Does your business hold on to all of its paper records? Many individuals and businesses hold onto paper and digital records indefinitely — just in case. But it can become burdensome to securely store years of financial records. Here’s some guidance to help minimize recordkeeping overload. Business Recordkeeping Here are some best practices for records used  Continue Reading »

April 22 was Earth Day. It’s a great reminder to consider implementing changes to help reduce the amount of energy we consume. But “going green” isn’t just good for the Earth — certain energy-saving expenditures also may qualify for generous tax breaks that are good for your pocketbook, too. Here are some tax credits for  Continue Reading »

Hardship withdrawals are permitted by most 401(k) plans, though plan sponsors aren’t required to allow them. As it stands today, employees seeking to take money out of their 401(k) accounts are limited to the funds they contributed to the accounts themselves, and only after they’ve first taken a loan from the same account. And of  Continue Reading »

The deadline to begin using the 2018 federal income tax withholding tables, which reflect changes made by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) was February 15, 2018. Although most Maine employers had no problems meeting the deadline, many employees question how the TCJA will affect them. Those are findings of a recent American Payroll Association  Continue Reading »

This year, the deadline for filing your 2017 individual income tax return this year is Tuesday, April 17, 2018, and the countdown to Tax Day has begun! Currently, many taxpayers are scrambling to wrap things up. But there’s an easy fix if you’re among the procrastinators: Ask your tax advisor to file Form 4868 by April  Continue Reading »

A recent ruling by the U.S. District court recently stated that a company president was a “responsible person” who was liable for the trust fund recovery penalty. The court found that the president’s failure to pay over employment taxes was willful despite the fact there was a security agreement with a lender requiring the lender’s approval  Continue Reading »

If your Maine company initiates a new paid family and medical leave benefit, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, enacted at the end of last year, will give your company a tax credit. Although the IRS has yet to issue its interpretive regulations, the text of the law itself gives you enough to go on to  Continue Reading »

Starting in 2018 under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), Federal income tax rates for C corporations have been reduced to a flat 21%. But what about pass-through businesses? Congress devised a special tax break for pass-through businesses to help achieve parity between the reduced corporate income tax rate and the tax rates for business  Continue Reading »

If you own commercial or residential rental real estate in Maine, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) brings several important changes that owners of rental properties should understand. Rental property owners, in general, will enjoy lower ordinary income tax rates and other favorable changes to the tax brackets for 2018 through 2025. In addition,  Continue Reading »

The IRS released updated 2018 income tax withholding tables on January 11, which reflect changes made by the new Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The IRS states that this is the first in a series of steps that the IRS will take to help improve the accuracy of withholding following major changes made by the new  Continue Reading »