You’ve spent years developing your business, building its value, enhancing its reputation. Now you’re ready to move on. You place a “Business for Sale” advertisement in the Internet classifieds, and the next day an eager – overly eager – buyer approaches you with a deal that seems too good to be true. The buyer offers full price and wants to structure the deal as a stock sale. A stock sale means the buyer will get the entire business, including all its assets (cash, checking accounts, receivables, inventory, and so on) at closing. The buyer doesn’t ask tough questions about the firm and seems in a hurry to close the sale. He or she offers a 10% down payment and says the full balance will be paid off within a year.
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On December 23, 2011, Congress finally approved a two-month extension of the payroll tax cut for American workers. The agreement was reached after weeks of partisan bickering. Though both Democrats and Republicans wanted a one-year extension of the tax cut, they could not agree on how to pay for a year-long extension and settled on a paid-for two-month extension.
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On November 21, 2011, President Obama signed the Three Percent Withholding Repeal and Job Creation Act into law. This new law repeals three percent withholding on certain payments to government contractors. The law, H.R. 674, was amended to include the Vow to Hire Heroes Act which provides tax credits to employers who hire unemployed veterans.
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News of yet another investment scam is alarming enough, but when the victim is elderly, the crime seems especially offensive. Senior citizens are a favorite target of con artists for a variety of reasons. Here are some popular schemes to look out for.
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June 15, 2011, is the due date for making your second installment of 2011 individual estimated tax. Your check to the United States Treasury should be accompanied by Form 1040-ES. June 15 is also the due date for calendar-year corporations to make their second quarter 2011 estimated tax payment.
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There's good news if you’re concerned about estate taxes. For the next two years (2011 and 2012), the value of your estate that’s excluded from tax is set at $5 million. And the top rate on taxable estates is 35%.
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This year the deadline for filing various tax returns normally due on April 15 is being changed to April 18, 2011. The reason? Washington, D.C. is observing its Emancipation Day holiday on Friday, April 15, and though that’s not a national (more…)

This year a tax advantaged health account (such as a flexible spending account, health reimbursement account, health savings account, or medical savings account) can be used to purchase aspirin, flu medications, allergy pills, cold medicines, and other over-the-counter medications.

Effective January 1, 2011, funds from these accounts (more…)

Thank you for selecting our firm for your tax and accounting needs. We appreciate the confidence you have shown in us, and we remain ready to assist you at any time. Also, thank you for recommending us to your family, friends, and associates. We appreciate your referrals. Warmest wishes for a happy holiday season and a prosperous new year.

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If you are a small business owner who thought all the best tax breaks were behind you, think again. The recently passed Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 restores many familiar tax perks and adds a few new ones.

The new law extends the first-year 50% bonus depreciation rule that expired last year, and makes it retroactive to include qualified new equipment purchases made any time in 2010. Congress also expanded the Section 179 business expensing provision to allow a deduction of up to $500,000 for purchases of new or used equipment in 2010 and 2011. The previous limit was $250,000. What’s more, under the old rule, the deduction was reduced for companies with annual equipment purchases above $800,000. Now the threshold has been raised to $2 million.
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