This Skill is What Determines the Success of Your Business

Just recently, there was an article written by Matt Fore who talked about an important skill that would subsequently determine the success of your business. In his article, he provided an example from his experience about one of his business friends and talked about this important skill that he was lacking, and how it failed to bring him to the path of financial success.

 

The story unfolds to talk about a man named Earl who was a business man and a magician who performed amazingly for audiences such as adults and families. In fact, his talent was so good, that he was comparable to Houdin Thurstonfield, however, given his talents, he could not generate enough viewers to come to his magic show. Although his talents were astonishing and jaw-dropping, he lacked this important skill needed to get a business of his magic show going.

 

Do you know what skill he is lacking?

 

If you guessed Communications, you are certainly correct!

 

The most important skill that determines the life of a business is communication. Many Orange County CPA Firms and Entrepreneurs including Matt Fore will tell you that “An effective marketing campaign should stir a response; it should stir a conversation. It should give a compelling reason for the client to reach out and receive a benefit.” (Fore)  

 

Communication is very important in business because it plays a fundamental role in all the factors of business. The internal part of your business, which is yourself and the partner/employees are crucial because communicating effectively within your business organization will efficiently complete short term goals and possibly long term goals. Additionally, you want to make sure that your external communication is also well trained, for example your consumers. How are they receiving the messages that you send out to them? Compare what you see and what they see in your advertisements, are you both in the same page?

 

Another thing to note too is that communication builds and maintains relationships, communication is very important because you want all your business partners to understand your situation, your goals, and any other factor that your partners may want to know. A CPA firm typically asks for effective communication. In fact, it is practically required that you have effective communication skills, otherwise, your CPA will not be able to get the job done correctly if you don’t!

 

So there you have it, communication. Remember to always have a good mindset and make sure to always answer any questions if needed from your fellow business partners or consumers.

 

***ARTICLE BASED OFF OF MATT FORE OF ENTREPRENEUR.COM***

Form 1099-K

Information reporting for payment card and third party network transactions on Form 1099-K, Payment Card and Third Party Network Transactions is due to the IRS on the last day of February of the year following the transactions. If filing electronically, Form 1099-K is due the first day of April of the year following the transactions.

Every payment settlement entity required to file a Form 1099-K must also furnish to each participating payee a written statement with the same information reported to the IRS. The statements must be furnished to the payee by January 31 of the year following the transactions. Payee statements may be furnished to participating payees electronically with the payee’s prior consent.

Rental real estate offers tremendous tax advantages

Rental real estate offers tremendous tax advantages and opportunity for tax planning. Taxpayers, such as you, can depreciate property far exceeding your actual investment, deduct interest on borrowed capital, exchange rather than sell properties to defer tax on gains, use installment sales to defer tax on sales, and profit from preferential rates on long-term capital gains. Most importantly, you can generate “positive cash flow,” or monthly income, with depreciation deductions that effectively turn the actual income into tax losses.

However, deductions are not unlimited. For example, real estate income and loss is generally considered passive income and loss for tax purposes. Taxpayers generally cannot use passive activity losses (PALs) to offset ordinary income from employment, self-employment, interest and dividends, or pensions and annuities. The rental real estate loss allowance and real estate professional status are two important exceptions to this rule. In addition, the tax consequences of renting out a vacation home depend upon the amount of time the home is rented and the amount of time you use the home for personal purposes.

The second exception allows real estate professionals not to treat their rental activity as a passive activity. Therefore, their losses are not limited to passive income. This exception requires material participation by the taxpayer which is demonstrated by meeting one of seven tests. These tests are complex and include the number of hours of participation and the facts and circumstances of the participation in the activity.

Vacation homes are taxed under one of three sets of rules depending on how long the homeowner rents the property. If you rent your vacation home for fewer than 15 days during the year, no rental income is includible in gross income. If you rent the property for 15 or more days during the tax year and it is used by you for the greater of (a) more than 14 days or (b) more than 10% of the number of days during the year for which the home is rented, the rental deductions are limited. Under this limitation, the amount of the rental activity deductions may not exceed the amount by which the gross income derived from such activity exceeds the deductions otherwise allowable for the property, such as interest and taxes.

If you have any questions as to how the rental real estate rules apply to your particular situation, please do not hesitate to call for an appointment. We can assist you in taking advantage of the available tax benefits and develop an overall tax plan.

Tax-Free IRA Distributions

The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (2012 Taxpayer Relief Act) extends through 2013 the provision which allows individuals who are at least 70½ by the end of the year to exclude from gross income qualified charitable distributions up to $100,000 from a traditional or Roth IRA that would otherwise be included in income. Married individuals filing a joint return are allowed to exclude a maximum of $200,000 for these distributions ($100,000 per individual IRA owner).

A review of your tax return indicates that you may be eligible to take advantage of these opportunities. As you may know, IRA owners must either withdraw the entire balance or start receiving periodic distributions from their traditional IRAs by April 1 of the year following the year in which they reach age 70-1/2. The distribution that is required each year is computed by dividing the IRA account balance as of the close of business on December 31 of the preceding year by the applicable life expectancy. An IRA owner who does not make the required withdrawals may be subject to a 50-percent excise tax on the amount not withdrawn.

