After Tax Day: What Smart Contractors Fix Immediately April 15 brings relief for many contractors when it comes to taxes. The returns are filed, paperwork is complete, and tax season is finally behind you. However, for contractors who want stronger…
How to Start the Year With Clean Books, Real Job Margins, and No Tax Surprises January is the most effective time of year for contractors to review and reset their financial systems. At this point, the prior year has closed,…
Do you have employees working in multiple states? Employees who are working in multiple states create two key issues: Which state(s) should your business withhold taxes for those employees? Which state should your business pay the unemployment taxes? In general,…
Consequence of Ignoring an IRS Tax Notice In a court case ruling earlier this year, the IRS claimed a part-time bookkeeper who had none of the following: No company ownership. Not an officer of the company. No check-signing authority on…
Triple Tax-Advantages of Health Savings Account The Health Savings Account (HSA) is a tax-advantaged medical savings account if you have a high deductible health plan. Like an IRA (Individual Retirement Account) or 401(k) retirement accounts, annual contributions are made until…
How much of your Home Internet is Deductible? If you do some work at home for your business, you are more than likely using your home internet connection. Ideally, you should keep track of how much time you use your…
Cash Flow Effect on Delayed Payments With any construction project, it is assumed changes and delays will happen. Contractors must protect their positive cash flow by diligently complying with the contract terms. When changes occur, are the changes covered by…
Include your Indirect Costs for Potential Projects When calculating your desired markup for estimating potential projects, ensure you are including indirect costs. Some people believe indirect costs and general and administrative costs are the same: they are not the same.…
Handling Unreimbursed Partner Expenses As a partner in a partnership, you cannot deduct any of the partnership expenses on your individual tax return—the partnership should pay for and deduct its own business expenses. But if your partnership agreement or business…
Staying with family and/or friends while on a business trip is allowed if you follow all three of these rules: Rule 1: Family and friends may rent a room or entire house/apartment for no more than 14 days during a…
