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Use benchmarking to swim with the big fish
- Feb 16, 2018
- By Dukhon Tax
- In Business
You may keep a wary eye on your competitors, but sometimes it helps to look just a little bit deeper. Even if you’re a big fish in your pond, someone a little bigger may be swimming up just beneath you. Being successful means not just being aware of these competitors, but also knowing their approaches and results. And that’s where…
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Families with college students may save tax on their 2017 returns with one of these breaks
- Feb 14, 2018
- By Dukhon Tax
- In Tax Tips
Whether you had a child in college (or graduate school) last year or were a student yourself, you may be eligible for some valuable tax breaks on your 2017 return. One such break that had expired December 31, 2016, was just extended under the recently passed Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018: the tuition and fees deduction. But a couple of…
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Small business owners: A SEP may give you one last 2017 tax and retirement saving opportunity
- Feb 12, 2018
- By Dukhon Tax
- In Business, Business Taxes
Are you a high-income small-business owner who doesn’t currently have a tax-advantaged retirement plan set up for yourself? A Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) may be just what you need, and now may be a great time to establish one. A SEP has high contribution limits and is simple to set up. Best of all, there’s still time to establish a…
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TCJA temporarily lowers medical expense deduction threshold
- Feb 07, 2018
- By Dukhon Tax
- In Tax Cuts, TCJA
With rising health care costs, claiming whatever tax breaks related to health care that you can is more important than ever. But there’s a threshold for deducting medical expenses that may be hard to meet. Fortunately, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) has temporarily reduced the threshold.
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Claiming bonus depreciation on your 2017 tax return may be particularly beneficial
- Feb 05, 2018
- By Dukhon Tax
- In Tax Tips
With bonus depreciation, a business can recover the costs of depreciable property more quickly by claiming additional first-year depreciation for qualified assets. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), signed into law in December, enhances bonus depreciation. Typically, taking this break is beneficial. But in certain situations, your business might save more tax long-term by skipping it. That said, claiming…
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State and local sales tax deduction remains, but subject to a new limit
- Feb 02, 2018
- By Dukhon Tax
- In Business, Business Taxes, Tax Tips
Individual taxpayers who itemize their deductions can deduct either state and local income taxes or state and local sales taxes. The ability to deduct state and local taxes — including income or sales taxes, as well as property taxes — had been on the tax reform chopping block, but it ultimately survived. However, for 2018 through 2025, the Tax Cuts…
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Business interruption insurance can help some companies
- Jan 31, 2018
- By Dukhon Tax
- In Business
Natural disasters and other calamities can affect any company at any time. Depending on the type of business and its financial stability, a few weeks or months of lost income can leave it struggling to turn a profit indefinitely — or force ownership to sell or close. One way to guard against this predicament is through the purchase of business…
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Light a beacon to your business with a mission statement
- Jan 26, 2018
- By Dukhon Tax
- In Business, Business Taxes
Every company, big or small, should have a mission statement. Why? When carefully conceived and well written, a mission statement can serve as a beacon to the world — letting everyone know what the business stands for and where it’s headed. It can build customer loyalty and mobilize people behind a common cause. And it can define the company’s collective…
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Can you deduct home office expenses?
- Jan 24, 2018
- By Dukhon Tax
- In Business, Business Taxes
Working from home has become commonplace. But just because you have a home office space doesn’t mean you can deduct expenses associated with it. And for 2018, even fewer taxpayers will be eligible for a home office deduction. Changes under the TCJA For employees, home office expenses are a miscellaneous itemized deduction. For 2017, this means you’ll enjoy a tax…
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Meals, entertainment and transportation may cost businesses more under the TCJA
- Jan 22, 2018
- By Dukhon Tax
- In Business Taxes, Tax Deductions, Tax Tips
Along with tax rate reductions and a new deduction for pass-through qualified business income, the new tax law brings the reduction or elimination of tax deductions for certain business expenses. Two expense areas where the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) changes the rules — and not to businesses’ benefit — are meals/entertainment and transportation. In effect, the reduced tax…