Business

Business owners are aware that the price of gas is historically high, which has made their vehicle costs soar. The average nationwide price of a gallon of unleaded regular gas on June 17 was $5, compared with $3.08 a year earlier, according to the AAA Gas Prices website. A gallon of diesel averaged $5.78 a…

Accounts payable is a critical area of concern for every business. However, as a back-office function, it doesn’t always get the attention it deserves. Once in place, accounts payable processes tend to get taken for granted. Following are some tips and best practices for improving your company’s approach. Be strategic Too often, businesses take a…

There’s a valuable tax deduction available to a C corporation when it receives dividends. The “dividends-received deduction” is designed to reduce or eliminate an extra level of tax on dividends received by a corporation. As a result, a corporation will typically be taxed at a lower rate on dividends than on capital gains. Ordinarily, the…

Every business wants to engage in strategic planning that will better position the company to sell more to current customers — and perhaps expand into new markets. Yet the term “strategic planning” is so broad. It’s easy to get overwhelmed by all the possible directions you could go in and have a hard time choosing…

Here’s an interesting option if your small company or start-up business is planning to claim the research tax credit. Subject to limits, you can elect to apply all or some of any research tax credits that you earn against your payroll taxes instead of your income tax. This payroll tax election may influence some businesses…

The next quarterly estimated tax payment deadline is June 15 for individuals and businesses so it’s a good time to review the rules for computing corporate federal estimated payments. You want your business to pay the minimum amount of estimated taxes without triggering the penalty for underpayment of estimated tax. Four methods The required installment of…

Businesses with multiple owners generally benefit from a variety of viewpoints, diverse experience and strategic areas of specialization. However, there’s a major risk: the company can be thrown into tumult if one of the owners decides, or is compelled by circumstances, to leave. A logical and usually effective solution is to create and implement a…

Are you a partner in a business? You may have come across a situation that’s puzzling. In a given year, you may be taxed on more partnership income than was distributed to you from the partnership in which you’re a partner. Why does this happen? It’s due to the way partnerships and partners are taxed.…

You can’t stop it; you can only hope to use it to your best business advantage. That’s right, summer is on the way and, with it, a variety of seasonal marketing opportunities for small to midsize companies. Here are three ideas to consider. 1. Support summer camps and local sports Soon, millions of young people…