At Machen McChesney we are committed to Returning Value to you through our monthly e-newsletter, The Value Report.
Here you'll find regular tips to help with your business and personal finances, as well as strategies to grow and more efficiently run your organization.
Table of Content
- Changes Ahead For 401(k) Hardship Withdrawal Rules
- Do You Qualify For The Home Office Deduction?
- Auditing The Use Of Estimates and Specialists
- An FLP Can Save Tax In a Family Business Succession
- Choosing The Right Accounting Method For Tax Purposes
- Upskilling: The Next Frontier In Employee Training
- Assessing the S Corp
- Stop Your Trade Secrets From Walking Out The Door
- Why Employers Are Taking Another Look At Life Insurance As A Fringe Benefit
- Keep it SIMPLE: A Tax-advantaged Retirement Plan Solution For Small Businesses
- What's New at Machen McChesney
Changes Ahead For 401(k) Hardship Withdrawal Rules
Many employers sponsor 401(k) plans to help employees save for retirement. But sometimes those employees need access to plan funds well before they retire. In such cases, if the plan allows it, participants can make a hardship withdrawal. Continue reading.
Do You Qualify For The Home Office Deduction?
Under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, employees can no longer claim the home office deduction. If, however, you run a business from your home or are otherwise self-employed and use part of your home for business purposes, the home office deduction may still be available to you. Continue reading.
Auditing The Use Of Estimates and Specialists
Choosing The Right Accounting Method For Tax Purposes
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) liberalized the eligibility rules for using the cash method of accounting, making this method — which is simpler than the accrual method — available to more businesses. Now the IRS has provided procedures a small business taxpayer can use to obtain automatic consent to change its method of accounting under the TCJA. If you have the option to use either accounting method, it pays to consider whether switching methods would be beneficial. Continue reading.
Upskilling: The Next Frontier In Employee Training
In the face of a tight job market and a widening skills gap, employers in many industries are catching on to the benefits of “upskilling.” More than just your typical employee training, upskilling takes a broad approach to development. Continue reading.
Assessing the S Corp
The S corporation business structure offers many advantages, including limited liability for owners and no double taxation (at least at the federal level). But not all businesses are eligible • and, with the new 21% flat income tax rate that now applies to C corporations, S corps may not be quite as attractive as they once were. Continue reading.
Stop Your Trade Secrets From Walking Out The Door
Trade secrets are among the most critical yet often overlooked assets of any organization. And they aren’t always as sophisticated as proprietary software or as famously secret as Coca-Cola’s formula. A trade secret can be as seemingly innocuous as a customer list, business strategy, policy manual or pricing sheet. Continue reading.
Why Employers Are Taking Another Look At Life Insurance As A Fringe Benefit
In their continuing effort to assemble the most enticing employee benefits package possible, some employers are showing renewed interest in an old favorite: group term life insurance. Although such life insurance coverage had fallen off the radar screens of some employers, it remains an affordable benefit that can pay off for employer and employees alike. Continue reading.
Keep It SIMPLE: A Tax-advantaged Retirement Plan Solution For Small Businesses
If your small business doesn’t offer its employees a retirement plan, you may want to consider a SIMPLE IRA. Offering a retirement plan can provide your business with valuable tax deductions and help you attract and retain employees. For a variety of reasons, a SIMPLE IRA can be a particularly appealing option for small businesses. The deadline for setting one up for this year is October 1, 2018. Continue reading.
What's New at Machen McChesney?
Sponsorships, new hires, announcements
Continue reading.
We hope you found value in The Value Report you've received this month. We look forward to finding even more ways to Return Value to you in the future.
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Machen McChesney
Complex accounting estimates — such as allowances for doubtful accounts, impairments of long-lived assets, and valuations of financial and nonfinancial assets — have been blamed for many high-profile accounting scams and financial restatements. Estimates generally involve some level of measurement uncertainty, and some may even require the use of outside specialists, such as appraisers or engineers. Continue reading. 
