Articles & Helpful Resources

Get the long term care-related highlights from the proposed 2013 budget. Learn how they will affect Maryland long term care providers.

The IRS recently released the new 2011 Form 990 and instructions. The instructions include several important changes for Form 990, which most tax exempt organizations file every year.

Have you officially designated beneficiaries on bank accounts, brokerage firm accounts, tax-favored retirement accounts, company benefit plans, life insurance policies, annuities, and 529 college accounts? If not, now is time to do so. And don't forget to update them if circumstances have changed.

Learn five important facts that parents and grandparents need to understand about custodial accounts for children.

Learn about the cost-of-living adjustments that go into effect in 2012. 

What should construction contractors look for in an accounting software package? This article offers tips for a successful accounting software implementation, issues to consider before a software upgrade, and keys to successful integration with estimating, central job screen and financial reports.

Deficiencies in employee benefit plan audits remain troublesome. Know the common pitfalls of employee benefit plan audits.

Get the highlights of 2011's key tax law development here.

Read more about various payroll-related updates for 2012.

Recently, the U.S. Small Business Administration increased the size restrictions for eligible businesses, allowing much larger businesses to qualify for SBA loans. This might make your business eligible for many new loan programs.

IRS sets 2012 mileage rate for business miles driven at 55.5 cents per mile.

Soon-to-be-expiring tax breaks present attractive tax planning opportunities, including heavy-SUV tax breaks, 100 percent first-year bonus depreciation, and Section 179 expensing.

The Three Percent Withholding Repeal and Job Creation Act was signed into law on November 21, 2011, repealing the three percent withholding on government contractors.

The VOW to Hire Heroes Act, passed by Congress November 16, extends and expands the Work Opportunity credit for companies that hire unemployed or disabled veterans.

The IRS recently clarified the rules surrounding noncash charitable contributions of food inventory. Handle your donations correctly to qualify for the maximum tax deduction.

The IRS recently approved new regulations for Form 990. These regulations finalize and implement significant revisions made to Form 990 in 2008.

The Community Investment Tax Credit program offers Maryland businesses a financial reward for supporting qualified community projects.

Why it's important to maintain tax return records that will stand up to close scrutiny from the IRS.

When employers provide cell phones to employees or when employers reimburse employees for business use of personal cell phones, tax-free treatment is available without burdensome recordkeeping requirements.

An insightful article for manufacturers: "Made in America, again: why manufacturing will return to the U.S.," published by The Boston Consulting Group.

Hear the Maryland Comptroller's perspective on the latest tax issues affecting Maryland restaurants, caterers, nonprofit organizations, construction contractors and landscapers.

This new IRS program allows many employers to resolve past worker classification issues and achieve certainty under the tax law at a low cost by voluntarily reclassifying their workers.

Learn how to make your year-end charitable contributions work harder for you in these tough economic times.

We review some of the major business tax breaks that are slated to expire December 31, 2011. Take advantage of any available tax breaks while they are still "on the table."

While the financial benefits of employee misclassification remain, increased scrutiny from the government – which includes the possibility of an audit, back taxes, interest, and large penalties – should prompt employers to revaluate their procedures, documentations and hiring practices.

President's proposed $447 billion American Jobs Act of 2011 includes payroll tax cuts and tax credits to encourage hiring.

How a taxpayer reports the sale of real property to the IRS dramatically impacts his or her tax liability.

CMS announced a final rule reducing Medicare skilled nursing facility Prospective Payment System payments in FY 2012 by $3.87 billion.

Delmarva Foundation has a few new resources for long term care providers.

Contractors can sometimes qualify for the tax benefits of the IRS's "real estate professional" status, and you might be a real estate professional.

The 0.2% federal unemployment (FUTA) surtax is scheduled to expire after June 30, 2011.

The Internal Revenue Service today announced an increase in the optional standard mileage rates for the final six months of 2011.

Maryland’s new sales tax rate on alcoholic beverages is effective July 1, 2011.

Take steps to minimize unclaimed property liability to avoid having an unclaimed property audit by the Business Tax Audit Section of Maryland’s Compliance Division.

Be aware of the rules for retaining tax records before you toss important tax information.

Obama signs law that repeals two sets of rules that had business owners, company managers, and landlords up in arms because of the paperwork nightmare they created.

Like-kind exchanges can defer tax bills on real estate gains, but you must comply with all the relevant rules.

If your business sells to customers in many states, you may be exposed to a variety of multistate tax issues.

Small business owners should be careful to properly document shareholder loans used for non-business purposes to avoid being taxed currently as a dividend.

Federal legislation over the past few years has brought about additional tax law revisions relating to retirement and other benefit plans that go into effect for 2011.

Most tax-exempt organizations whose gross annual receipts are normally $50,000 or less are no longer required to file a Form 990. They can now file the simpler Form 990-N (Electronic Notification e-Postcard).

Read more about various payroll-related updates for 2011.

The rules for reimbursement on over-the-counter (OTC) medicine and drug costs under certain employer-provided benefit plans are about to be changed due to the health care reform law enacted earlier this year.

Effective January 1, 2011, the IRS will no longer permit employers to make deposits via paper tax-deposit coupons.

The federal government has passed a gift card law, bringing uniformity to gift cards' expiration date, fees, and redemption.

This article was written by Ernie Paszkiewicz and published in the Baltimore Business Journal on August 23, 2010.

This article was written by Ernie Paszkiewicz and published in the Baltimore Business Journal on November 23, 2009.

This article was written by David Goldner, managing partner, and published in the Baltimore Business Journal on November 6, 2009.

This article was written by Scott Handwerger and published in the Baltimore Business Journal on October 19, 2009.

This article was written by Jim Crisp and published in the Baltimore Business Journal on August 24, 2009.

This article was written by Ernie Paszkiewicz and published in the December 2008 issue of SmartCEO Magazine.

This article was written by David Lanchak and published in the Baltimore Business Journal on October 20, 2008. 

What nonprofit organizations, boards and leaders need to know about campaign-related activities during an election year: what's permissible and what's not?

This article was written by Steve Ball and published in the Baltimore Business Journal on January 28, 2008.

This article was written by Steve Ball and published in the Baltimore Business Journal on November 5, 2007.