“Perfection” may be the ultimate goal, but trying to attain this can cause stress, hinder efficiency, and create unnecessary conflicts with the people around you. Perfectionists are frequently perceived as: Critical Overwhelmed Unable to see the big picture Stressed-out and anxious Rarely able to enjoy their accomplishments A more productive goal is excellence: meeting the… Read More
Do your emails get the attention and rapid response they deserve? Here’s how to make sure people read and answer your messages while they’re still fresh: Grab them with your subject. The subject line should read like a compelling newspaper headline. One technique is to use the subject line to tell people what you want… Read More
According to a 2016 study by Experian, the average U.S. small business owner has $195,000 of debt. Some debt is a natural part of doing business. For example, a business loan, line of credit or business credit card can enable you to purchase equipment, hire employees, and finance growth. Too much debt, however, is risky… Read More
If you plan to deduct any of your charitable donations on your 2016 tax return, hopefully you kept good records throughout the year and any receipts (whenever possible) from charitable organizations. Below are just a few basic reminders about charitable gifts: Qualified Charitable Distribution from an IRA. The IRS permits individual IRA owners over the age… Read More
If you fail to keep adequate records for business car use, the IRS can disallow deductions. You are required to keep a contemporaneous log or other similar record of your business trips. That doesn’t mean you have to record the information the moment you arrive home, but you can’t wait until months have passed either.… Read More
If you can figure out how to save just $125 per month, then set up an automatic savings to a mutual fund that yields an average of 7 percent, in five years you will have almost $9,000. In 20 years, that amount will have grown to $65,000! Here are four suggestions for coming up with that $125 per month: • Look… Read More
The IRS is warning taxpayers and practitioners that a new scam uses fraudulent CP2000s to solicit money from taxpayers. The fraudulent forms look convincing, and show balances due that are small enough that taxpayers just might pay rather than arguing the point. However, upon closer inspection, these forms have telltale signs of fraud: The instructions… Read More
Back-to-school season is upon us all, and the IRS has issued new warnings about how many people are being hassled for what is being called a “federal student tax”. There is no such thing. Don’t fall for it. As a reminder, the IRS has already told us that they will NOT: • Call to demand… Read More