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Returning Value Blog

It's Time for Your Small Business to Think About Year-End Tax Planning

Posted by Lesley L. Price, CPA on Sep 11, 2024

With Labor Day in the rearview mirror, it’s time to take proactive steps that may help lower your small business’s taxes for this year and next. The strategy of deferring income and accelerating deductions to minimize taxes can be effective for most businesses, as is the approach of bunching deductible expenses into this year or next to maximize their tax value.

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Posted in Business Advisory, Business Tax

Reasons an LLC Might Be the Ideal Choice for Your Small Business

Posted by Jessica L. Pagan, CPA on Sep 10, 2024

Choosing the right business entity is a key decision for any business. The entity you pick can affect your tax bill, your personal liability, and other issues. For many businesses, a limited liability company (LLC) is an attractive choice. It can be structured to resemble a corporation for owner liability purposes and a partnership for federal tax purposes. This duality may provide the owners with several benefits.

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Posted in Business Advisory

Understanding Taxes on Real Estate Gains

Posted by Lesley L. Price, CPA on Aug 28, 2024

Let’s say you own real estate that has been held for more than one year and is sold for a taxable gain. Perhaps this gain comes from indirect ownership of real estate via a pass-through entity such as an LLC, partnership, or S corporation. You may expect to pay Uncle Sam the standard 15% or 20% federal income tax rate that usually applies to long-term capital gains from assets held for more than one year.

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Posted in Individual Tax

Compliant Background Checks

Posted by Amber Cochran on Aug 13, 2024

According to the National Association of Background Screeners, 95% of U.S. employers use background checks when hiring employees. Background checks cannot look at medical history or genetic information, but they are legal for assessing a person's work history, education, criminal record, financial history, or social media use.

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Posted in Payroll, HR & Benefits

Take Charge of Working Capital Management

Posted by Jessica L. Pagan, CPA on Aug 12, 2024

Proactive working capital management is essential to successful business operations. However, on average, businesses aren’t managing their working capital as efficiently as they have in the past, according to a new study by The Hackett Group, a digital transformation and AI strategy consulting firm.

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Posted in Business Advisory

Review Real-Time Data With Flash Reports

Posted by Aaron K. Waller, CPA on Aug 08, 2024

It usually takes between two and six weeks for management to prepare financial statements that comply with the accounting rules. The process takes longer if an outside accountant reviews or audits your reports. Timely information is critical to making informed business decisions and pivoting as needed if results fall short of expectations. That’s why proactive managers often turn to flash reports for more timely insights.

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Posted in Business Advisory

Will Outsourcing Your Accounting Impact Your Business Operations

Posted by Murry Guy, CPA on Aug 07, 2024

C-level executives today face crucial accounting and finance challenges, including the ongoing shortage of accounting professionals, the struggle to keep up with technology (including AI), and the generally inflationary cost environment. While it may be tempting to view the finance and accounting (F&A) function as an overhead expense to be managed, this approach severely underestimates the F&A function’s strategic impact on business operations. Outsourcing can play a critical role in optimizing the performance and cost of the F&A function, especially when its use is tailored to the company’s specific needs.

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Posted in Accounting & Outsourcing

The Possible Tax Landscape for Businesses in the Future

Posted by Lesley L. Price, CPA on Aug 06, 2024

Get ready: The upcoming presidential and congressional elections may significantly alter the tax landscape for businesses in the United States. The reason has to do with a tax law that’s scheduled to expire in about 17 months and how politicians in Washington would like to handle it.

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Posted in Business Tax

What Are AUP Engagements - and Does Your Business Need One?

Posted by Melissa Motley, CPA on Aug 02, 2024

In certain circumstances, businesses may need to hire CPAs to perform agreed-upon procedures (AUPs) instead of (or in addition to) a review or an audit. AUPs are a type of attestation engagement “in which a practitioner performs specific procedures on the subject matter and reports the findings without providing an opinion or conclusion,” according to the standards set forth by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

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Posted in Audit & Assurance

Closing a Business Involves a Number of Tax Responsibilities.

Posted by Nick Wheeler, CPA on Aug 01, 2024

While many facets of the economy have improved this year, the rising cost of living and other economic factors have caused many businesses to close their doors. If this is your situation, we can help you, including taking care of various tax responsibilities.

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Posted in Business Tax

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