Returning Value Blog

If you have been able to build up a sizable fund in a 401(k) or other qualified retirement plan, you have a good head start on a nest egg for retirement. Sometimes, however, extenuating circumstances may force you to tap into your account prematurely. Specifically, you might apply for a “hardship distribution” when the plan permits it. Although you may decide this is your best option, consider all the implications.

More nonprofits are waking up. From stringent regulations and government scrutiny around tax-exempt status and grant compliance to increasingly intense competition for funds, organizations of all shapes and sizes are realizing the need to implement strong measurement and monitoring programs.

As a business owner looking to increase deductions for your own retirement savings, a cash balance retirement plan could be for you. In order to participate in a cash balance plan, you must meet the following criteria: 

• Profitable business with disposable cash flow
• Small or younger workforce, or workforce with a generous current retirement plan
• Older owners that are active in the business

Enacted in 2004, the American Jobs Creation Act included a tax relief provision for domestic manufacturers with the intent of stimulating manufacturing activity in the U.S.

Millennials – those born roughly between 1980 and 2000 – are changing the face of retail.

They have a combined purchasing power of $2.45 trillion worldwide – $600 billion in the U.S. – and they account for almost a third of all retail sales.

Their influence is only going to grow – by 2025, they will comprise 75 percent of the workforce.

In the past, it was difficult to qualify for medical expense deductions. Now, some pundits would say that it is “nearly impossible.” Based on tax law changes that took effect in 2013, most taxpayers can deduct only unreimbursed expenses in excess of 10% of their adjusted gross income (AGI), up from 7.5% of AGI under prior law. For taxpayers who are aged 65 or older, the threshold remains at 7.5% of AGI, but only through 2016.

If you are trying to sell appreciated commercial real estate in today’s market, you may have to compromise. For instance, if you refuse to budge on price, you might have to make other reasonable concessions, such as agreeing to an installment sale for a buyer with limited liquidity. As the name implies, the buyer pays you in a series of installments instead of providing all the cash up front.

This could actually be beneficial from a tax perspective if payments are made over two years or more. In that case, not only do you defer some of the tax due on the appreciation in value, but you may reduce your tax liability.

The summer is not just the season for recreation and relaxation. It can also be the time to reduce your 2015 tax liability. Here are eight prime examples for individuals and small-business owners:

The FASB issued an exposure draft proposing a one-year delay of the effective date for the new revenue recognition standard that it issued jointly with the IASB in 2014. Under the proposed amendments, the revenue recognition standard would take effect in 2018 for calendar year-end public entities. It would take effect for private entities in 2019.