Returning Value Blog

Understanding the Challenge

“When should I begin to collect Social Security benefits?”

It’s a question we hear often—and that’s understandable. People who are nearing the retirement age face this very difficult decision, and the actions they take can have profound implications.

Although you may have spent years building up a successful enterprise, your family may be forced to sell it soon after your death to pay the federal estate-tax bill. The full amount of estate tax is due nine months after an individual’s death. Fortunately, there is some tax relief for a family that inherits a small business.

Although summer is traditionally the time for rest and relaxation, you can still “work on” your 2016 tax bill. What’s more, special tax incentives for individuals and small-business owners have been restored by the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes (PATH) Act of 2015. Here are seven popular tax-saving ideas.

Machen McChesney, LLP is honored to have been chosen again as a winner of the 2016 When Work Works Award.  This award is presented to companies for use of effective workplace strategies that increase business and employee success.

What to Look For

When was the last time you checked the beneficiaries you selected for your qualified retirement plan or IRA? Chances are that the choices you made when you initiated the account may no longer be appropriate. Anyone with funds in one or both of these accounts should have at least one beneficiary listed should anything happen to the owner.

Important planning tool for business owners

A buy–sell agreement can be critical to a business owner intending to sell the business interest or needing to accommodate other changes within the organization. Typically, it can help ease a transition in leadership to the younger generation. 

Divide interest into these categories

Are interest expenses deductible? The answer is a complicated “yes and no.” Essentially, it depends on the type of interest expense incurred. Although there are technically other types, interest expenses can be lumped into four main baskets for tax purposes. 

As employers have increasingly turned to high-deductible healthcare plans to offset sharp increases in employees’ healthcare plan costs, some employees have taken advantage of available Health Savings Accounts (HSA) as a way to manage these high deductions. Similar to an IRA, employees contribute a certain percentage of their pay through pre-tax deductions that accumulate tax-free until the money is spent on approved medical costs.