If you are on a not-for-profit board, you will not want to miss this seminar on how to maximize your efforts to be most effective for your board. What will be your legacy? Check it out: BRC NFP Board Effectiveness Seminar
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| NC Sales Tax Holiday Repealed |
The sales tax holiday formerly scheduled in August was repealed by legislation enacted in 2013. The NC Department of Revenue advises that retailers should be aware that any retailer who, by any character or public advertisement, offers to absorb the sales and use tax, or in any manner directly or indirectly advertises that the tax is not considered an element in the price to the purchaser, is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.
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Elizabeth Danner, CPA, Manager, shares a quote that reminds her of the importance of keeping an eye toward innovation in all aspects of work:
"If I had asked my customers what they wanted, they would have said a faster horse." - Henry Ford
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Super Foods for Super Performance: Raspberries
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Like advisors, not all foods were created equally, some just deliver more...
Why They're Super
Tart, sweet, and incredibly juicy, just one half cup of these berries provides a whopping 4 grams of fiber and more than 25% of the daily recommended intake for both vitamin C and manganese. Raspberries also contain a powerful arsenal of antioxidants, including members of the anthocyanin family, which give raspberries their ruby-red hue and antimicrobial properties.
How to Enjoy Them
Try a few berries with your morning cereal or use them to add flavor to a green salad.
-ABCNewsHealth |
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| Strategies for Mitigating Risk |
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 Disaster Planning for the Unwilling
By Bill Ellis, CPA, Director of Information Technology
Few of us want to waste time on a "Disaster Plan". It is time consuming, expensive to get help, and offers no immediate, concrete payoff. If you don't have the time and resources to do proper risk assessment and planning, you may still mitigate risks and avoid the worst outcomes if you're proactive about it. Here are a few things to consider: Read more.
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Keeping up with the code... Below are some favored tax planning tips your team wants to make you aware of...
Be Sure to Roll Over IRAs Within 60 Day Period
- Heads Up from Scotti Teschke, CPA, Senior Manager:
The IRS is firm in enforcing the 60-day rollover period related to IRAs, regardless of significant family and work issues that may exist at the time. In a recent private ruling, the Service did not waive the period term for an owner who did not rollover a distribution from her IRA within the 60 day period due to a heavy job workload, caring for an elderly parent and a custody dispute involving her son. When intending to complete a roll over, be sure to do so within the 60 day window to avoid locking in unwanted losses and penalties.
 Additional Potential Savings for Those Who Use a Flex Plan for Child Care Costs - Heads Up from Ron Kuyath, CPA, Principal:
In addition to taking advantage of a Flexible Savings Account (FSA), you can still claim the dependent care credit to the extent your expenses
are more than the amount that you pay through your FSA. While the maximum dependent care costs funded through an FSA are $5,000, the credit applies to as much as $6,000 of eligible expenses for filers with two or more children under the age of 13. Therefore, you could run the first $5,000 of dependent care costs through the FSA, and the next $1,000 would be eligible for the credit, saving an extra $200 in taxes. Of course, no credit is allowed for any child care costs that are paid via the flex plan.
If your school-age child is going to a summer day camp, the cost qualifies for the dependent care credit. Therefore, if you send your child to any special day camps for sports, computers, academics, theater, etc. this summer, don't forget this break. However, note that the costs of summer school and tutoring programs are treated as education, not care, and, as a result, aren't eligible for the credit. Other rules for the credit aren't affected. The child must be under 13, and expenses must be incurred so the parents can work.
 Thinking About Your College Grad or Student
- Heads Up from Brittany Grubbs, CPA, Supervisor:
If your college graduate is starting a full-time job and expects to work less than 245 days in a year, she can ask her employer to use the part-year withholding method to boost her paycheck and have less tax withheld. The standard federal tax withholding tables assume she'll be working for the full year when determining how much income tax to take out. The part-year method sets withholding according to what she'll actually earn during the portion of the year that she works.
The standard tax rule for scholarships is that the grants remain tax-free as long as the scholarships are not canceled in the event she cannot play a sport and they aren't required to do other work. This was reinforced by a recent private IRS ruling stating that even players receiving athletic scholarships with the right to unionize doesn't make the players employees for tax purposes or trigger a tax bill on their athletic scholarships.
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 Who's Responsible for Tracking Basis - S Corporation or Shareholder?
by Natasha Jordan, CPA, Supervisor
While many shareholders assume the S Corporation will track their basis, the shareholder is ultimately responsible for tracking their own basis in stock and debt (direct shareholder loans). This IRS requirement actually provides a great opportunity for the shareholder to analyze their investment. Studying the impact of additions, disposals, like-kind exchanges, depreciation, etc. can be enlightening in determining the real rate of return on a particular investment.
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| REMINDER: 2014 BRC Programs! Save the dates! |
BRC Privately Held Business Forums - [ongoing quarterly meetings]
Triad: Tues. Sept. 23, 2014 / Tues. Dec. 16, 2014 / Tues. March 17, 2014 (ongoing meetings to follow each third Tuesday of the last month of every quarter)
From family-owned businesses to entrepreneurial start-ups to mature companies in traditional industries, privately held companies today face increasingly complex challenges in the quest to grow in size and profitability. In these quarterly forums, we will be focusing on the issues most relevant to privately held businesses. Whether you attend to discern a new way of looking at a challenging issue, determine actionable ideas for ways to capture opportunities, network with others in similar situations or a myriad of other reasons, we look forward to seeing you!
BRC Not-for-Profit Board Seminars
Triad: Tues., Oct. 21, 2014
Triangle: Thurs., Oct. 23, 2014
Whether interested in maximizing your board's effectiveness through a greater understanding of financial statements or tax forms, attaining a better understanding of your fiduciary responsibilities or networking with other influential leaders on not-for-profit boards with the desire to make a difference, this program has something for you. Advising and serving over 220 not-for-profit entities, this program was client-requested and developed with client input.
BRC Financial Symposiums
Triad: Mon. Oct. 27, 2014
Triangle: Thurs., Oct. 30, 2014
This past December, we conducted full day 8 hour CPE workshops in the Triad and Triangle. Well-received, with participant ratings of 4.8/5.0 and 4.9/5.0, we plan to hit it out of the park again with knowledgeable presenters and relevant topics - delivering high value CPE.
There will be more to come on these programs... Mark your calendars and make plans to attend now! All programs above qualify for CPE credit.
-Paula McMillan, CPA, Director of Marketing & Practice Development |
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