Author: Rick Kouns

In running a business, you may need to take some types of insurance that makes you wonder if their premiums can be claimed as a business deduction. In general, premiums for insurance that is considered ordinary and necessary in running a business are deductible.   General Business Insurance Premiums  Life Insurance Premiums  Generally, life insurance is… Continue reading Insurance Premiums as a Business Deduction 

Most of us are familiar with payroll tax, income tax, and self-employment taxes which are common tax terms and are easy to understand. Franchise tax on the other hand is an often-misunderstood tax due to its name. It’s far from what its name implies because you won’t be charged with this tax for franchising a… Continue reading Franchise Tax: What is it and How it Works 

Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) is a federal program that provides financial assistance to qualified individuals who are unable to work due to a disability. Funded by the Social security taxes, SSDI is a great security benefit available to the American workforce in case of a disability.   Who May Qualify?  There are basically two considerations… Continue reading A Basic Guide to Social Security Disability Insurance 

Self-employment tax is a type of tax imposed on self-employed individuals. It consists of 12.4% Social Security and 2.9% Medicare. It is similar to the Social Security and Medicare taxes deducted from payroll wages but the self-employed pay the full 15.3% tax while employers and the employees split these tax bills. This tax may be… Continue reading Ways to Lower Self-Employment Tax 

As part of the Corporate Transparency Act passed in 2021, most businesses are required to submit their beneficial ownership information (the individuals who owns or controls the business) to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) starting January 1, 2024, unless they are part of the 23 exemptions. And for businesses formed or created in the… Continue reading FinCEN Company Applicant: What You Need to Know 

Did you make or are you planning to give your home an energy saving upgrade? Then, check out the latest Internal Revenue Service (IRS) rules and qualifications to claim a tax credit for your energy efficient home improvement projects.   Who May Claim the Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit  To claim this credit, the energy efficient… Continue reading Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit 

The government provides public goods and services for the community. And although paying taxes is not a welcoming thought to most taxpayers, it is the government’s main source of fund to support their projects and perform their functions. However, the complexities of taxes can lead taxpayers to either underpay or overpay taxes.   Overpayment of Taxes… Continue reading Overpayment and Underpayment of Taxes: Which is Better? 

Business financial reports provide information that are useful for decision-making, compliance, and performance evaluation. But on top of the standard financial reports such as income statements and balance sheets, financial analysts use other different metrics to make a deeper evaluation of an organization’s financial performance and position. And there is a simple but powerful tool… Continue reading Year-Over-Year (YOY) Analysis and its Benefits 

Taxpayers have varying reasons for missing a tax deadline. It could be due to an important life event or emergency, an intentional deferral of filing due to a busy schedule, a need for more time to complete tax documents, or simple because they forgotten to file at all.  But just recently, the Internal Revenue Service… Continue reading Missed the April tax-filing deadline? Here’s What the IRS Tells You to Do 

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) allows taxpayers to claim business-related vehicle expenses. To figure the deduction, one can either use the actual vehicle expense method or the IRS standard mileage rate depending on which method can provide the most deduction. For the IRS standard mileage deduction, the rate for 2024 is now 67 cents for… Continue reading Effortless Mileage Tracking to Maximize Your Deductions