If your Maine-based small business is considering acquiring another company, you probably realize the importance of hiring an expert in due diligence and valuation. Unless you’re well-versed in performing a comprehensive financial analysis of a business, it doesn’t make sense to buy one without using a specialist. A due diligence report does three critical things:  Continue Reading »

For partnerships and limited liability companies (LLCs) that are treated as partnerships for tax purposes, legislation enacted in 2015 established a new IRS audit regime. To help partners prepare for the changes that are effective starting with the 2018 tax year, here’s a comparison between the old and new partnership audit rules, along with a summary  Continue Reading »

The ultimate indicator of how well a small business is performing is how much the company is worth. Any benchmarking system should include fair market value as one of its primary metrics. With public companies, it’s easy to monitor this metric by tracking share prices and market capitalizations on public stock exchanges. And while it’s not  Continue Reading »

Cavallaro v. Commissioner, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 20713 (Nov. 18, 2016) (Cavallaro II) In 2014, taxpayers who had relied on estate planning professionals to affect the transfer of their family business to their sons confronted a tax liability on a $29.6 million gift. A decision from the appeals court, however, offers them a glimmer of  Continue Reading »

Over the last two years the IRS and state tax authorities have made significant strides in curbing individual identity theft. But cyberattacks against businesses are on the upswing. Here are some simple ways business taxpayers can help protect their data from hackers. Trends in ID Theft The IRS recently announced that the number of individuals reporting identity theft in the  Continue Reading »

Things have been going well for your Maine-based small business, and you are considering joining forces with another business for the benefit of both of you. This can be the most efficient way to grow, as long as you plan carefully. Often the reason for failed mergers and acquisitions is management problems, not market conditions.  Continue Reading »

Under the federal tax code, there’s a fine line between businesses and hobbies. You may think of that unincorporated sideline activity you engage in an— such as a marketing director by day and an artist on the nights and weekends —as a business and hope to deduct any losses on your personal tax return. But  Continue Reading »

Starting up a small business in Maine and wondering about how tax deductions will be handled? It’s very important to remember that most expenses incurred before a business begins functioning cannot be deducted or amortized until the year when the business does become active. The Basics of Business Expenses Section 162 of the Internal Revenue  Continue Reading »

Historic performance does not directly determine the value of a business. Instead, investors are more interested in the future economic benefits the business will generate. Past performance is only relevant to the extent that it demonstrates trends and is expected to continue going forward. This forward-looking approach applies whether an appraiser uses the cost, market  Continue Reading »

Small business owners and executives would be smart to obtain business interruption insurance, and possibly contingent business income. The idea is that the policy will compensate the company for lost earnings if a devastating event forces it to temporarily stop operating. However, the calculations and details of business interruption coverage is quite complicated and mounds  Continue Reading »