Remember the New FBAR Filing Deadline
Do you have an interest in — or authority over — a foreign financial account? If so, the IRS wants you to provide information about the account by filing a form called the “Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts” (FBAR).
The annual deadline for filing FBARs has been changed. It now coincides with the tax filing deadlines for individuals, under the Surface Transportation and Veterans Health Care Choice Improvement Act of 2015. So, for accounts held in 2016, you must generally file FBARs by April 18, 2017. (Formerly, the deadline was June 30, excluding weekends and holidays.)
Important note: If you fail to meet the annual FBAR due date, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) will grant an automatic extension to October 15. Accordingly, specific requests for this extension aren’t required.
Manage Assets for Smooth Operations
As manufacturers look for every opportunity to cut costs, one important area to address is equipment downtime. A breakdown, even for just an hour, reverberates through the manufacturing process. It can slow or halt production, leave employees idle and play havoc with just-in-time delivery schedules.
If you’re like some manufacturers, your approach to equipment maintenance and repairs is reactive: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” In contrast, top manufacturers use enterprise asset management and perform predictive maintenance 70 percent of the time on average. In return, they average 96 percent machine availability.
Basic asset management involves electronic gathering and interpreting of data for the purpose of keeping plants humming. It includes making an inventory of all property and equipment, monitoring its use, logging and analyzing maintenance and repairs, setting up maintenance schedules to prevent breakdowns, forecasting when to replace parts and keeping contracts, warranties and service agreements.
10 Important Tax-Related Developments for 2016
Several significant tax developments happened last year that may affect federal income tax returns that individual and business taxpayers file in 2017. Here’s a quick look at 10 key changes that you should be aware of during this tax season.
1. Stand-Alone HRAs
On December 13, 2016 — just over a month before leaving office — President Obama signed the 21st Century Cures Act into law. In addition to funding cutting-edge medical research, this new legislation allows an employer with fewer than 50 employees and no other group health insurance plan to establish Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs) for its employees.
These standalone HRAs aren’t subject to certain penalties and restrictions imposed by the IRS under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Plan ahead: The 21st Century Cures Act applies to plan years beginning after 2016.
Tax Fraud Awareness: How to Protect Your Identity and Assets
The IRS, taxpayers and tax preparers share a common enemy: identity thieves. We all have a part to play in the fight against tax-related identity theft. Your role starts by learning the mechanics and warning signs. From there, taxpayers can take proactive steps to protect their data online and at home.
Understand How Tax Fraud Happens
Dishonest individuals may steal taxpayers’ personal and financial information from sources outside the IRS, such as social media accounts where people tend to share too many details or bogus phishing emails that appear to come from the IRS or a bank. Once they obtain an unsuspecting taxpayer’s data, thieves may use it to file fraudulent federal and state income tax returns, claiming significant refunds.
Paperless e-filing facilitates these scams: Thieves submit returns electronically, based on falsified earnings, and receive refunds via mail or direct deposit. Sure, the IRS maintains records of wages and other types of taxable income reported by employers, but they don’t usually match these records to the information submitted electronically before issuing refund checks. By the time the IRS notifies a victim that it’s received another tax return in his or her name, the thief is long gone and has already cashed the refund check.
Loan Applications: Put Your Best Foot Forward
Need a loan to start or expand your business? Nearly a decade after the financial crisis of 2008, many banks remain hesitant about loaning money to start-ups and small business owners. Stricter lending policies often make applying for financing a nerve-wracking and time-consuming process. Here are some ways to give your loan application a leg up on other applicants.
First, he or she wants to know basic background information. You’ll need to explain your business and how it’s been financed to date. This includes your personal cash infusions, forgone salaries and sweat equity, as well as any equity contributions from friends, family members and outside investors.
Banks generally offer two types of financing: lines of credit and asset-based loans. A line of credit is primarily used to meet working capital fluctuations. It’s generally considered short-term, and banks may expect repayment within the next year. In practice, however, most businesses keep their revolving credit lines open for many years, occasionally drawing and repaying funds based on operating cash flow.
Ten Potential Mistakes to Avoid in Estate Planning
Ten Potential Mistakes to Avoid in Estate Planning
Sometimes people attempt to make an estate plan without consulting legal and financial professionals.
Mostly this is because they may have a general understanding of estate planning and believe
they can do it themselves without paying for professional services. This may be valid to a point, but it often fails because of the detailed knowledge it requires to draft the documents that cover the nuances of their lives.
Everyone is different and a boilerplate form isn’t sufficient. Here is a list of 10 potential mistakes in estate planning that you can help avoid with professional counseling.
Mistake #1: Having an outdated estate plan. Your life and financial circumstances may change and your estate plan should change with them. For instance:
7 Tax-Savvy Ways to Give to Charity
Charitable giving is on the rise. And the momentum is expected to continue, given the natural disasters and human tragedies that have happened in recent months.
Last year, charitable donations reached an all-time high of approximately $373.25 billion, according to Giving USA 2016: The Annual Report on Philanthropy for the Year 2015. This report is published jointly by the Giving USA Foundation, a public-service initiative of The Giving Institute and the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.
Besides fulfilling their philanthropic needs, donors may also benefit from charitable deductions on their personal tax returns. If you’re considering donating to a new cause or a long-standing favorite one, remember that gift-giving may come in many different forms. Here are seven ways you can offer support
FAQs about Social Security Retirement Benefits
For years, people have questioned…
the long-term viability of the Social Security system. In June, the Social Security Board of Trustees released its annual report on the long-term financial status of the Social Security Trust Funds. It projects that the combined asset reserves of the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance and Disability Insurance (OASDI) Trust Funds will become depleted in 2034. Additionally, the Disability Insurance Trust Fund will become depleted in 2023.
More generally, people approaching retirement age often have other questions about benefits they may be eligible to receive from the Social Security Administration (SSA). Here are the answers to several common inquiries.
Avoid Costly Employer Mistakes
Running a business these days is increasingly complex. With employment-related claims and lawsuits on the rise, management must have a basic understanding of numerous federal, state and local laws. Here are three cases that illustrate some employer liability trends.
Case #1. Giving a positive reference could cost millions. This court case, involving reference checks about a drug-addicted physician, reminds employers of the risks of recommending former employees and associates.
Facts of the case: A licensed anesthesiologist was a shareholder in a medical practice, which exclusively provided anesthesia services to a local hospital. After an investigation, the doctor’s partners found he was abusing the drug Demerol. Eventually, the hospital stopped allowing the physician to practice there and the medical practice partners fired him.
When Not-for-Profit Organizations Join Hands
It doesn’t happen often, but sometimes not-for-profit organizations merge or are incorporated into one another. For example, your not-for-profit may be contemplating an acquisition of a smaller organization or perhaps you may be merged into a larger organization. In either event, this represents a significant change for managers both personally and professionally.
What causes not-for-profit organizations to join forces? After all, groups generally start off with a distinct mandate and a commitment from its supporters. Of course, the reasons vary according to actual circumstances, but most mergers and acquisitions in the not-for-profit world can be traced to one of these two reasons:
