AHP Articles

Created: Tuesday, June 12, 2018

The Tax Impact of the TCJA on Estate Planning

The massive changes the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) made to income taxes have garnered the most attention. But the new law also made major changes to gift and estate taxes. While the TCJA didn’t repeal these taxes, it did significantly reduce the number of taxpayers who’ll be subject to them, at least for the next several years. Nevertheless, factoring taxes into your estate planning is still important.
Created: Wednesday, May 16, 2018

Scarcity of Health Benefits in Construction

Workers have begun to realize the significance of health care benefits, as the costs of insurance and other medical-related expenses continue to soar upward. But the construction industry has been slow to adapt
Created: Wednesday, May 9, 2018

Cost control takes a total team effort

That’s just the cost of doing business.” You’ve probably heard this expression many times. It’s true that, to invoke another cliché, you’ve got to spend money to make money. But that doesn’t mean you have to take rising operational costs sitting down.
Created: Sunday, May 6, 2018

New Tax Benefits of Hiring Your Child

Summer jobs can be an effective way to teach children about financial responsibility, encourage them to save for college or retirement, and provide them with spending money during the school year. If you own a business, consider hiring your child (or grandchild) as a legitimate employee. It can be a smart tax-saving strategy for employee and employer alike, especially under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA).
Created: Wednesday, May 2, 2018

Say, just how competitive is your business anyway?

Every business owner launches his or her company wanting to be successful. But once you get out there, it usually becomes apparent that you’re not alone. To reach any level of success, you’ve got to be competitive with other similar businesses in your market.
Created: Wednesday, April 4, 2018

Tax document retention guidelines for small businesses

You may have breathed a sigh of relief after filing your 2017 income tax return (or requesting an extension). But if your office is strewn with reams of paper consisting of years’ worth of tax returns, receipts, canceled checks and other financial records (or your computer desktop is filled with a multitude of digital tax-related files), you probably want to get rid of what you can. Follow these retention guidelines as you clean up.
Created: Monday, March 26, 2018

Making 2017 retirement plan contributions in 2018

The clock is ticking down to the tax filing deadline. The good news is that you still may be able to save on your impending 2017 tax bill by making contributions to certain retirement plans. For example, if you qualify, you can make a deductible contribution to a traditional IRA right up until the April 17, 2018, filing date and still benefit from the resulting tax savings on your 2017 return. You also have until April 17 to make a contribution to a Roth IRA. And if you happen to be a small business owner, you can set up and contribute to a Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) plan up until the due date for your company’s tax return, including extensions.
Created: Monday, March 12, 2018

IRS Announces Reduction in 2018 Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) Limit

Last week, the IRS announced in Bulletin No 2018-10, a reduction in the family contribution limit for Health Savings Accounts (HSAs). In 2017, the IRS announced a $3,450 limit for individuals and $6,900 limit for families. While the limit for individuals remains the same, the limit for families has been reduced by $50 to $6,850. The decrease from the previously announce amount is due to the change in the cost of living index in the new tax bill which caused the limit to rise a little slower than previously anticipated.
Created: Saturday, March 3, 2018

FAQs about Deducting Home Loan Interest under the New Tax Law

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) changes the rules for deducting interest on home loans. Most homeowners will be unaffected because favorable grandfather provisions will keep the prior-law rules for home acquisition debt in place for them.
Created: Wednesday, February 14, 2018

Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 Extends a Number of Expired Tax Provisions for 2017

On Friday, February 9, 2018, the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 was signed into law. The new law includes an extension of certain expired tax provisions for 2017, and tax relief for victims of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria and the California Wildfires. Below is a summary of the key provisions affecting individual taxpayers.