To claim deductions and credits for the business expenses you incur, you must have certain records, including the amount of your outlays. Without good records, you can miss out on otherwise legitimate tax write-offs. The IRS has created certain tools you can use to avoid the need to retain receipts and other records of costs. […]
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The federal government recognizes that “illicit actors frequently use corporate structures such as shell and front companies to obfuscate their identities and launder their ill-gotten gains through the U.S. financial system.” To enable the government to catch and penalize these bad actors—drug dealers, money launderers, foreign operatives, and others—the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) of 2021 imposes […]
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If you asked most small business owners, they’d say that paperwork and red tape are the hallmarks of government and the bane of their existence. Well, it’s about to get worse. Starting January 1, 2024, a new reporting rule takes effect. What the rule is all about and what you need to do: Background Back in 2021, Congress passed the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) to help the Treasury learn more about business owners as a way to prevent and combat money laundering, terrorist financing, corruption, tax fraud, and other illicit activities. Small businesses that are formed under state law—corporations, limited liability companies, […]
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Artificial intelligence or AI, a term coined in 1956, is in the headlines every day. It’s been touted as the best thing to come along and the worst thing as well. The reality probably lies somewhere in the middle. Will it mean the end of humans (as Stephen Hawking suggested), or at least a big job killer (replacing 300 million jobs worldwide)? Will it provide solutions for small businesses? Have you thought about AI and your business? Do you understand what ChatGPT can do (there are already more than 100+ million users)? It’s time to understand the technology and what it […]
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The National Taxpayers Union (NTU), the oldest taxpayer advocacy organization in the U.S., said in a letter to the House Small Business Committee in April that federal Tax Code unfairly burdens small businesses. Well, we know that! To ameliorate this, several measures have been proposed in Congress to change current federal tax rules in order to help small businesses. It’s impossible to know whether some or all will be enacted; it’s likely most if not all won’t become law. Still, it’s worthwhile to know what’s happening and to tell those who represent you in Congress what you support. Small Business […]
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Small Business Week 2023 runs from April 30 to May 6, so it’s a great time to be talking about small business. Often “small business” is a buzz word used by politicians and large corporations that want to look sympathetic to the challenges actually faced by self-employed individuals and small business owners. But it’s also a favorable status that can help businesses get a pie of the federal government’s procurement pie. The fact is: small businesses are statistically significant. The SBA’s Office of Advocacy released FAQs about small businesses. Note that the SBA usually defines small businesses as those with fewer than […]
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Insurance coverage is a must for businesses that hope to survive the impact of storms, fires, and other dramatic, unexpected events. There are certain types of occurrences for which you may think you’re covered, but on closer examination find you’re lacking. Or, even if covered, the extent may not be sufficient. Think about the small businesses in East Palestine, Ohio, who were shut down when the train carrying toxic chemicals derailed there on February 3, 2023. Residents were evacuated and told not to return until February 8, 5 days later—when businesses also began to reopen. But small businesses suffered considerable […]
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