Corporate officers or shareholders: How should you treat expenses paid personally?

If you play a major role in a closely held corporation, you may sometimes spend money on corporate expenses personally. These costs may end up being nondeductible both by an officer and the corporation unless the correct steps are taken. This issue is more likely to happen with a financially troubled corporation. What can’t you […]

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Just Married?

It’s a good bet that taxes are the furthest thing from the minds of a newlywed couple. (Unless, that is, one of them is a CPA!) Regardless, sometime after the wedding and honeymoon, it’s important to sit down to review a few tax-related items. Indeed, a change in marital status can precipitate tax implications. For […]

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What happens if I don’t pay?

If a taxpayer fails to pay the IRS following a tax assessment, the agency can take legal action to collect the overdue tax. Options include filing liens and issuing levies to claim and seize the delinquent taxpayer’s property. In one new case, a federal appeals court ruled that the U.S. Tax Court properly sustained the […]

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Receivables: Quality counts

For many companies, a significant line item on the balance sheet is accounts receivable. But can you take the amount reported at face value, or could there be more to the story? It’s important to dig deeper to understand the quality of accounts receivable. Balances might include stale invoices, bad debts — and even fictitious […]

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Did you make a gift?

Taxpayers may want to reduce their taxable estates by making completed gifts during their lifetimes. To be complete, a donor must intend to make the gift and it must be irrevocable (that is, the donor has given up control). A check is revocable until it’s deposited or cashed. In one case, a decedent’s son had […]

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