Reacting badly to bad national economic events can turn a challenging situation into a devastating one. When troubling headline news comes your way, consider these tips before making financial moves.
Generally, when you’re single, you can exclude up to $250,000 of gain from the sale of a home ($500,000 if you’re married filing jointly) when the home is used as a primary residence for two years in a five-year period that ends on the date of sale. Tax law also provides for a partial exclusion when the time and ownership requirements are not met, if the primary reason for the sale is unforeseen circumstances. “Unforeseen” means
Are you confused about your choices for paying medical expenses under your employer’s benefit plan? Here are differences between two types of commonly offered accounts: a health savings account (HSA) and a health care flexible spending account (FSA). Overview. An FSA is generally established under an employer’s benefit plan. You can set aside a portion of your salary on a pretax basis to pay out-of-pocket medical expenses. An HSA is a combination of a high-deductible health
The IRS announced inflation-adjusted limits for deductible contributions to health savings accounts (HSAs) for 2017. For family coverage, the contribution limit will be $6,750, and for individual coverage, the limit will be $3,400. If you’re age 55 or older, you can contribute an additional $1,000 during 2017. HSAs combine high-deductible health insurance plans with pretax contributions to a healthcare savings account. The savings account funds can be withdrawn tax-free to pay unreimbursed medical expenses.
September 15 – Third quarter installment of 2016 individual estimated income tax is due. September 15 – Filing deadline for 2015 tax returns for calendar-year corporations that received an automatic extension of the March filing deadline. September 15 – Filing deadline for 2015 tax returns for partnerships that received an extension of the April filing deadline. October 1 – Generally, the deadline for businesses to adopt a SIMPLE retirement plan for 2016. October 17 – Deadline
As a general rule, you can deduct 50% of what you spend on business entertainment on your federal taxes. Although the IRS is very strict about requiring you to document the expenses and their business purpose, it can be surprisingly generous about what counts as a business expense.
It might be tempting to informally agree with other business owners in a niche field not to poach one another’s employees, but it’s illegal – and recently, some businesses have paid a high price. For example, the Department of Justice went after several tech companies that allegedly had an informal “no-poach” understanding. The employees themselves then filed a class action, which resulted in a $415 million settlement.
Many businesses have predicted that new federal rules that took effect last year could result in “quickie” union elections in which the employer wouldn’t have time to campaign effectively and get its message across. It now looks like those fears might be justified – the average time before a private-sector union election is now only three weeks, compared to five weeks previously, according to the National Labor Relations Board.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has put its records online, including trademark owners’ full addresses. As a result, many shady but official-sounding businesses are now contacting trademark owners and offering scam services. For instance, such businesses may offer to arrange third-party publication (which is unnecessary), or they may offer legitimate services such as filing a record with the Customs Office at exorbitant prices. The most dangerous scams offer to renew a trademark registration without properly
Can a company that conducts an internal investigation tell the employees it’s interviewing not to talk about the matter while the inquiry is pending? Not necessarily, according to a new decision by the National Labor Relations Board. The ruling applies to all businesses, regardless of whether they have a union. Companies can insist on confidentiality only if certain conditions are met, the Board said.
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