Charitable IRA in St Petersburg Florida

Should you make a “charitable IRA rollover” in 2016?

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Last year a break valued by many charitably inclined retirees was made permanent: the charitable IRA rollover. If you’re age 70½ or older, you can make direct contributions — up to $100,000 annually — from your IRA to qualified charitable organizations without owing any income...
Punitive Damages in St Petersburg Florida

Getting into the nitty-gritty when it comes to punitive damages

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Determining appropriate punitive damages is challenging for judges and juries. What amount is enough to effectively punish wrongdoers — and deter them from committing similar acts in the future — but not so much that the punishment outweighs the crime? Whether working for the...
Work-Related Injuries in St Petersburg Florida

New OSHA Rules Spotlight Work-Related Injuries, Illnesses

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Currently employers must report work-related injuries or illnesses and maintain a log of these occurrences for review by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The log must be available upon request during an OSHA inspection. However, newly finalized...
Overtime Pay in St Petersburg Florida

Overtime Pay Rules: Avoid Making Costly Wrong Assumptions

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Sometimes employers try to make logical assumptions about the way government regulations work. Unfortunately, doing that without checking the fine print can be a prescription for trouble. Here are some real-life scenarios that probably made sense to the employers at the time. But...
Taxes in St Petersburg Florida

3 Taxes People Love to Hate

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Few people enjoy giving money to the IRS, but some types of taxes are viewed more unfavorably than others. Here are three worthy candidates vying for the title of most-hated tax. Penalty Tax on Individuals without Health Insurance As you probably know, the Affordable Care Act...
Material Participation in St Petersburg Florida

To deduct business losses, you may have to prove “material participation”

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You can only deduct losses from an S corporation, partnership or LLC if you “materially participate” in the business. If you don’t, your losses are generally “passive” and can only be used to offset income from other passive activities. Any excess passive loss is suspended and...
Civil Penalties in St Petersburg Florida

DOL Announces Increased Civil Penalties for Violations of Federal Laws

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The Department of Labor (DOL) has issued interim final rules that will increase civil penalties assessed to employers for willful violations of the minimum wage, overtime, and child labor provisions in the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), and civil penalties in the Family Medical...
EEOC in St Petersburg Florida

EEOC Penalties Rise Effective July 2016

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When it comes to violations of the labor law posting requirements, it’s not that these mandatory notices aren’t displayed prominently. It’s that they are not displayed at all, says the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). And that’s ...
Social Security in St Petersburg Florida

FAQs about Social Security Retirement Benefits

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For years, people have questioned the long-term viability of the Social Security system. In June, the Social Security Board of Trustees released its annual report on the long-term financial status of the Social Security Trust Funds. It projects that the combined asset reserves of...
Last Year in St Petersburg Florida

What to Do If You Haven’t Filed Last Year’s Tax Return or Can’t Pay the Bill

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Unless you’ve extended the due date for filing last year’s individual federal income tax return to October 17, the filing deadline passed you by in April. What if you didn’t extend and you haven’t yet filed your Form 1040? And what if you can’t pay...
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