News

Earlier this year, the IRS slipped out largely unnoticed new regulations that take effect in 2024 requiring certain businesses to electronically file (e-file) income tax and other information returns.  Previous regulations imposed a 250-return threshold before requiring e-filing of returns. The new rules reduce this threshold to generally require e-filing by filers of 10 or more returns in a calendar year. Further, they also will now require e-filing of certain returns and other documents that ...

Many businesses are not aware that if they receive cash payments of over $10,000, they are required to report such payments to the IRS using Form 8300, Report of Cash Payments Over $10,000. This applies to a single transaction, as well as to a series of related transactions exceeding that amount. Further, you don’t have the luxury of waiting very long to meet the filing requirement. The form is required to be filed within 15 ...

If you are in business, chances are very good that you have been inundated with marketing materials claiming you likely are eligible for thousand of dollars in tax refunds from the IRS for claiming what's known as the Employee Retention Credit (ERC). Hardly a week (and sometimes a day) has gone by in recent memory that we didn't have someone contacting our firm about something they received about this and asking why we didn't tell ...

If you are in business and have invested in fixed assets for use in your business in recent years, you likely have gotten used to the generous immediate expensing rules that have been available to most small and medium-sized businesses. It wasn't unusual under these rules for a business to be able to deduct up to 100% of the cost of newly acquired fixed assets in the year they were placed in service under what ...

A few weeks back, I wrote about issues and pitfalls related to IRA required minimum distributions (RMDs) in the year of death of the IRA owner (see "Year of Death Required Minimum Distributions for IRAs"). This sparked conversations with clients regarding other mistakes to avoid for RMDs from not only IRAs, but other tax-favored accounts such as 401(k) accounts. To refresh, a RMD is the amount retirement account owners must withdraw from their IRAs and ...

Presented by ABC and EGP Certified Public Accountants & Consultants. September 26th in North Little Rock, Arkansas The labor shortage continues; what are local General Contractors doing to combat the issues?How is AI progressing some small to midsize General Contractors forward? Join us for ABC (Associated Builders and Contractors) and EGP's Construction Breakfast. Let’s have a good breakfast and dive in with local experts and contractors pioneering progress on Tuesday, September 26th. There is no ...

Even though the stock market has in large measure rebounded since taking a dive a year and a half or so ago, it hasn't returned to the record highs reached before doing so. This leaves many portfolios still valued below what they were at their peak. Because of this, for those with investments held in pre-tax retirement accounts, such as traditional IRAs and 401(K) accounts, this may be a good time to consider converting some, ...

Once an IRA owner turns age 73, he or she must begin receiving lifetime required minimum distributions (RMDs) based on the total value of all IRAs owned and their applicable life expectancy obtained from IRS tables. To avoid the onerous 50% penalty for failing to take one, the first RMD must be taken by April 1 of the year after turning 73. This date is known as the "required beginning date". Subsequent RMDs then are ...

In recent years, a hybrid form of pension plan called a Cash Balance Pension Plan (or CBP for short) has become increasingly popular among, in particular, successful small businesses with a limited number of owners. One reason for this is that the owners of the business can often contribute as much as three to four times more than the dollar limits that are placed by law on other types of retirement plans such as SEPS, ...

A few weeks back, this space discussed the benefits of being a generous person and my article "The Benefits of Generosity", and of course, part of that discussion was about being financially generous by donating to charity.  To encourage such generosity, the tax code incentivizes donations to qualified charitable organizations by allowing tax deductions for donating not only money, but also other property. To benefit from this incentive, you must be someone who (1) itemizes ...

Starting May 26th through August 11th EGP CPAs will close all offices at noon on Fridays. Mon - Thurs 8:00 - 5:00Friday 8:00 - 12:00 "Work" and "Life" are interdependent elements that are increasingly intertwined, given the changing demographics and increased pressures from work and family responsibilities. At EGP, our leadership continues to strive for Work-Life Harmony.

An estimated nearly 1.5 million people across the USA have unclaimed tax refunds for the year 2019 that they could be in danger of losing due to unfiled 2019 tax returns, according to the IRS. If that's you, you face a July 17 deadline to submit your tax return and claim your money! The average median refund is $893 for that year, per a special state-by-state calculation the IRS did to show how many people ...

Having a generous spirit, and being generous with our financial resources, time, and talents, can have many benefits. Given the recent tragic tornado event that took place in Arkansas and witnessing the outpouring of generosity by our fellow Arkansans, this seemed a fitting time to discuss these benefits, and to point out that, while giving of yourself and your resources is critically important at times like these, during the holidays when need is so keenly ...

It has become a fact of life, especially as life expectancy has increased dramatically in modern times, that people often find themselves in the situation of needing to care of aging parents. While for the vast majority of us, this is very much an act of love and gratefulness, it is not without its challenges to be sure.  It can be even more complicated for the many, like my wife and I, who are part ...

Digital assets (or DA for short) are becoming increasingly viewed as not just novelties, but as legitimate investment vehicles and currencies of trade.  When most people think of digital assets, they think cryptocurrency, such as Bitcoin or Ethereum. But the term digital asset has greater breadth of meaning than that. The IRS definition of a DA is to me as good as any. It basically defines them as digital representations of value that are recorded ...