 

2012 Resolves Many Uncertainties

2012 Resolves Many Uncertainties, Creates Others; Sets Stage For Future Tax Reform.

Uncertainty during 2012 over what tax laws would govern in 2013 and beyond because of the expiring Bush-era tax cuts clearly was the most significant development of the year. Now that Congress and President Obama — through the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (ATRA) — have provided a degree of certainty over tax rates into at least the immediate future, taxpayers need to adjust their tax plans accordingly. Individuals and businesses should immediately recalibrate strategies in light of ATRA. 2012 was also a significant year for important tax developments from the Treasury Department, the IRS and the courts. These developments demand the attention of individual and business taxpayers not only to caution what is no longer allowed under the tax laws but also to shape what steps can be taken in 2013 and beyond to maximize tax savings. With that forward-looking perspective, this Tax Briefing reviews key federal tax developments that took place during 2012.

 

3.8 Percent Medicare Tax on Investment Income

The health care reform package (the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and education Reconciliation Act of 2010) imposes a new 3.8 percent Medicare contribution tax on the investment income of higher-income individuals. Although the tax does not take effect until 2013, it is not too soon to examine methods to lessen the impact of the tax. Certain year-end strategies might also be considered to avoid the tax, such as accelerating capital gains and other investment income into 2012 or converting a portion of your investments into tax-exempt interest.

Net investment income. Net investment income, for purposes of the new 3.8 percent Medicare tax, includes interest, dividends, annuities, royalties and rents and other gross income attributable to a passive activity. Gains from the sale of property that is not used in an active business and income from the investment of working capital are treated as investment income as well. However, the tax does not apply to nontaxable income, such as tax-exempt interest or veterans’ benefits. Further, an individual’s capital gains income will be subject to the tax. This includes gain from the sale of a principal residence, unless the gain is excluded from income under Code Sec. 121, and gains from the sale of a vacation home. However, contemplated sales made before 2013 would avoid the tax.

The tax applies to estates and trusts, on the lesser of undistributed net income or the excess of the trust/estate adjusted gross income (AGI) over the threshold amount ($11,200) for the highest tax bracket for trusts and estates, and to investment income they distribute.

Deductions. Net investment income for purposes of the new 3.8 percent tax is gross income or net gain, reduced by deductions that are “properly allocable” to the income or gain. This is a key term that the Treasury Department expects to address in guidance, and which we will update you on developments. For passively-managed real property, allocable expenses will still include depreciation and operating expenses. Indirect expenses such as tax preparation fees may also qualify.

For capital gain property, this formula puts a premium on keeping tabs on amounts that increase your property’s basis. It also puts the focus on investment expenses that may reduce net gains: interest on loans to purchase investments, investment counsel and advice, and fees to collect income. Other costs, such as brokers’ fees, may increase basis or reduce the amount realized from an investment. As such, you may want to consider avoiding installment sales with net capital gains (and interest) running past 2012.

Thresholds and impact. The tax applies to the lesser of net investment income or modified AGI above $200,000 for individuals and heads of household, $250,000 for joint filers and surviving spouses, and $125,000 for married filing separately. MAGI is AGI increased by foreign earned income otherwise excluded under Code Sec. 911; MAGI is the same as AGI for someone who does not work overseas.

The tax can have a substantial impact if you have income above the specified thresholds. Also, don’t forget that, in addition to the tax on investment income, you may also face other tax increases proposed by the Obama administration that could take effect in 2013. The top two marginal income tax rates on individuals would rise from 33 and 35 percent to 36 and 39.6 percent, respectively. The maximum tax rate on long-term capital gains would increase from 15 percent to 20 percent. Moreover, dividends, which are currently capped at the 15 percent long-term capital gain rate, would be taxed as ordinary income. Thus, the cumulative rate on capital gains would increase to 23.8 percent in 2013, and the rate on dividends would jump to as much as 43.4 percent. Moreover, the thresholds are not indexed for inflation, so a greater number of taxpayers may be affected as time elapses. Congress, together with a new administration, may step in and change these rate increases, but the possibility of rates going up for upper income taxpayers is sufficiently real that tax planning must take them into account.

 

Please contact our office if you would like to discuss the tax consequences to your investments of the new 3.8 percent Medicare tax on investment income.

 

2012 Year-End Tax Planning for Businesses

In recent years, end-of-the-year tax planning for businesses has been complicated by uncertainty over the future availability of many tax incentives. This year is no different. In 2010, Congress extended many business tax incentives for one or two years. Now, those incentives either have expired or are scheduled to expire. Whether they will be extended is unclear, as Congress debates the fate of the Bush-era tax cuts and the across-the-board spending cuts scheduled to take effect in 2013. Taxpayers need to be aware of the expiring provisions, and to explore developing a multi-year tax strategy that takes into account various scenarios for the future of these incentives.

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