Author Archives: Paul McCann

4 Ways to Navigate the Coming Recession

surfer

The financial media are in a tizzy. The latest predictors are showing the US economy may be headed for a recession.  After ten long years of economic expansion it looks like the party is coming to an end. As a business owner, this impacts you in a very real way.  As a leader whose job it is to care for those who work for you, the thought of a reduction in work and the potential of layoffs is miserable. Considering you know the names of the family members rely […]

Four Facts About S-Corporation Distributions

sedona

Your LLC is up and running. You’ve figured out the benefits to being taxed as an S-corporation and have placed yourself on the payroll. Not to be unreasonable, you took steps to make sure your salary would be acceptable to the IRS should they choose to review it. Now that your company is profitable, how do you get that profit into your pocket without creating tax headaches?Here are four facts you need to know about distributions from an S-corporation. 1. &nb […]

Is Cloud Accounting More Expensive?

cloud

The shift in recent years in software has been from a product to a service; one-time license to a monthly subscription.  Software companies learned that if you sell software as a product to a client, they will use it until they absolutely cannot use it anymore thereby limiting the revenue of that license. With the advent of the “cloud”, the subscription model of accounting has given software companies the ability to host, allow and limit access to the software and da […]

What is Use Tax Anyway?

Learning about taxes your business needs to pay is exhausting.  From the employer’s portion of FICA, federal unemployment, state unemployment, sales tax as well as the other requirements parallel to taxes like annual filing fees, licenses and workman’s compensation, owners’ eyes glaze over as they weigh the complexities and time requirements of tax compliance.​When you look at these taxes in the aggregate, they act like opportunistic mosquitos slowly pricking […]

Are Meals Still Deductible?

It’s a beautiful day.  The birds are chirping, the sun is shining and you are meeting a client at a restaurant. Not just any restaurant, mind you, but a nice one. This one has high ratings, exceptional service and four “$”s next to it on Yelp.Yes, its good to be in business so you can live like a king.  Getting the business to pay for your meal is genius. But then you vaguely remember the talking heads on cable television discussing a tax law cha […]

The IRS Tattletale Program

No one ever likes it whether on the playground or in the mafia movie. Nothing good happens to these people. In the movies, as soon as you see it, you know the character is doomed. They get a reputation as someone who can’t be trusted at best and “swim with the fishes” at worst.Rat. Nark. Snitch. Tattletale.​Regardless of the context the terms are never positive.  These shifty eyed people are always watching their backs and covering the […]

Do I Need to Pay Estimated Taxes?

Congratulations! Your company is established and thriving.  ​After the long years of studying, working and building your business, in addition to your salary, your business is now providing distributions and income as a fruit of your investment.  Because you have set a reasonable compensation plan as well, your business is creating ROI on your labor, meaning the owner (you) is profiting on the employees’ labor.Chances are good, now you will need to pay quarterly esti […]

Can I Deduct Business Expenses Made With My Personal Rewards Card?

It has taken you years to progress through the rewards channel.  When you remember the flights before preferred seating, being the last passenger to be called onto the packed airplane you shutter in horror of returning to that level of incivility.  The overhead storage was packed leaving no option but to gate check your bag or worse, have it thrown in with all the other luggage to be lost upon arriving at your final destination.  (And you know what its like to go without a […]

What is Basis?

Every profession has them.  Names, words, jargon or acronyms that only people in the profession use.  The words are designed for insiders to communicate with insiders.  The mere mention of the words keeps outsiders at bay.Tax accounting has more than a few.  Amortization, bonus deprecation, MACRS, any phrase containing the word “section” and of course, the word “basis”. ​The insider jargon makes accounting all but impossible to unders […]