December

Major Tax Deadlines
* December 17 - Fourth estimated tax payment is due for calendar-year corporations.

Big tax changes ahead
Beginning in January 2008, the tax rate on certain dividend income and long-term capital gains goes from 5% to 0% for taxpayers in the bottom two regular tax brackets (10% and 15%).

Do a year-end tax review of your investments
This is a good time of year to review your investments.

Survey estimates 2008 pay raises
An August 2007 survey conducted by WorldatWork revealed that employers are expecting to increase salaries by 3.9

Are you paying enough attention to cash flow in your business?
In assessing their business, most owners focus on growth in sales and profits.

November

Major Tax Deadlines
During November: It's wise to estimate your 2007 income tax liability and review your options for minimizing your 2007 taxes.

AMT relief is still a work in progress
v style="text-align: left">Both Republicans and Democrats agree that the alternative minimum tax (AMT) is affecting taxpayers who were never the intended target of this alternate tax system.<

Tax-cutting time for 2007 is running out
Time is running out on moves you can make to reduce your 2007 tax bill.

Small tax-exempt organizations have new filing requirement
Thanks to a provision in the Pension Protection Act of 2006, tax-exempt organizations with annual gross receipts of $25,000 or less will generally have to file a new annual report with the IRS.<

Keep employees informed
Surveys show that employees tend to underestimate the amount of money that their employer spends on employee benefits.

October

Major Tax Deadlines
October 15 - Deadline for filing 2006 individual tax returns on automatic extension of the April 17 filing deadline.

Don’t fall for the latest IRS e-mail scam
The Internal Revenue Service is warning taxpayers about yet another e-mail scam.

If you can, plan for coming payroll tax increases
Many Americans pay more payroll taxes than federal income tax.

Employer's tip credit isn't reduced
As of July 24, 2007, the new federal minimum wage increased from $5.1

A business consultant can give useful feedback
Is there an especially baffling problem in your business? Or do you have problems you have identified but do not have the time to address? Perhaps you should consider hiring a good business consultant.<

September

Major Tax Deadlines
September 17 - Due date for individuals to pay third quarter installment of 2007 estimated tax.

IRS launches audit program
Beginning next month, the IRS plans to audit about 13,000 individuals for tax year 2006 as part of a research project to update the Service's audit selection process.

An HSA might be the right prescription now
Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) are tax-sheltered accounts that, when combined with a high-deductible health insurance plan, allow a tax deduction for contributions made to the HSA.

How’s your customer service?
According to a recent survey, 48% of consumers say that customer service is the biggest factor in creating loyalty to a company.

Make the right choice in deducting car expenses
Taxpayers generally may use one of two methods for computing business car expenses: the actual cost method or the standard rate method.

August

Major Tax Deadlines
NOTE: Businesses are required to make federal tax deposits on dates determined by various factors that differ from business to business.

Charities and churches warned to stay out of politics
Though national elections are not until next year, the IRS is reminding charities, churches, and other nonprofit organizations to stay out of politics.

Manage "AGI" to keep tax breaks from disappearing
At tax time it pays to read the fine print.

Free IRS online workshop available to nonprofit organizations
The IRS now has an Internet version of its Exempt Organizations Workshop available on its Web site at www.i

Is your worker an "employee" or an "independent contractor"?
There’s an ongoing debate that’s almost as old as the tax code itself.

July

Major Tax Deadlines
July 31 - Due date for filing retirement or employee benefit plan returns (5500 series) for plans on a calendar year.<

Small Business Tax Act is signed by President Bush
President Bush signed the Small Business and Work Opportunity Tax Act on May 25, 2007.

Act soon to benefit from this new IRA charitable donation option
A recent change in the charitable contribution rules provides a potential tax planning opportunity involving your individual retirement account.

Age 50-plus is fastest growing group of new business owners
According to the Small Business Administration, the fastest-growing category of new entrepreneurs are people aged 50 to 62.

