Ken Berry, Esq., is a nationally-known writer and editor specializing in tax and financial planning matters. During a career of more than 35 years, he has served as managing editor of a publisher of content-based marketing tools and vice president of an online continuing education company in the financial services industry. As a freelance writer, Ken has authored thousands of articles for a wide variety of newsletters, magazines and other periodicals, emphasizing a sense of wit and clarity.
January 27, 2017
The IRS is notoriously stingy when it comes to deducting business meal expenses. Usually, if you can’t meet the substantiation rules under the strict letter of the tax law, it will disallow the deduction. Of course, you can take your chances in Tax ...
December 15, 2016
Under the final overtime rule, certain salary thresholds would have increased, resulting in millions of more Americans becoming eligible for overtime pay. For now, the status quo applies. The DOL is expected to appeal the decision, but President-elect ...
August 16, 2016
If some of your employees are looking to go back to school, or to enroll in college courses for the first time, you might decide to lend a helping hand. An employer can set up a program that effectively pays for all or most of the costs on a ...
August 16, 2016
To help ease the burden of hard-working parents, employers may institute a dependent care assistance plan for employees. Under such a plan, payments made to third parties like babysitters and day care centers are excluded from income if the costs ...
April 18, 2016
Clients who don’t adhere to state record keeping requirements run the risk of being penalized by auditors. The exact rules and penalties vary from state to state, but it is definitely in your clients’ best interests to stick to the letter of the law.
April 13, 2016
Many of your small business clients, especially those in retail operations, have struggled with responsibilities for collecting and remitting sales and use taxes to the appropriate jurisdictions. This includes issues relating to sales transactions and ...
December 28, 2015
Calls for federal income tax cuts are a time-honored tradition by presidential candidates of all stripes, but the Tax Policy Center study says that Trump’s plan dwarfs the proposals made by other GOP contenders.
December 9, 2015
Are your federal income taxes overdue? You could lose your passport if you try to leave the country – even if you’re just taking a vacation or business trip abroad.
December 8, 2015
A new proposed regulation that would result in some nonprofit organizations reporting the Social Security numbers of donors to the IRS is drawing fire from the conservative sector.
November 2, 2015
The deduction for taxes claimed on Schedule A includes amounts paid for state and local income taxes such as the taxes withheld from your paychecks and any estimated taxes paid during the year. It also includes property taxes if you’re a homeowner.
October 4, 2015
With income tax planning now on the minds of many taxpayers and tax professionals, our year-end tax planning series looks at several methods to lower tax liability in the current year.
July 19, 2015
National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson has released a report on the state of affairs at the IRS. There was plenty to complain about during the first half of 2015, but it remains to be seen how much the IRS can improve.
