Roger Rossmeisl, CPA, Author at Roger Rossmeisl, CPA

27 Aug 2021

Possible Tax Consequences of Guaranteeing a Loan to your Corporation

What if you decide to, or are asked to, guarantee a loan to your corporation? Before agreeing to act as a guarantor, endorser or indemnitor of a debt obligation of your closely held corporation, be aware of the possible tax consequences. If your corporation defaults on the loan and you’re required to pay principal or interest under the guarantee agreement, you don’t want to be blindsided. Business vs. non-business If you’re compelled to make good on the obligation, the payment of principal or interest in discharge of the obligation generally results in a bad debt deduction. This may be either a business or a non-business bad debt deduction. If it’s a business bad debt, it’s deductible against ordinary income. A business bad debt can be either totally...

26 Aug 2021

Protect your Company from Cyberattacks by Adopting Zero Trust

Roger Rossmeisl, CPA

Fraud Briefs

Protect your Company from Cyberattacks by Adopting Zero Trust

Some organizations struggle to prevent cyberattacks because they rely on cybersecurity tools and techniques that protect only their perimeter. Perpetrators who make it past a single line of defense (such as with a username and password) can gain unfettered access to the company’s network. They can then use ransomware to block access to data or steal customer information or intellectual property. Zero trust security was designed to address the shortcomings of a single perimeter defense. Created by an IT industry analyst, zero trust requires companies to not automatically trust users or devices. This can be particularly effective if your business relies on cloud computing or if your employees work from home or use their own devices to access your network. 3 principles Three key principles underlie zero trust: 1....

25 Aug 2021

Scholarships, While Usually Tax Free, May Result in Taxable Income

Roger Rossmeisl, CPA

Individual Tax Briefs

Scholarships While Usually Tax Free may Result in Taxable Income

If your child is fortunate enough to be awarded a scholarship, you may wonder about the tax implications. Fortunately, scholarships (and fellowships) are generally tax free for students at elementary, middle and high schools, as well as those attending college, graduate school or accredited vocational schools. It doesn’t matter if the scholarship makes a direct payment to the individual or reduces tuition. Requirements for tax-free treatment However, scholarships are not always tax free. Certain conditions must be satisfied. A scholarship is tax free only to the extent it’s used to pay for: Tuition and fees required to attend the school and Fees, books, supplies and equipment required of all students in a particular course. For example, expenses that don’t qualify include the cost of room and board, travel,...

25 Aug 2021

Large Cash Transactions with your Business must be Reported to the IRS

Roger Rossmeisl, CPA

Small Business Tax Briefs

Large Cash Transactions with you Business must be Reported to the IRS

If your business receives large amounts of cash or cash equivalents, you may be required to report these transactions to the IRS. What are the requirements? Each person who, in the course of operating a trade or business, receives more than $10,000 in cash in one transaction (or two or more related transactions), must file Form 8300. What is considered a “related transaction?” Any transactions conducted in a 24-hour period. Transactions can also be considered related even if they occur over a period of more than 24 hours if the recipient knows, or has reason to know, that each transaction is one of a series of connected transactions. To complete a Form 8300, you’ll need personal information about the person making the cash payment, including a Social Security...

25 Aug 2021

Be Careful. There Might be a “Visher” on the Line

Roger Rossmeisl, CPA

Fraud Briefs

Be Careful There Might be a Visher on the Line

“Vishing” may sound familiar, but unless you’re a fraud investigator, you probably haven’t encountered it. Unfortunately, that could change . . . soon. To foil a scam that increasingly takes advantage of remote workers, learn what vishing is and how your business can prevent it from infiltrating your network. Clarifying terms Vishing isn’t the same as “phishing.” The latter is a type of social engineering fraud that involves email or text messages designed to trick someone into revealing sensitive personal information. Or it may target employees to gain access to worker and customer data, as well as intellectual property. Voice vhishing (or vishing) scams, on the other hand, involve phones — rather than email or text messages. Vishing schemes often are more aggressive, elaborate and personalized than traditional...

24 Aug 2021

Tax Aspects of a Parent Moving into a Nursing Home

Roger Rossmeisl, CPA

Individual Tax Briefs

Tax Aspects of a Parent Moving into a Nursing Home

If you have a parent entering a nursing home, you may not be thinking about taxes. But there are a number of possible tax implications. Here are five. 1. Long-term medical care The costs of qualified long-term care, including nursing home care, are deductible as medical expenses to the extent they, along with other medical expenses, exceed 7.5% of adjusted gross income (AGI). Qualified long-term care services are necessary diagnostic, preventive, therapeutic, curing, treating, mitigating and rehabilitative services, and maintenance or personal-care services required by a chronically ill individual that is provided under care administered by a licensed healthcare practitioner. To qualify as chronically ill, a physician or other licensed healthcare practitioner must certify an individual as unable to perform at least two activities of daily living (eating, toileting,...

23 Aug 2021

Tesla AI Day Highlights

Roger Rossmeisl, CPA

Automotive, Technology

As posted to the Lex Fridman YouTube Channel on 8/20/21 (Run Time: 11 min, 29 sec) "Tesla AI Day presented the most amazing real-world AI and Engineering effort I have ever seen in my life" -- Lex Fridman On 8/19/21, Elon Musk convened Tesla AI Day, an event to share progress in the automaker’s software and hardware development related to artificial intelligence. The sole purpose of the even was a recruiting platform for Tesla’s AI team. Lex Fridman, presents here a quick video on the main innovations presented at Tesla AI day. (This is Blog Post #1075) Lex Fridman is an AI researcher working on autonomous vehicles, human-robot interaction, and machine learning at MIT and beyond. You can find his MIT Deep Learning and Artificial Intelligence Lectures at deeplearning.mit.edu, and the...

23 Aug 2021

Is an LLC the Right Choice for Your Small Business?

Roger Rossmeisl, CPA

Small Business Tax Briefs

Is an LLC the Right Choice for your Small Business

Perhaps you operate your small business as a sole proprietorship and want to form a limited liability company (LLC) to protect your assets. Or maybe you are launching a new business and want to know your options for setting it up. Here are the basics of operating as an LLC and why it might be appropriate for your business. An LLC is somewhat of a hybrid entity because it can be structured to resemble a corporation for owner liability purposes and a partnership for federal tax purposes. This duality may provide the owners with the best of both worlds. Personal asset protection Like the shareholders of a corporation, the owners of an LLC (called “members” rather than shareholders or partners) generally aren’t liable for the debts of the...

19 Aug 2021

Gift or Kickback? It’s a Fine Line

Roger Rossmeisl, CPA

Fraud Briefs

Your employees shouldn’t accept any gift offered with the intent to improperly influence business decisions — or even one that merely appears to compromise their ability to act in your company’s best interests. Unfortunately, kickbacks are often disguised as gifts or travel, so they can be hard to identify. Here’s how to maintain your business’s high ethical standards. Applying the integrity test Kickbacks return a portion of the money exchanged in a business transaction as compensation for favorable treatment. However, gifts, gratuities or courtesies of modest value associated with ordinary business practices are usually acceptable. The key consideration is the intention of the giver. Yet you must take care to avoid not only an actual impropriety, but also the appearance of impropriety. Defining what’s proper or improper with...

19 Aug 2021