Do a midyear review of your business tax planning
1. Establish a retirement plan if you don’t already have one.

June

Major Tax Deadlines
June 15 - Second quarter 2007 individual estimated tax is due.<

Five new tax scams included in 2007 "dirty dozen"
Each year, the IRS publishes its list of top tax scams known as the "dirty dozen.&

Taxes and your child's summer job
Your son, Jake, a junior in high school, announces that he's found himself a job for the summer.

IRS announces 2007 vehicle deprecation limits
The IRS has issued the depreciation limits for business cars first placed in service in 2007.

How to put the right price on your products
In business, making pricing decisions is always tough.

May

Major Tax Deadlines
May 15 - Deadline for calendar-year exempt organizations to file 2006 information returns.<

IRS warns taxpayers about phony e-mails
The IRS is warning taxpayers about Internet scams and fraudulent e-mails that appear to be from the IRS.

Time for midyear planning
Filing your 2006 tax return might signal the official end of 2006, but for tax-savvy individuals, it' s also the kick-off for saving taxes in 2007.

Wellness programs are in the news again
With ever-increasing health care costs, businesses are taking another look at wellness programs for their employees.

Avoid the #1 mistake when buying a business
There are many mistakes one can make in buying a business.

April

Major Tax Deadlines
April 2 - Deadline for taking your first required IRA distribution if you turned 70½ in 2006.

New $5,000 penalty for making "frivolous" tax claims
In a March 2007 notice, the IRS specified forty tax positions that will be treated as frivolous.

Stop lending money to the IRS
Will you be among the thousands of taxpayers who get a big tax refund this year? While most Americans happily accept their tax refund checks, smart taxpayers understand that refunds actually cost them money.

Tax refund is good news. Now the bad news. . .
Businesses are being reminded that the telephone tax refund they received this year may be taxable income on their 2007 income tax returns.<

Your business can choose a retirement plan that fits
Mention the words “employee benefits” to a small business owner and you might hear the groans of someone burned by sky-rocketing costs and mind-numbing complexity.

March

Major Tax Deadlines
March 1 - Farmers and fishermen who did not make 2006 estimated tax payments must file 2006 tax returns and pay taxes in full.<

IRS gets tough on abusive telephone tax refund claims
Special IRS agents served search warrants to tax preparers in several cities, seeking evidence of fraudulent claims for refunds of excise taxes paid on long-distance telephone service.

Smart strategies for your tax refund
Are you eagerly awaiting a 2006 tax refund? Hopefully you’ve given some thought to how you can put the money to good use.

Government survey gives wage and benefit costs
As you review your company’s outlay for employee wages and benefits, you may find it useful to compare your spending with national averages.<

Five things every business owner should do this year
If you own or manage your own business, you’re probably busy monitoring operations and dealing with everyday problems.

February

Major Tax Deadlines
February 28 - Payors must file 2006 information returns (such as 1099s) with the IRS.

Last-minute law extends tax breaks
Just before adjourning for 2006, Congress passed the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006.

Take these deductions even when you don't itemize
If you’ve given up itemizing deductions, you’re not alone.

Bring your corporate minutes up to date
The start of a new year is a good time to take care of a few “housekeeping” details in your business.

January

Major Tax Deadlines
January 16 - Final 2006 individual estimated tax payment is due, unless 2006 tax return is filed and taxes are paid in full by January 31, 2007.<

IRS has 95,746 undeliverable refunds
Are you still waiting for your tax refund? If so, you may be one of the 95,746 taxpayers to whom the IRS has been unable to deliver a refund check.

What's New in Taxes
Gather the tax documents needed for filing your 2006 tax return — the W-2s, 1099s, and other information forms you receive from your employer, broker, bank, etc.

Formula for telephone tax refund is announced by the IRS
After losing several court challenges to charging an excise tax on long-distance telephone service, the IRS is no longer assessing the tax.

Build relationships with your customers
Customers are just like you.

Can a business grow too fast?
Most businesses hope to grow.