Congratulations to partner Jeffrey Urbach, who has earned a Certificate of Excellence by the National Association of Certified Valuators and Analysts (NACVA) as the 2011 Instructor of Exceptional Distinction. Jeff, a Certified Valuation Analyst, generously shares his expertise and wisdom as a regular lecturer for NACVA, greatly enriching all those privileged to hear him. Jeff is accredited in Business Valuation. His specialty is the business valuation of medical and dental practices, law offices and other professional practices.
Taxes
Employee Vs. Independent Contractor Status is Focus of New IRS Template
Should you be classified as an employee or independent contractor? This is an issue that has drawn a lot of attention from the IRS lately, as more employers have been trying to cut costs and classify employees as independent contractors thereby avoiding thepayroll taxes. To clarify how one determines his or her status the IRS has released Publication 1779, which looks at three areas: behavioral control, financial control, and the relationship of the parties to determine worker classification.
To view the template, click here: Employee Vs Independent Contractor Status
Supporting a Relative? You May be Entitled to Tax Breaks
Supporting your financially distressed relative is a commendable act that can also result in significant tax savings. If the recipient meets all of the criteria required to be deemed a “qualified relative”, you can benefit in several ways. First of all, the qualified relative can be claimed as a dependent and you can therefore take his personal exemption ($3,750 in 2011) on your return. Another benefit is that you can add his medical expenses to yours for the medical expense itemized deduction. This is especially important for those whose medical expenses do not exceed the 7.5% of AGI (Adjusted Gross Income) minimum threshold to deduct medical expenses. Even if you don’t itemize, you can still benefit by filing as head of household instead of as single, resulting in a much greater standard deduction (in 2011 the standard deduction was $5,800 for single and $8,500 for head of household). The criteria to be a “qualified relative” are as follows: [Read more…] about Supporting a Relative? You May be Entitled to Tax Breaks
Got An IRA? Here’s a Tip That Can Save You NJ Income Taxes
IRA Distributions: Federal VS NJ
Contributing to a traditional IRA reduces your federal income and, as a result, when you take a distribution down the road it’s fully taxable. While the distribution is fully taxed on the federal level because of this previous tax benefit, what many overlook is the fact that the distribution is not necessarily fully taxable to New Jersey. When the contributions to the traditional IRA were made, they were not deductible for NJ. [Read more…] about Got An IRA? Here’s a Tip That Can Save You NJ Income Taxes
Have an Office Outside the Home? You Can Still Deduct Home Office Expenses
You may have heard that your home office expenses may not be deducted if you already have an office outside the home. This is a common misconception. While it is important to carefully examine the language of the Tax Code, in most instances it is perfectly permissible. IRS publication 463 states, “You can have more than one business location, including your home, for a trade or business.” Sounds good, but what qualifies as an administrative office for your business? The IRS in publication 587 says: “Your home office will qualify as your principal place of business for deducting expenses for its use if you meet the following requirements: [Read more…] about Have an Office Outside the Home? You Can Still Deduct Home Office Expenses
Three Common IRS Audit Red Flags You Can Avoid
No one likes to get audited. It probably ranks somewhere between a root canal and having your e-mail account hacked on the misery scale. While only about 1% of all individual tax returns are selected, certain factors can bring your return under the IRS radar. Some may be unavoidable, such as the nature of your business, but here are a few red flags you can avoid: [Read more…] about Three Common IRS Audit Red Flags You Can Avoid