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It’s the 4^th quarter. The holidays are right around the corner. The last thing you may want to think about is income taxes … but there are some compelling reasons why you should be thinking ahead.

Last year’s tax season saw the biggest change to the tax code in over 30 years. At the end of the tax season, we noted that one of the lessons learned was that individuals who engage us in tax planning early, on average, fared much better than those who did not. There are some very important reasons for this:

If you are using QuickBooks, you are not alone. In fact, QuickBooks is the market share leader for small business accounting. Like most software packages, most users do not take advantage of the full capabilities of the system.

To get the most out of your investment in QuickBooks, you should look at using more of the systems features while avoiding some of the common mistakes. The following is a list of best practices you should consider implementing for your small business:

Last year you thoughtfully constructed a budget. You painstakingly evaluated your projected income and expenses. You pored over your cash flow projections. You wiled away the hours getting the best snapshot you could of your business in the year to come.

Well, the 4^th quarter is here. How did last year’s budget fair? How often did you revisit it? Did you keep it up-to-date?

If you’re like most companies, you probably haven’t touched your budget since you constructed it. Or perhaps you’ve occasionally looked at it to see how you’re doing on your budget vs. actual.

One nearly universal element of the American Dream is the desire for your children to have more and do better than you. Many parents consider the legacy they will leave for their children as a part of their financial goal.

An important piece of an estate plan (as well as good organization of your paperwork) is to put together a “Love Letter”, also sometimes referred to a “Letter of Instruction”. We have written about them in the past, but in case you are not familiar, a Love Letter is a document that lists important information for your heirs in the event that something should happen to you.

Money doesn’t grow on trees! If you have monies owed to you, you should try to collect. At present, there are over $2.6B in unclaimed funds that Ohio is trying to get back in the hands of its rightful owners.

The Ohio General Assembly unanimously passed a bill that reverses a previous tax measure, passed in July, that required lawyers and lobbyists to pay tax on the first $250,000 of income they earned.

In a blow to several high-tax states, a federal judge has upheld a key provision of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), the State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction cap.

Under the TCJA, congress placed a cap on the amount taxpayers could claim on their Schedule A for state and local taxes.

How much life insurance should I carry?

This is a great question! We hear it frequently, so we wanted to cover it here on our blog. The question is usually asked in the context of: “I’m about to purchase a life insurance policy. How much coverage do I need?”

The answer is – it depends.

Ask the Expert: I sold my income property. Someone told me I could be impacted by depreciation recapture even though I didn’t claim depreciation – is this true?The short answer is, yes.

Certain types of assets can be depreciated and are subject to depreciation recapture; among these are investment rental properties.