The straight line

Many taxpayers own vacation homes that they’ve rented out and also used as their personal residences. Can one of these homes be traded for another vacation home in a tax-deferred Section 1031 exchange? According to the IRS, the answer is “yes” under the right circumstances. The IRS has even issued guidelines for how to do it....

What should you do if you discover an error on a previously filed individual tax return? For example, you might have missed some tax-saving deductions and credits on your 2016 personal federal income tax return that you filed in February. Or you might have recently discovered that you failed to claim some legitimate tax breaks on...

At many companies, the mindset of managers stifles innovation and inhibits profitability. Some of the best money making ideas come from people who work on the front lines. Yet, employees often hear the same negative responses when they try to share them. Does your management team react to suggestions with these phrases? Don’t be ridiculous. We’re...

As you already know, public relations professionals can help your company get publicity about the products or services you provide. But a good public relations program can also help your company avoid litigation. Here are four ways that first-rate PR can provide protection: PR can help manage media relations during a crisis situation. Let’s say your company...

If your company routinely extends credit, you’re in the business of lending. That means you need to become an expert at judging credit relationships before shipping the goods or performing the services. Bankers have a saying: “We never made a bad loan.” What they mean is that every loan is good — until the first payment is due....

It’s a delicate balance, but employers must verify that prospective hires are legally able to work in the U.S. and they can’t discriminate based on national origin. Steep penalties come with failure to comply. For example, fines for recordkeeping violations run from $110 to $1,100 each. Fines for knowingly employing an unauthorized alien range from $375...