Did you miss out on the first two opportunities to receive your tax-free Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) cash? Many did miss out. Why? One reason: the word “loan.” Who wants a loan? No one. Well, almost no one. But who wants a cash gift, tax-free? If you do, read on for the details. But first, you should know that the big picture works like this: You obtain your PPP tax-free monies from a lender (it’s called a “loan,” but watch that word disappear as you read this letter).You...

The new Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) law enacted with the stimulus package adds dollars to your pockets if you have or had PPP money. Before we go further, please note the PPP money comes to you in what appears to be a loan. We say “appears” because you typically pay back a loan. Done right, however, the PPP loan is 100 percent forgiven. The word “loan” makes some businesses leery of this arrangement. Don’t be. The PPP monetary arrangement is a true “have your cake and eat it too”...

Question. If you have an office outside your personal home—say, downtown—can you have a tax-deductible office inside your home for the same trade or business? Answer. Yes. Q. Who says that? A. The IRS. Q. Show me where they say that! In IRS Publication 587, the IRS says this: Your home office will qualify as your principal place of business if you meet the following requirements: You use it exclusively and regularly for administrative or management activities of your trade...

Billions of dollars in grants are being doled out to individuals and businesses in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The recently enacted second stimulus bill has increased these grants, including $25 billion in rental assistance for individuals, a new round of Small Business Administration (SBA) Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) advances, and new grants for shuttered entertainment venues such as movie theaters. The good news is that, unlike loans such as SBA EIDLs, these grants don’t...

Sixty-one million adults and over 12.6 million children in the United States have some type of disability. If you have a disabled or blind child or other family member, or are disabled or blind yourself, you should know about ABLE accounts. These tax-advantaged accounts can be a real game changer for the disabled. Ordinarily, a disabled person who receives government benefits can only have $2,000 in cash or other countable assets. This can make it impossible for disabled people to save...

If you become an executor of your loved one’s estate, you may have some important tax decisions to make. Here are some quick thoughts. The decedent’s medical expenses provide you with planning opportunities to deduct as itemized deductions (subject to the 7.5 percent floor) not only the medical expenses incurred during the taxable year of death, but also those unpaid at the date of death but paid within one year of death; ordeduct in full (no floor) the medical expenses paid after the date...

As you doubtlessly know, Congress recently passed a massive new stimulus bill that was enacted into law on December 27, 2020. Most of the public’s attention has been focused on the bill’s authorization of additional stimulus checks and new PPP loans and other aid targeted to struggling businesses. But Form 1040 American taxpayers who are not in business are struggling as well. The stimulus bill contains a hodgepodge of eight new or extended tax breaks intended to help Form 1040 taxpayers. None...

This month, I’ve been spending a lot of time discussing retirement accounts.  It’s no secret, and it’s for a good reason – most Americans don’t know where they’ve put their 401(k) funds.  Seriously. When I was still in the workaday world, I would ask my coworkers about their investment strategies and they either knew exactly what they were doing or nothing about it at all.  Some folks bought because they liked the company, or their parents had worked there, or they liked...

We’re closing out a crazy year and as we send it off, I wanted to beat everyone to the punch about making the most of the new year.  I wanted to discuss something I’m passionate about – finances – and cross reference those into an even bigger piece – leadership. We’ve all had to learn to stay competitive this year, but many of the business owners I’ve spoken with have looked only internally for those changes.  I want to propose you turn your view to your partners in business,...

Yes, your read the title correctly.  Now, first things first, I’m NOT a life insurance specialist, but my industry works closely with a wide range of specialists in the retirement, estate planning, legal, and investment fields.  One of the things I always try to do is to understand how taxpayers can improve their retirement strategies – especially when it’s not going to be taxed in the traditional sense.  Yes, life insurance can do just that, but not just any old term policy.  We’re...