While the IRS’s own figures reveal that, in general, only one or two percent of all taxpayers actually have their returns audited each year, the threat of an audit continues to strike fear into every pond professional. That fear has increased dramatically with the IRS’s reported plans to hire additional workers.. The Inflation Reduction Act …
Payroll, typically the biggest expense of any business in the pond and water feature industry, has come a long way since first taxed in 1913. The 16th Amendment to the Constitution gives Congress the “power to lay and collect taxes on incomes.” The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 established the minimum wage, overtime, recordkeeping …
The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) has been a godsend for many pond business owners. Both the original draw in April 2020 and the recently announced second draw in January 2021 were aimed at helping small businesses keep workers on the payroll and pay other bills during the pandemic. There was some initial confusion about turning …
Paycheck Protection Program Tips for Pond Businesses Read More »
It is no surprise that many pond professionals fail to understand the tax ramifications of disposing of business property. Under our current rules, which are often confusing and complex, there are numerous ways to dispose of business assets: selling them, scrapping them, exchanging them for another business asset, or even giving them away, just to …
Tax Implications of Disposing of Business Property Read More »
It happened again! A few months ago, you had your annual meeting with your CPA, and you heard the same old story. “You had a great year. Your net profit was $88,000! Now it’s time to pay taxes on it. Wow, that made you feel really good, until the whiplash of looking at your checkbook …
Carrying Debt Steals Your Profit & Increases Your Taxes Read More »
Employers have long preferred to treat workers as independent contractors, reaping payroll tax savings and avoiding any fringe benefits and other expenses associated with employees. By the same token, workers — including the owners of many pond and water feature businesses — could potentially lower their own tax bills by shifting from being an employee …
Tax Implications of Hiring Independent Contractors Read More »
Pass-through business entities, garden pond professionals operating as partnerships, limited liability companies (LLCs), S corporations and sole proprietorships have long been extremely popular. In fact, one form of pass-through business entity, the S corporation, is currently the most used business entity. LLCs are also frequently chosen for pass-through income purposes. Unfortunately, thanks to the recently …
Changes in Pass-Through Income Tax: How Do They Effect You? Read More »
Since 2010, small-business owners have seen a significant uptick in reasonable compensation challenges, as the IRS has increasingly trained its tax examiners to examine payroll tax issues — among them, reasonable compensation. After all, the payment of a salary in excess of what the IRS considers “reasonable,” the payment of personal expenses by the business, …
Small-Business Tax Tips: Reasonable Compensation Read More »