Tax Tips

Leasing Assets to Your Corp: A simple strategy

A business doesn’t have to own all its operating assets. Leasing your personally owned property, such as a building, vehicle, or equipment, to your incorporated business may be a good tax-savings strategy. Similarly, another corporation, a partnership, or a family business in which you have an ownership interest may lease assets to your corporation. In […]

Tax-Planning Tips

• Up to $2,500 of interest you paid on a student loan is deductible if your income is below $65,000 if single ($135,000 for joint filers). • Beginning in 2019, the penalty under the Affordable Care Act for failing to have minimum essential health care coverage is suspended. • In 2018, the estate and gift […]

Employee or Independent Contractor?

It isn’t easy deciding whether a worker should be treated as an employee or an independent contractor. But the IRS looks at the distinction closely. Tax Obligations For an employee, a business generally must withhold income and FICA (Social Security and Medicare) taxes from the employee’s pay and remit those taxes to the government. Additionally, […]

Business Owners Beware: Scammers Are After Your Data

For years, we have heard stories about how identity thieves hack into computers and steal personal information. We have been assaulted with phishing scams where thieves impersonate IRS employees and intimidate innocent taxpayers into paying large sums of money for taxes they don’t owe. No one is immune to this threat. Individuals in all 50 […]

An Age To Remember: Quick Tips

Knowing key tax birthdays can help trim your annual tax bills. Below are some ages worth noting. Age 0 If your child is born during the year, even as late as 11:59 p.m. on December 31, you can claim a dependency exemption for your child. This comes with one catch. You need to file for […]

January 2018 updates

* Gross Receipts Tax rates increased for all of Santa Fe County. > See the new rates here * Albuquerque minimum wage increases to $8.95 effective 1/1/2018 ($7.95 if employer provides healthcare, $5.35 for tipped employees), details here. Santa Fe’s minimum wage remains at $11.09 until further notice. * Also effective 1/1/2018, the standard mileage rates for the […]

Automobile Expenses: Deduct Standard Mileage Rate or Claim Actual Expenses?

With the standard mileage at 53.5 cents per mile for 2017, it might be time to revisit what yields the more substantial deduction: the standard mileage rate for each business mile, or your actual car expenses. If this is the first year you have business use of an automobile, you don’t have to decide which […]

Employer Identification Number: When Do You Need One?

There are several instances when you would need to apply for a federal employer identification number (EIN). The most common instance is when you are operating a business and you have employees. If you are operating a sole proprietorship and you do not have any employees, your social security number is typically all you need. […]

Preparing for Your Tax Appointment: Get Organized, Save Time

Tax time seems to come around sooner each year, and if you’re like most people, you make a vow to be better prepared for next year. Well next year is here, and it’s time to gather together all those tax records you’ve been saving. You can help your preparer by sorting through your papers and […]

Working With Your Spouse: Is Your Spouse Your Employee?

One of the advantages of operating your own business is hiring family members. However, the employment tax requirements for family employees can vary from those that apply to other employees. There are a couple of different ways a married couple can operate a business together. If you operate a sole proprietorship and you hire your […]