Q: I am finishing up my tax return and want to make sure I am not missing any deductions. What deductions are most commonly missed?
A: As you probably know, most business deductions come right out of your business checkbook. Any expense that is incurred in the course of your business activity that is ordinary and necessary will be deductible in some form. Therefore, the first step is to make sure you have captured all the data from your business checkbook and any other expenses that were incurred even if you paid some of those from another account. Try to avoid paying business expenses with cash simply to make sure documentation is adequate. However, if valid business expenses were indeed paid with cash, the amounts are still deductible; just make sure you maintain adequate support for the expenditures.
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Mar 25, 2015
Alan DeValerio is the Founder of White House Memories located in Frederick, Md. Alan joined the NASE in 2005. He first joined for the discounted dental insurance and has continued to enjoy the various benefits the NASE offers. Alan worked as a contract butler at the White House in Washington D.C from 1980 to 1989 and began giving presentations about his experiences in 2012.
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Mar 25, 2015
In September 2013, the Departments of Treasury, Health and Human Services, and Labor, released Technical Release No. 2013-03, ”Application of Market Reform and other Provisions of the Affordable Care Act to HRAs, Health FSAs, and Certain other Employer Healthcare Arrangements.”
The guidance stipulates that an employer that offers an HRA to two or more employees, but does not offer a group health care plan, is not compliant with annual limit regulations and the business would be subject to penalty. However, a single employee business can still offer an HRA plan and would not run afoul of compliance issues under the ACA.
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Mar 25, 2015
The NASE in conjunction with several organizations communicated its support of payroll cards in a letter to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The Bureau recently released a proposal regarding prepaid accounts in an effort to protect employees from bas practices.
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Mar 25, 2015
With a month until the April 15th deadline when millions of Americans and small businesses must file their 2014 tax returns, the National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE), the nation’s leading advocate and resource for the self-employed and micro-businesses, today released a list of changes and updates to the tax code along with important tips and resources for filing accurate returns.
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Mar 20, 2015
Whether it’s the private car service Uber or Lyft, the online marketplace Etsy or an accommodation provider called AirBnb, these small and individual entrepreneurs operating in the shared services space are part of the growing small business community in what is being called, the “freelance economy”. TheNational Association for the Self-Employed (NASE), the nation’s leading advocate and resource for the self-employed and micro-business community, welcomes these new entrepreneurs to the largest small business demographic while reminding them of their rights and responsibilities.
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Feb 26, 2015
Local Detroit area small business, McConnell Communications, a small business specializing in personally managed, customized communications campaigns to help clients reach a target audience, has been selected as this month’s National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE) “Member Spotlight.” The National Association for the Self-Employed is the nation’s leading advocate and resource for the self-employed and micro-business community.
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Feb 24, 2015
In the latest in a long string of delays in enforcing the rules under the health care overhaul, the Internal Revenue Service and Treasury Department announced on Wednesday that they will wait until summer to start enforcing financial penalties on small businesses that provide so-called Health Reimbursement Arrangements to their employees.
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Feb 19, 2015
Katie Vlietstra, Vice President for Government Relations and Public Affairs for the National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE), the nation’s leading advocate and resource for the self-employed and micro-business community, today offered the following reaction to the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s announcement that it is delaying the enforcement of the technical guidance issued in September 2013 regarding Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs), a key health care tool for America’s smallest employers.
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Feb 18, 2015
The Treasury Department said Wednesday that it would delay enforcement of an Affordable Care Act prohibition relating to standalone health reimbursement arrangements until July 1.
A standalone HRA is an employer-provided benefit that offers participants a spending account to reimburse them for qualified medical expenses. However, in light of the ACA’s ban against health plans with an annual dollar limit on essential benefits, standalone HRAs have been deemed impermissible.
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Feb 18, 2015