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.
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.
Posted in Individual Tax Planning
The Protecting Americans From Tax Hikes Act of 2015 (the Act), which was signed by the president on Dec. 18, 2015, contains many provisions that directly affect tax‑exempt organizations. Many recent tax provisions have been so-called “extenders,” which required passage of legislation annually in order for them to continue to remain in effect. These were typically passed at year-end for the applicable year, making planning for such provisions impossible. Now, the year-end panic is over, as the Act makes many of these provisions permanent.
Posted in Not For Profit
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.
Posted in Business Advisory
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.
Posted in Individual Tax Planning
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.
Posted in Tax Planning
Understand and realize the key differences
Don’t be fooled into thinking that cash flow and profit are the same thing. In fact, there are major differences. Cash flow is dynamic and moves daily, while profit is a snapshot of income and expenses at a specific point in time. Understanding this comparison, and acting upon it, can be significant for a small-business operation.
Posted in Business Advisory
The Research Credit Is Back for Good
Like Arnold Schwarzenegger’s character in The Terminator, the research credit is back. This valuable tax break, which had officially expired and been restored more than a dozen times in the past, was extended again by the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes (PATH) Act, retroactive to the beginning of 2015. What’s more, the credit has been made permanent, with certain modifications, by the new PATH Act.
Posted in Tax Planning
By leveraging our membership in BDO Alliance USA, Machen McChesney can offer greater technical knowledge in specialty areas such as Online Incentives Exchange ("OIX"). BDO is now a member of OIX – an online marketplace for buying, selling, and processing transferable federal and state tax credits. Through its OIX membership, BDO is better able to match buyers and sellers of tax credits, streamline the transfer process, and minimize pricing uncertainty.
Posted in Tax Updates
