The straight line

With the ever-increasing cost of health insurance and medical care, you should be vigilant in finding ways to claim tax breaks related to health care. Unfortunately, that’s now harder than before because a change included in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) increased the income-based threshold for deducting itemized medical expenses. However, some seniors have been...

With today’s technology, many companies and their employees have figured out that at least some work can be done from home. The idea seems an ideal solution for some work-related problems. Working from home eliminates commuting time and expense, reduces day-care problems and requires less office space. But along with the benefits come some challenges: It’s...

Most illegal drug users and abusers of alcohol hold full-time jobs. That is the finding of a study released by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, a public health agency in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The study involved collecting data over a two-year period from 128,000 full-time employed individuals, ages...

The federal income tax rules on qualified residence interest have been around for many years, but there’s always a steady flow of disagreements between the IRS and taxpayers on these rules. Here are some background materials and recent developments on qualified residence interest that may affect you. Rules in a Nutshell Unlike most other types of...

Top employees are like gold-medal athletes — motivated, well trained people who are willing to make personal sacrifices for the team. Certainly a competitive nature is important, but it doesn’t work well for your company unless it’s accompanied by a deep sense of loyalty and responsibility. If you want to infuse your company with a gold-medal...

They say little things mean a lot. And relatively small expenses can add up to a huge amount of money your company could be wasting. By cutting costs, you can enhance your bottom line in several ways. Here are 10 ideas: Improve cash flow.If your business is seasonal, ask your biggest vendors to let you stock...