With all the publicity that the FBAR gets with its massive penalties and its unextendable deadline, let’s not lose sight of the FATCA rules and Form 8938 which is due with your individual income tax return....

It’s FBAR season, all the cool kids know that, but for some foreign taxpayers they are also experiencing a strange sensation called FIRPTA. Of course FIRPTA stands for something; it’s the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act of 1980....

Tax returns have lots of things that you need to sign.  There are signature pages for e-filing a tax return, there are different pages to sign if you are paper filing a return.  Sometimes you need to sign tax elections, or tax engagement letters.  There can be a lot of di...

P is for partnerships.  Partnerships are a very common tax structure, but to be taxed as a partnership the underlying business doesn’t necessarily need to be set up as a partnership.  Many new businesses these days are set up as Limited Liability Companies or LLCs. ...

Nothing is more frustrating to a server than frantically running to keep a table of 12 happy, only to find that the table thought a 5% tip was more than enough.  In comes the server’s knight in shining armor: The Automatic Gratuity.  On the face, they sound awesome!...

Few industries can rival restaurants for the crown of “Most Specialized and Complex Tax Regulations”.  Restaurants have the unfortunate “honor” of their own code in income, payroll and sales tax.  A restaurant owner not fluent in these idiosyncrasies can find thems...

Today there are a number of business systems, tools and books to help small and mid-size businesses execute on their business strategy and reach their long and short-term goals....

Many business owners don’t feel they have time to do a cash flow projection.  This is a very important tool for all business owners to have.  It is a tool that could mean the difference between going out of business or staying in business....

Wondering if you can deduct your pet costs?  People often treat their pets like children, but no matter how much money you spend on that pet the tax code doesn’t allow you to claim your pet as a dependent.  In general the expenses for the family pet won’t be tax deduct...

“What do you mean I have to charge sales tax on my sales?  I’m a tax exempt organization!”  That is a common mistake in the tax exempt community.  In Minnesota, an organization can apply for a formal tax exempt status from the Minnesota Department of Revenue. Form S...

The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued ASU No. 2014-02 in January 2014 which now allows private companies to amortize goodwill for book purposes (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles – GAAP)....

A like-kind exchange is just that; an exchange of things that are similar.  They can be very useful in deferring gains on depreciated property.  The last post was about business vehicles, but there are many kinds of assets that can qualify for a like-kind exchange....