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The Ebola outbreak is all over the news, especially now that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported cases on U.S. soil. As of Oct. 22, the World Health Organization, a specialized agency of the United Nations, reported more than 9,900 reported cases of Ebola...

Typically, it’s better to defer tax. Here are two timing strategies that can help businesses do this: Defer income to next year. If your business uses the cash method of accounting, you can defer billing for your products or services. Or, if you use the accrual method, you can...

Another year is winding down. Before the hustle and bustle of the holidays sets in, it’s a good time to brainstorm ideas to lower your 2014 tax bill. Here’s an overview of what’s happening in the world of tax — and 10 simple tax-saving strategies that you...

A fundamental tax planning strategy is to accelerate deductible expenses into the current year. This typically will defer — and in some cases permanently reduce — your taxes. But there are exceptions. One is if the additional deductions this year trigger the alternative minimum...

The Small Business Administration reports that small businesses pay average effective tax rates that range from about 13.3 percent for sole proprietorships to 26.9 percent for S corporations. The effective tax rate is the amount of taxes paid by a company as a percent of its net...

For assets with a useful life of more than one year, businesses generally must depreciate the cost over a period of years. Special breaks are available in some circumstances, but uncertainty currently surrounds them: Section 179 expensing. This allows you to deduct, rather than...

In the recent movie, The Internship, the character played by Vince Vaughn is amazed when he begins working at Google and finds out he can graze on an array of free food and beverages all day long. (However, he is sternly told that he can’t take anything home from the...

If you’re claiming a deduction for meals, entertainment, auto or travel expenses, expect the IRS to closely review it. Too often, taxpayers have incomplete documentation or try to re-create records months (or years) later. In doing so, they often fail to meet the strict...

New research has shed light on the current state of affairs in the HSA world. As noted, the pace of HSA formation has picked up. A survey by the industry group “America’s Health Insurance Plans” (AHIP) found 28 percent of the nearly 400,000 HSAs in existence at...

While the IRS isn’t about to publish a list, there are a number of items that are known to raise the IRS’s interest in a return. What are your chances of being audited? For individuals, it depends on your income. In fiscal year 2013, returns reporting income of under...