Blog
Beneficial Ownership Information
2024 - January 4
The US Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) is now requiring many business owners to report their ownership in businesses directly to FinCEN through the Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) report. This new requirement has been implemented to help combat money laundering, tax fraud and other illegal acts.
Progressive Tax Rates
2023 - December 23
I've had many discussions with people where they indicate that they need to lower their income otherwise their taxes are going to drastically increase. Sometimes that jump is a large increase while other times it is a small jump. Whether the jump in tax brackets is a small one or a big one, I think we can all agree that nobody wants to pay more in taxes then they actually have to.
20,000 Rejection Letters
2023 - December 4
The IRS recently issued 20,000 rejection letters for Employee Retention Tax Credit applications and plans to thoroughly review the applications that have been submitted. The IRS also plans to create various programs for people to withdrawn their own application if they believe that they don't actually qualify.
Meals and Entertainment
2023 - December 4
For 2021 and 2022, many meals were 100% deductible while entertainment was 0% deductible. Now for the 2023 tax year, meals are back to 50% deductible and entertainment is still 0% deductible, generally. However, it is important to know how to you might be able to get an even better deduction than the 50% for meals and the 0% for entertainment.
Pass-Through Entity Election
2023 - November 16
One fairly new tax-savings opportunity is the pass-through entity tax election. This election can save business owners significant tax dollars, especially if they generally take the standard deduction on their 1040 or if they've already reached the maximum deductible state taxes on their Schedule A.
Real Estate Professional Status
2023 - November 13
One tax benefit that is available to people who own real estate, especially those who are fortunate enough to own multiple properties, is the "Real Estate Professional" status. It's a status that can unlock significant tax benefits, but it's not without its rules and challenges. Not everyone will qualify to be designated as a Real Estate Professional (despite what your friends and neighbors might tell you), so it is important to know what requirements there are to qualify for this status.
IRS Penalty Relief
2023 - October 31
One of the things I have noticed over the last several years is that it seems as though the IRS has been issuing more and more IRS notices to taxpayers. Many of these notices assess penalties such as Failure to File, Failure to Pay, Accuracy-Related, or other penalties. If you receive a notice from the IRS that assesses penalties to you - it doesn't necessarily mean that you actually owe those penalties.
Complete the file and reconcile!
2023 - July 22
When I get a set of accounting records from a client, many of them will say that “their books are done”. However, almost all of them forget to do the final step of their bookkeeping process - which is reconciling their books to their bank statements. This last, and often overlooked, step is crucial to making sure you have actually captured all of your activity for the year.
Save Now for a Happy Retirement!
2023 - June 21
Someday I hope to be able to retire and enjoy that retirement comfortably with Larissa by my side. We have had many adventures and hope to do many more. Early in our careers we found it prudent to start contributing to our 401(k) and retirement plans as best as we could.
2023 Best of Southern Utah
2023 - June 16
Last week, the winners of the Best of Southern Utah Awards were announced. I am happy to report that Bruner CPA Services received the Gold Medal for Best Accounting Firm for 2023.
Reasonable Compensation
2023 - May 29
One of the areas that I feel is not clearly defined by the IRS is the reasonable compensation rules surrounding the pay of an owner of an entity that is taxed as an S-Corporation. There are so many variables in what reasonable compensation means that the IRS can't clearly define what it means for every situation.
ERTC - Proceed with Caution
2023 - May 19
Some of the most frequent questions I have gotten over the last few tax seasons have been around the Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC). This credit can be incredibly beneficial for companies that were financially impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Many of my clients have received ERTC funds.
2023 Tax Season - Gratitude
2023 - May 13
With the 2023 tax season now in the rearview mirror, I've had a moment to catch my breath and to reflect on how my first tax season with Bruner CPA Services went. The word that I feel best describes the tax season for me is: Gratitude.
Taxes of an LLC
2022 - December 22
I meet with a lot of business owners that want to be taxed as an S-Corp without knowing much about what that means. Oftentimes, they get advice from their neighbor or a friend with good intentions but not necessarily all the information. The point I try to emphasize with them is that there is no “one-size-fits-all” way to setup a business.
Tax Planning
2022 - December 8
A few years ago I met a couple for the first time when they came to me in March after they had someone else prepare their tax return. They owed over $15,000 in federal taxes and they couldn’t understand why and they wanted a second opinion.
Introduction to Mike Bruner
2022 - December 01
Welcome to Bruner CPA Services! I am so excited that you are here with me. Thank you for finding your way to my blog posts. I hope to answer a lot of the questions that I frequently get asked here.