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Conduct a “Paycheck Checkup” to Make Sure Your Withholding is Adequate
Did you recently file your federal tax return and were surprised to find you owed money? You might want to change your withholding so that this doesn’t happen next year. You might even want to do that if you got a big refund. Receiving a tax refund essentially means you’re giving the government an interest-free…
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Take Advantage of a “Stepped-Up Basis” When You Inherit Property
If you’re planning your estate, or you’ve recently inherited assets, you may be unsure of the “cost” (or “basis”) for tax purposes. Fair market value rules Under the fair market value basis rules (also known as the “step-up and step-down” rules), an heir receives a basis in inherited property equal to its date-of-death value. So,…
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Are Scholarships Tax-Free or Taxable?
COVID-19 is changing the landscape for many schools this fall. But many children and young adults are going back, even if it’s just for online learning, and some parents will be facing tuition bills. If your child has been awarded a scholarship, that’s cause for celebration! But be aware that there may be tax implications.…
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6 Key IT Questions to Ask in the New Normal
The sudden shutdown of the economy in March because of the COVID-19 pandemic forced many businesses to rely more heavily on technology. Some companies fared better than others. Many businesses that had been taking an informal approach to IT strategy discovered their systems weren’t as robust and scalable as they’d hoped. Some may have lost…
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Reopening Concepts: What Business Wwners Should Consider
A widely circulated article about the COVID-19 pandemic, written by author Tomas Pueyo in March, described efforts to cope with the crisis as “the hammer and the dance.” The hammer was the abrupt shutdown of most businesses and institutions; the dance is the slow reopening of them — figuratively tiptoeing out to see whether day-to-day…
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Does Your Business Have a Unique Selling Proposition?
Many business owners — particularly those who own smaller companies — spend so much time trying to eliminate weaknesses that they never fully capitalize on their strengths. One way to do so is to identify and explicate your unique selling proposition (USP). Give it some thought In a nutshell, a USP states why customers should…
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Main Street Lending Program Now Open to Nonprofit Applicants
Last week, the Federal Reserve announced that not-for-profit organizations now may apply for loans under the $600 billion Main Street Lending Program. Previously open only to for-profit businesses with more than 100 employees, the program offers low-interest loans with relatively relaxed repayment terms. If your organization needs funding to keep operating during this difficult period, a…
