally must depreciate the cost over a period of years. Special breaks are available in some circumstances, but uncertainty currently surrounds them: Section 179 expensing. This allows you to...
Donating Appreciated Stock Can Offer Substantial Tax Benefits
Are you planning to make charitable donations before year end? Do you own appreciated stock that you’d like to sell, but you’re concerned about the tax hit? Then consider donating it to charity rather than making a cash gift. Appreciated publicly traded stock...