The IRS announced it opened the 2023 individual income tax return filing season on January 23. That’s when the agency began accepting and processing 2022 tax year returns. Even if you typically don’t file until much closer to the mid-April deadline (or you file for an extension), consider filing earlier this year. The reason is you can potentially protect yourself from tax identity theft. Here are some answers to questionsRead More »ZCPA: Why you might want to file early and answers to other tax season questions

With the 2023 filing season deadline drawing near, be aware that the deadline for businesses to file information returns for hired workers is even closer. By January 31, 2023, employers must file these forms: Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement. W-2 forms show the wages paid and taxes withheld for the year for each employee. They must be provided to employees and filed with the Social Security Administration (SSA). The IRSRead More »ZCPA: Forms W-2 and 1099-NEC are due to be filed soon

If you have a child or grandchild in college — congratulations! To help pay for the expenses, many parents and grandparents saved for years in tax-favored accounts, such as 529 plans. But there are also a number of tax breaks that you may be able to claim once your child begins attending college or post-secondary school. Tuition tax credits You can take the American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC) of upRead More »Emil @ ZCPA wrote: Tax-saving ways to help pay for college — once your child starts attending

Does your construction business work in the residential sector? If so, there are some powerful tax incentives in effect right now that could generate revenue for your company. However, many property owners may not be aware of them, so it’s in your best interest to get the word out. Two credits in play In August 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) was signed into law. Included in the act’s many provisionsRead More »ZCPA: Residential construction companies should get the word out about home energy tax credits

If your small business has a retirement plan, and even if it doesn’t, you may see changes and benefits from a new law. The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement 2.0 Act (SECURE 2.0) was recently signed into law. Provisions in the law will kick in over several years. SECURE 2.0 is meant to build on the original SECURE Act, which was signed into law in 2019. Here areRead More »ZCPA: How the new SECURE 2.0 law may affect your business

If you’re a parent or grandparent with college-bound children, you may want to save to fund future education costs. Here are several approaches to take maximum advantage of the tax-favored ways to save that may be available to you. Savings bonds Series EE U.S. savings bonds offer two tax-saving opportunities when used to finance college expenses: You don’t have to report the interest on the bonds for federal tax purposesRead More »ZCPA: Tax-wise ways to save for college

The construction industry has always been all about mobility. Yet many contractors continue to hold on to paper processes that keep employees — and project information — unnecessarily tethered to the front office. The widespread use of mobile devices and cloud-based software, greatly accelerated by the pandemic, is now essentially forcing construction companies to find better ways to share information quickly, remotely and securely. In short, there’s a strong caseRead More »ZCPA: The case for a digital construction enterprise

The Employee Retention Credit (ERC) was a valuable tax credit that helped employers that kept workers on staff during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. While the credit is no longer available, eligible employers that haven’t yet claimed it might still be able to do so by filing amended payroll returns for tax years 2020 and 2021. However, the IRS is warning employers to beware of third parties that mayRead More »ZCPA: Employers should be wary of ERC claims that are too good to be true

A new law was recently signed that will help Americans save more for retirement, although many of the provisions don’t kick in for a few years. The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement 2.0 Act (SECURE 2.0) was signed into law on December 29, 2022. SECURE 2.0 is meant to build on the original SECURE Act of 2019, which made major changes to the required minimum distribution (RMD) rulesRead More »Emil @ ZCPA: SECURE 2.0 law may make you more secure in retirement

Although the national price of gas is a bit lower than it was a year ago, the optional standard mileage rate used to calculate the deductible cost of operating an automobile for business will be going up in 2023. The IRS recently announced that the 2023 cents-per-mile rate for the business use of a car, van, pickup or panel truck is 65.5 cents. These rates apply to electric and hybrid-electricRead More »The standard business mileage rate is going up in 2023

If you own a home and rent it to a relative, you may be surprised to find out there could be tax consequences. Quick rundown of the rules Renting out a home or apartment that you own may result in a tax loss for you, even if the rental income is more than your operating costs. You’ll be entitled to a depreciation deduction for your cost of the house orRead More »Renting to a relative? Watch out for tax traps

If you’re considering converting your C corporation to an S corporation, be aware that there may be tax implications if you’ve been using the last in, first out (LIFO) inventory method. That’s because of the LIFO recapture income that will be triggered by converting to S corporation status. We can meet to compute what the tax on this recapture would be and to see what planning steps might be takenRead More »How to minimize the S corporation LIFO recapture tax