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CLIENT SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES

The Final Responsibility: Being an Executor

Know what you don’t know.

By Barry J. Friedman, CPA
IndustryNewsletters

An executor of a will carries out the last wishes of someone close who has died. The executor ensures that the rules that govern the administration of a probate estate are followed.

MORE: Three Steps to Giving a Raise | Seven Changes in the New Taxpayer First Act Clients Need to Know | Alternative Minimum Tax: What’s It Like Today? | 6 Key Facts About Excise Taxes | Gifts to Charity: 6 Facts about Written Acknowledgments | Yes, Home Equity Loans May Still Be Deductible
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Here are three key tasks of the executor job:
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FEATURED

Three Steps to Giving a Raise

Man putting dollars into suit pocketIf employees leave, find out if money is why.

By Barry J. Friedman, CPA
IndustryNewsletters

If you run a business with employees, you have at some point wondered how you should compensate them for good work. It’s actually a much trickier task than people realize.

MORE: Seven Changes in the New Taxpayer First Act Clients Need to Know | How Manufacturers Can Use the R&D Tax Credit | The Latest Rules on Charitable Donations | How Clients Should Gather Their Papers for Taxes | The Latest Fraud Problem: Synthetic Identities | How to Challenge Property Taxes | Real Estate, IRAs & Clients | Percentage-Withholding for Clients | Bitcoin: What Clients Need to Know
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You have to take into account employee morale, employee performance and market averages. To get a fuller picture of how to fairly distribute raises to your employees, keep reading.
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BUSY SEASON MANAGEMENT

Seven Changes in the New Taxpayer First Act Clients Need to Know

Young man under rain-covered umbrellaOne Congressman says it “levels the playing field.”

By Barry J. Friedman, CPA
IndustryNewsletters

The Taxpayer First Act of 2019 is redesigning how the IRS works with taxpayers, even though it may take a while for many of the provisions to take effect.

MORE: How Manufacturers Can Use the R&D Tax Credit | Padding Your Tax Deductions? The Consequences Are Serious | Beware the Taxes of Self-Employment | Charitable Giving under TCJA
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Some experts have highlighted the following aspects of the bill as especially important:
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BUSY SEASON MANAGEMENT

How Manufacturers Can Use the R&D Tax Credit

Bottles of sunflower oil on an assembly lineThere’s a 4-part test.

By Barry J. Friedman, CPA
IndustryNewsletters

Many manufacturing companies fail to take advantage of the generous research and development (R&D) tax credit simply because they don’t have staff working in a lab. The Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) definition of R&D is codified at Internal Revenue Code Section 41 and its related regulations – and it may not be exactly what you think it is.

MORE: Padding Your Tax Deductions? The Consequences Are Serious | Alternative Minimum Tax: What’s It Like Today? | 6 Key Facts About Excise Taxes | Gifts to Charity: 6 Facts about Written Acknowledgments | Yes, Home Equity Loans May Still Be Deductible
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From 2018 to 2027, the estimated value of R&D tax credits to be claimed by U.S. companies is estimated at $163 billion, with $148 billion of that going to corporations.
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CLIENT SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES

Padding Deductions? Clients Need to be Warned

Drawing of unhappy face and arrow pointing from it to happy faceSome critical clarifications.

By Barry J. Friedman, CPA
IndustryNewsletters

“In this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes” is a quote often attributed to Benjamin Franklin. With that in mind, it’s best to be prepared, at least financially, for taxes and tax season each year.

MORE: Alternative Minimum Tax: What’s It Like Today? | The Latest Rules on Charitable Donations | How Clients Should Gather Their Papers for Taxes | The Latest Fraud Problem: Synthetic Identities | Real Estate, IRAs & Clients | Percentage-Withholding for Clients | Basis: Turning a Common Client Question into New Business |  The W-4 Time-Bomb and What To Do About It
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The Risks

When it comes to deductions, things can get a little sticky. What’s the harm in taking a little extra here or a little extra there?
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CLIENT SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES

What to Do with an Inherited Mortgage

4 specific tips.

By Barry J. Friedman, CPA
IndustryNewsletters

The right of inheritance applies to all property, including properties with mortgages attached to them.

MORE: Alternative Minimum Tax: What’s It Like Today? | The Latest Rules on Charitable Donations | The Latest Fraud Problem: Synthetic Identities | How to Challenge Property Taxes | Real Estate, IRAs & Clients | Percentage-Withholding for Clients | Bitcoin: What Clients Need to Know | Supreme Court Wayfair Ruling Sows Confusion – And Opportunity
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If your client inherits a mortgaged property, a number of questions and concerns may pop up, including whether the mortgage can be assumed. Your client may wonder how to record the deed and take title to the property.
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BUSY SEASON MANAGEMENT

Alternative Minimum Tax: What’s It Like Today?

There are only two brackets for 2018.

By Barry J. Friedman, CPA
IndustryNewsletters

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act made many changes to the individual tax law, including the alternative minimum tax.

MORE: The Latest Rules on Charitable Donations | Beware the Taxes of Self-Employment | Charitable Giving under TCJA | Why Padding Tax Deductions Is a Risky Proposition | Portability: Sharing the Estate Tax Exemption
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One of the goals of the new tax law was to reduce the impact of the AMT or even to repeal it entirely. A modification was made – let’s see what it could mean to your clients.
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BUSY SEASON MANAGEMENT

The Latest Rules on Charitable Donations

5 guidelines.

By Barry J. Friedman, CPA
IndustryNewsletters

Charitable contributions are deductible, says the IRS, only if you itemize deductions.

MORE: Beware the Taxes of Self-Employment | 6 Key Facts About Excise Taxes | Gifts to Charity: 6 Facts about Written Acknowledgments | Yes, Home Equity Loans May Still Be Deductible | Social Security Hike the Largest in 7 Years | How to Talk to Clients about ‘Basis’ | Basis: Turning a Common Client Question into New Business | The W-4 Time-Bomb and What To Do About It
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But how do your clients know that the charity they are donating to is qualified?
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