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Turning Home Into Rental
What You Need to Know Before Turning Your Home Into a Rental 850 500 smolinlupinco

What You Need to Know Before Turning Your Home Into a Rental

A great option for homebuyers can be to live in their new home and then turn their old house into a rental. As of March 2024, the Zumper National Rent Report found that average monthly rents for one- and two-bedroom apartments rose from $1,487 to $1,847. Of course, this varies depending on the part of…

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Tax Favored Retirement Plans
Tax-Favored Retirement Plan Options for Business Owners 850 500 smolinlupinco

Tax-Favored Retirement Plan Options for Business Owners

Does your business have a retirement plan? If not, it might be the right time to get one. Right now, retirement plan rules allow for significant tax-deductible contributions. If you’re self-employed and set up a SEP-IRA, for example, you could contribute up to 20% of your self-employment earnings with a maximum contribution of $69,000. (That’s…

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Could a Contrary Approach with Income and Deductions Benefit Your Business Tax Rates
Could a Contrary Approach with Income and Deductions Benefit Your Business? 850 500 smolinlupinco

Could a Contrary Approach with Income and Deductions Benefit Your Business?

Businesses typically want to delay the recognition of taxable income into future years and accelerate deductions into the current year. But when is it wise to do the opposite? And why would you want to? There are two main reasons why you might take this unusual approach:  You anticipate tax law changes that raise tax…

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21 Estate Planning Terms You Need to Know
21 Estate Planning Terms You Need to Know 850 500 smolinlupinco

21 Estate Planning Terms You Need to Know

Whether you’re making your first estate plan or need to update an existing one, it helps to speak the language. While most people are familiar with common terms like “trust” or “will,” the meanings of other estate planning terms may feel less clear.  Keep this glossary of key terms handy to help you navigate the…

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Answers to 3 Common Questions After Filing Your Tax Return
Answers to 3 Common Questions After Filing Your Tax Return 850 500 smolinlupinco

Answers to 3 Common Questions After Filing Your Tax Return

The 2023 federal tax filing deadline has come and gone. (Unless, of course, you filed for an extension until October 15.) Whether you’ve already filed or you’re still working on your return, you might have some questions once it’s been filed. Let’s take a look at three of the most common ones. 1. When can…

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How WIP is Audited
How Work In Progress (WIP) is Audited  850 500 smolinlupinco

How Work In Progress (WIP) is Audited 

During fieldwork, external auditors dedicate many hours to evaluating the way businesses report work-in-progress (WIP) inventory. Why is this so important? And how do auditors decide whether WIP estimates are realistic and reasonable?  Determining the value of WIP  Depending on the nature of their operations, companies may report a variety of categories of inventory on…

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Retirement Account Required Minimum Distribution (RDM) Laws Are Evolving
Retirement Account Required Minimum Distribution (RDM) Laws Are Evolving 850 500 smolinlupinco

Retirement Account Required Minimum Distribution (RDM) Laws Are Evolving

Do you have a tax-favored retirement account, such as a traditional IRA? If so, that account will be subject to the federal income tax required minimum distribution (RMD) rules once you reach a certain age. (This applies even if you acquired the tax-favored retirement via an inheritance.) These rules mean you’ll have to: A) Make…

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2024 Q2 Tax Deadlines for Businesses and Employers
Key 2024 Q2 Tax Deadlines for Businesses and Employers 850 500 smolinlupinco

Key 2024 Q2 Tax Deadlines for Businesses and Employers

The second quarter of 2024 has arrived! If you’re a business owner or other employer, add these tax-related deadlines to your calendar.  April 15 Calendar-year corporations: File a 2023 income tax return (Form 1120) or file for an automatic six-month extension (Form 7004) and pay any tax due. Corporations: Pay the first installment of estimated…

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Ensuring Transparency When Using Non-GAAP Metrics to Prepare Financial Statements
Ensuring Transparency When Using non-GAAP Metrics to Prepare Financial Statements 850 500 smolinlupinco

Ensuring Transparency When Using non-GAAP Metrics to Prepare Financial Statements

Mind the GAAP! Staff from the Securities and Exchange (SEC) commission expressed concerns at last November’s Financial Executives International’s Corporate Financial Reporting Insights Conference about the use of financial metrics that don’t conform to U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). According to Lindsay McCord, chief accountant of the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance, many companies…

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Can Social Security Benefits Be Taxed?
Can Your Social Security Benefits Be Taxed? 850 500 smolinlupinco

Can Your Social Security Benefits Be Taxed?

Did you know that Social Security benefits can be federally taxed? It’s true. Depending on your income, up to 85% of your benefits could be impacted by federal income tax. Understanding provisional income How do you determine the amount of Social Security benefits to report as taxable income? That depends on your “provisional income.” To…

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Read This Before Listing Your Property as a Vacation Rental
Read This Before Listing Your Property as a Vacation Rental 850 500 smolinlupinco

Read This Before Listing Your Property as a Vacation Rental

Whether you own a lakefront cottage, vacation beach home, or ski chalet, renting out your property for part of the year can have significant tax impacts. Here’s what you need to know. Your level of personal use impacts your taxes The number of days the property is rented has a direct impact on your taxes.…

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Estate Planning Don’t Forget the Generation-Skipping Transfer (GST) Tax
Estate Planning? Don’t Forget the Generation-Skipping Transfer (GST) Tax 850 500 smolinlupinco

Estate Planning? Don’t Forget the Generation-Skipping Transfer (GST) Tax

Would you like to include grandchildren, great grandchildren, or nonrelatives who are significantly younger than you in your estate plan? If so, you’ve got more to consider than gift and estate taxes. The generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax may also apply. GST Tax Basics One of the harshest taxes in the Internal Revenue Code, the GST…

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