Ideas & Insight

If you’re like many Americans, letters from your favorite charities may be appearing in your mailbox acknowledging your donations in 2020. But what happens if you haven’t received such a letter — can you still claim a deduction for the gift on your 2020 income tax return? It depends. What is required To support a […]

Whether you sell directly to the buying public or engage primarily in B2B transactions, building customers’ trust in your website is more important than ever. The events of the past year have taught business owners many important lessons. One of them is that, when a crisis hits, customers turn on their computers and look to […]

On December 27, 2020, The Consolidated Appropriations Act 2021 (CAA) was signed into law. The new law enacted Section 2017 of The Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2020 (TCDTRA 2020). This Act extends the COVID-19 employee retention payroll tax credit to include wages paid during the period January 1, 2021 to June […]

Using a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis to frame an important business decision is a long-standing recommended practice. But don’t overlook other, broader uses that could serve your company well. Performance factors A SWOT analysis starts by spotlighting internal strengths and weaknesses that affect business performance. Strengths are competitive advantages or core competencies […]

A number of tax-related limits that affect businesses are annually indexed for inflation, and many have increased for 2021. Some stayed the same due to low inflation. And the deduction for business meals has doubled for this year after a new law was enacted at the end of 2020. Here’s a rundown of those that […]

Many people are more concerned about their 2020 tax bills right now than they are about their 2021 individual taxes. That’s understandable because your 2020 individual tax return is due to be filed in less than three months (unless you file an extension). However, it’s a good idea to acquaint yourself with tax amounts that […]

This year, the optional standard mileage rate used to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business decreased by one-and-one-half cents, to 56 cents per mile for business miles. As a result, you might claim a lower deduction for vehicle-related expenses for 2021 than you could for 2020 or 2019. This is the […]

Although electric vehicles (or EVs) are a small percentage of the cars on the road today, they’re increasing in popularity all the time. And if you buy an electric vehicle, you may be eligible for a federal tax break. The tax code provides a credit to purchasers of qualifying plug-in electric drive motor vehicles including […]

Over the past year, the importance of leadership at every level of a business has been emphasized. When a crisis such as a pandemic hits, it creates a sort of stress test for not only business owners and executives, but also supervisors of departments and work groups. Multigenerational management is key for communication with employees […]

Many business owners generate financial statements, at least in part, because lenders and other stakeholders demand it. You’re likely also aware of how insightful properly prepared financial statements can be — especially when they follow Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. But how can you best extract these useful insights? One way is to view your financial […]