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Sometimes parties with legitimate legal claims realize that their would-be defendants aren’t able to pay a damages award. That’s when they might attempt to recover from a more solvent party — usually a larger company that’s closely associated with the defendant. In such “alter...

Cybercriminals never seem to give up, and for good reason: Their chances of success make it worthwhile. A recent poll entitled “IT Threats and Data Breaches” found that 94% of companies reported experiencing some form of “external threat.” After spam, the...

Did you turn age 70 1/2 in 2015? If so, an important date is coming up soon. By April 1, 2016, you must begin taking required minimum distributions (RMDs) from your traditional IRAs — or face a steep penalty. (Lifetime distributions don’t need to be taken from Roth IRAs at...

IRS audits of partnerships were up 18.6% in 2015 over the previous tax year, according to the agency’s Fiscal Year 2015 Enforcement and Service Results. That’s the highest audit rate partnerships have experienced since 2006. By comparison, audits of large C...

If you suffer damage to your home or personal property, you may be able to deduct these “casualty” losses on your federal income tax return. A casualty is a sudden, unexpected or unusual event, such as a natural disaster (hurricane, tornado, flood, earthquake, etc.), fire,...

Restructuring debt has become a common approach to personal financial management. But many people fail to realize that there’s often a tax impact to debt relief. And if you don’t anticipate it, a winning tax return may turn into a losing one. Less debt, more income Income tax...

Some lucrative federal income tax credits for certain energy-efficient home improvements were extended recently. The extensions were part of the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015 (the PATH Act), which became law on December 18, 2015. Here’s what you need to...

If your company is classified as a joint employer with one or more other companies, you may be liable for overtime pay even if you carefully avoid workweeks that exceed 40 hours of work. Why? Because the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) states that you and...

The IRS kicked off tax filing season by publishing a series of press releases that highlight the “dirty dozen” tax scams for this year. Although there are no major surprises, it’s important to note that these scams have become increasingly technology-driven in...

If your 2015 tax liability is higher than you’d hoped and you’re ready to transfer some assets to your loved ones, now may be the time to get started. Giving away assets will, of course, help reduce the size of your taxable estate. But with income-tax-smart gifting strategies, it...