Blog

Has fraud corrupted your supply contracts? 560 292 smolinlupinco

Has fraud corrupted your supply contracts?

If your business solicits bids for goods or service contracts, there’s a risk that employees will solicit or accept kickbacks to favor certain vendors. Or, they might steer a bid to a vendor based on their personal ties to the company’s owner or employees. Here’s how to prevent this unethical — if not illegal —…

read more
Nondeductible IRA contributions require careful tracking 560 292 smolinlupinco

Nondeductible IRA contributions require careful tracking

If, like many people, your traditional IRA holds a mixture of deductible (after-tax) and nondeductible (pretax) contributions, it’s important to track your contributions carefully to avoid double taxation of distributions. Why? Because the IRS treats distributions as a blend of pretax and after-tax dollars. If you treat distributions as fully taxable, you’ll end up overpaying.…

read more
Cost management: A budget’s best friend 560 292 smolinlupinco

Cost management: A budget’s best friend

If your company comes up over budget year after year, you may want to consider cost management. This is a formalized, systematic review of operations and resources with the stated goal of reducing costs at every level and controlling them going forward. As part of this effort, you’ll answer questions such as: Are we operating…

read more
Nonprofits: Are you ready for the new contribution guidance? 560 292 smolinlupinco

Nonprofits: Are you ready for the new contribution guidance?

When the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) updated its rules for recognizing revenue from contracts in 2014, it only added to the confusion that nonprofits already had about accounting for grants and similar contracts. Fortunately, last year, the FASB provided some much-needed clarification with Accounting Standards Update (ASU) No. 2018-08, Not-for-Profit Entities (Topic 958): Clarifying the…

read more
Jury duty fraud rears its ugly head again 560 292 smolinlupinco

Jury duty fraud rears its ugly head again

Some fraud schemes refuse to die. Jury duty scams existed long before phishing, malware and other cybercrime methods became synonymous with identity theft. Yet just this month, the U.S. Marshals Service issued a fraud advisory about this old-school con that’s enjoying a resurgence. Common methods Here’s how jury duty scams work: Perpetrators posing as court…

read more
Qualified Opportunity Funds: A new weapon in the estate planning arsenal 560 292 smolinlupinco

Qualified Opportunity Funds: A new weapon in the estate planning arsenal

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act created a new program to encourage investment in economically distressed areas through generous tax incentives. The Qualified Opportunity Zone (QOZ) program relies on investments in Qualified Opportunity Funds (QOFs) — funds that can provide wealthy taxpayers with some new avenues for estate planning. 3 big tax benefits Investors in…

read more
5 ways to strengthen your business for the new year 560 292 smolinlupinco

5 ways to strengthen your business for the new year

The end of one year and the beginning of the next is a great opportunity for reflection and planning. You have 12 months to look back on and another 12 ahead to look forward to. Here are five ways to strengthen your business for the new year by doing a little of both: 1. Compare…

read more
Year-end accounting recap 560 292 smolinlupinco

Year-end accounting recap

The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) hasn’t issued any major new accounting rules in 2019. But there have been some important developments to be aware of when preparing annual financial statements under U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). Deferral of major accounting rules Accounting Standards Update (ASU) No. 2019-09 delays the effective date of the updated guidance for…

read more
Small Businesses: It may not be not too late to cut your 2019 taxes 560 292 smolinlupinco

Small Businesses: It may not be not too late to cut your 2019 taxes

Don’t let the holiday rush keep you from taking some important steps to reduce your 2019 tax liability. You still have time to execute a few strategies, including: 1. Buying assets.Thinking about purchasing new or used heavy vehicles, heavy equipment, machinery or office equipment in the new year? Buy it and place it in service…

read more
Do you have a side gig? Make sure you understand your tax obligations 560 292 smolinlupinco

Do you have a side gig? Make sure you understand your tax obligations

The number of people engaged in the “gig” or sharing economy has grown in recent years, according to a 2019 IRS report. And there are tax consequences for the people who perform these jobs, such as providing car rides, renting spare bedrooms, delivering food, walking dogs or providing other services. Basically, if you receive income…

read more
Healthcare data breaches can threaten your financial well-being 560 292 smolinlupinco

Healthcare data breaches can threaten your financial well-being

Like many sectors of the economy, the healthcare industry regularly suffers data breaches. Healthcare analytics company Protenus has found that nearly 32 million patient records were breached between January and June 2019 alone. Alarmed? You should be. However, there are steps you can take to reduce the risk that thieves will get a hold of…

read more
3 pitfalls to avoid when naming a beneficiary of a life insurance policy 560 292 smolinlupinco

3 pitfalls to avoid when naming a beneficiary of a life insurance policy

Life insurance can be a powerful financial and estate planning tool, but its benefits can be reduced or even eliminated if you designate the wrong beneficiary or fail to change beneficiaries when your circumstances change. Common pitfalls to avoid include: Naming your estate as beneficiary. Doing so can subject life insurance proceeds to unnecessary state inheritance…

read more
in NJ, NY & FL | Smolin Lupin & Co.