From invoices and payments to discounts and write-offs, many business transactions are recorded to accounts receivable. This makes receivables a popular fraud target. But your business doesn’t have to become a victim. Common schemes Receivables fraud occurs when dishonest employees divert customer payments for their personal use. They use various methods, including: Lapping. This is the most common type of receivables fraud. It involves the application of receipts from one account to cover misappropriations from another. For example, rather than credit Customer A’s account for its payment, a dishonest employee pockets the funds and later posts a payment from Customer B to A’s account, Customer C’s payment to B’s account and so on. Write-offs and discounts. Instead of crediting a payment to the customer’s account, fraudsters might pocket the...

While the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) generally reduced individual tax rates for 2018 through 2025, some taxpayers could see their taxes go up due to reductions or eliminations of certain tax breaks — and, in some cases, due to their filing status. But some may see additional tax savings due to their filing status. Unmarried vs. married taxpayers In an effort to further eliminate the marriage “penalty,” the TCJA made changes to some of the middle tax brackets. As a result, some single and head of household filers could be pushed into higher tax brackets more quickly than pre-TCJA. For example, the beginning of the 32% bracket for singles for 2018 is $157,501, whereas it was $191,651 for 2017 (though the rate was 33%). For...

An annual estate plan checkup is critical to the health of your estate plan. Because various exclusion, exemption and deduction amounts are adjusted for inflation, they can change from year to year, impacting your plan. 2019 vs. 2018 amounts Here are a few key figures for 2018 and 2019: Lifetime gift and estate tax exemption 2018: $11.18 million 2019: $11.40 million Generation-skipping transfer tax exemption 2018: $11.18 million 2019: $11.40 million Annual gift tax exclusion 2018: $15,000 2019: $15,000 Marital deduction for gifts to a noncitizen spouse 2018: $152,000 2019: $155,000 You may need to update your estate plan based on these changes. But the beginning of the year isn’t the only time for an estate plan checkup. Whenever there are significant changes in your family, such as births, deaths, marriages or divorces, it’s a good...

This year, the optional standard mileage rate used to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business increased by 3.5¢, to the highest level since 2008. As a result, you might be able to claim a larger deduction for vehicle-related expense for 2019 than you can for 2018. Actual costs vs. mileage rate Businesses can generally deduct the actual expenses attributable to business use of vehicles. This includes gas, oil, tires, insurance, repairs, licenses and vehicle registration fees. In addition, you can claim a depreciation allowance for the vehicle. However, in many cases depreciation write-offs on vehicles are subject to certain limits that don’t apply to other types of business assets. The mileage rate comes into play when taxpayers don’t want to keep track of actual...

Business owners engaged in fraudulent activities often try to manipulate their companies’ financial statements. Fortunately for fraud experts, business owners’ tax returns aren’t as easy to misrepresent. Here’s how experts use them to locate hidden assets and income. Seeking buried treasure Certain items are more likely to provide information about hidden assets and income sources. These include: Form 1040, Line 1 — Income from wages, etc. If the individual receives wages from several businesses, it may be possible to discover previously undisclosed business interests. Form 1040, Line 2a — Tax-exempt interest income. This income may reveal other investment assets. Form 1040, Line 4a — Retirement plan distributions. These funds can be traced to determine whether they were rolled over into other tax-deferred plans or used for another purpose. Form 1040, Line...

A revocable trust — often referred to as a “living trust” — can help ensure smooth management of your assets during life and avoid probate at death. And you may know that the trust isn’t effective unless you “fund” it — that is, transfer ownership of your assets to the trust. But what about assets such as automobiles and other vehicles? Should you transfer them to your revocable trust? Navigate potential bumps in the road If you still owe money on an auto loan, the lender may not allow you to transfer the title to the trust. But even if you own the vehicle outright (whether you paid cash for it or your loan is paid off), there are risks to consider before you make such a transfer. As...

As posted to the GoldMoney YouTube Channel on 6/18/11 (Run time 2 minutes, 58 seconds) In this excerpt (above ⇑) of the complete 30 minute discussion (below ⇓), Lawrence Parks, of FAME, and James Turk, Director of the GoldMoney Foundation, talk about the coming collapse of our monetary system and the lack of political will to resist the temptation to over issue paper money. They talk about fiat money inflation in France during the Revolution and mention "Fiat Money Inflation in France" by Andrew Dickson White, which Lawrence gave to Trichet, Paulson and others. They explain how that historic episode ended in disaster and what is ahead for the American economy. They explain how every fiat currency has ended being worth less than the paper it was...

Estate planning aims to help individuals achieve several important goals — primary among them, transferring wealth to loved ones at the lowest possible tax cost. However, if you have creditors, you need to be aware of how fraudulent transfer laws can affect your estate plan. Creditors could potentially challenge your gifts, trusts or other estate planning strategies as fraudulent transfers. Creditor challenges Most states have adopted the Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act (UFTA). The act allows creditors to challenge transfers involving two types of fraud. The first is actual fraud. This means making a transfer or incurring an obligation “with actual intent to hinder, delay or defraud any creditor,” including current creditors and probable future creditors. The second type is constructive fraud. This is a more significant risk for most...