The straight line

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) seems to be making Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) more popular than ever. A recent report issued by Devenir, an HSA industry participant, highlights two key findings: As of June 30, 2015, the number of HSAs had climbed 23% from the previous year to 14.5 million, and Account balances jumped 25% to...

The research credit is back — this time for good — and it’s better than ever for some small companies. The Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes (PATH) Act of 2015, signed into law by the president on December 18, does much more than extend this credit. Under the PATH Act, the research credit is restored retroactive...

You know you’re operating a reputable business, but is that the impression your sales force is leaving with potential customers? Or is your sales team willing to say whatever it takes to seal the deal? In today’s cutthroat business climate, it’s easy to lose sight of what constitutes an ethical sales program. To preserve your company’s...

A big part of the success of website marketing can be measured by how often visitors click on your banner ads. Obviously, you want to squeeze the highest conversions out of ad campaigns. The most difficult task in designing a banner ad is using the space wisely. If an advertisement is too vague, it is unlikely to...

A new tax bill was signed into law on December 18, 2015 retroactively reinstating several key tax provisions that had expired December 31, 2014. These include: Increase in the first year write off of certain assets – knows as section 179 – back up to $500,000.  this provision is permanent and will be annually indexed...

Many people itemize deductions on Schedule A of their tax returns, rather than taking the standard deduction. Your tax preparer will generally advise you to do so if your allowable itemized deductions exceed the standard deduction. Most itemized deductions are well known and fairly well-understood. Examples include property taxes, home mortgage interest, state and local income...