IRS Announces Tax Guidance for Same-Sex Marriages

Posting by Brian Wynne

Yesterday the IRS ruled that all legally married same-sex couples will be treated as married for federal tax purposes, regardless of where they currently reside. The ruling is the first official guidance from the IRS since the Supreme Court ruled on June 26 that section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act was unconstitutional.

After the Supreme Court ruling, there was uncertainty on how the federal government would treat same-sex couples legally married in a state that […]

August 30, 2013 Tax Read more...

SMALL BUSINESS TAX LESSONS FROM THE IRS LETTERS

Kelly Lopez, CPA

In its latest effort to boost compliance, the IRS has sent letters to approximately 20,000 small business owners requesting additional information regarding potentially underreported income. Essentially, the IRS is checking to make sure that you have reported and paid tax on all cash transactions. The IRS letters are ominously titled “Notification of Possible Income Underreporting.”

While there have been some comments that these letters imply assessments of additional tax or penalties, the IRS states that these letters do […]

August 29, 2013 Accounting, Family Owned Businesses, Tax Read more...

STUDENT LOAN INTEREST REFRESH AND DEDUCTING STUDENT LOAN INTEREST

Scott Reddersen

Millions of students returning to college campuses this month received a back-to-school gift from Congress with an interest rate reduction for federal student aid. After rates on new Direct Subsidized Loans had doubled from 3.40% to 6.80% as of July 1st, the Senate and House approved a new system which ties current and future rates to the 10-Year Treasury note. In the short-term, that effectively lowers rates from 6.80% to 3.86% for undergraduate students and from 6.80% to […]

August 26, 2013 Accounting, Tax, Wealth Management Read more...

Benefit Plan Policies: Records Retention and Destruction

Larry Beebe, CPA

In this series, we are reviewing the written plan policies needed to help your benefit plan stay compliant and operate most effectively. For a full list of the necessary policies and why your plan should implement them, click here.

Record retention policies have their foundation in the Enron scandal and its resulting fallout. When the investigation of Enron was made public, the company’s CPA firm, Arthur Andersen, shredded large amounts of relevant documents and e-mails. While there were […]

August 25, 2013 Accounting, Benefit Plan Accounting Read more...

Business Fraud: How to Recover Your Money and Prosecute the Fraudster

Joel Susco, CPA

Organizations with fewer than 100 employees are the most common victims of business fraud, with a significant estimated median loss of $147,000 in a 2012 report. One of the primary reasons an organization will hire a forensic accountant or Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) is to uncover details and proof of business fraud, in order to prosecute the fraudster(s) and then recover as much of the missing funds as possible. It is not, however, as simple as discovering […]

August 19, 2013 Accounting, Forensic Accounting Read more...

Litigation Support: Utilizing Financial Analysis to Find the Story Behind the Numbers

Mark A. Buckberg, CPA, CFE, CFF, Principal

Finding fraud and substantiating a legal case often involve retracing a complex web of transactions and accounts. There are many sources of financial data that can be analyzed to uncover embezzlement, corruption, and financial statement fraud in white collar crime cases, and also substantiate claims of asset misappropriation in divorce cases.

Early involvement of a forensic accountant can be crucial to gathering the financial information necessary to reveal critical evidence. For effective discovery, your […]

August 12, 2013 Accounting, Audit, Forensic Accounting Read more...

Bond Beebe Welcomes Maark Buckberg, CPA, CFE, CFF As a Benefits and Labor Principal

Bond Beebe, a certified public accounting and advisory firm with offices in Bethesda, Maryland and Alexandria, Virginia, is pleased to announce that Mark Buckberg, CPA, CFE, CFF has joined the Firm as a Principal in the rapidly-growing Benefits and Labor Sector. A professional with over eighteen years of accounting experience, Buckberg specializes in providing audit and accounting services to multiemployer benefit plans and labor organizations.

“Mark brings a broad wealth of experience and knowledge that will allow us to continue […]

August 8, 2013 Firm News & Events Read more...

Estate Tax, Inheritance Tax, and Their Roles in Family Business Succession

Posting by Geoffrey D. Brown, CPA

Whether called an estate tax, an inheritance tax, or the earthier “death tax,” the taxes imposed upon the estate left behind after a family business owner passes can be a most unwelcome, untimely, and unplanned for surprise. As we so often advise family businesses, ignoring the mortality of the owner by not planning how the business will carry on after his or her exit – be it voluntarily through retirement, or perhaps by an […]

August 7, 2013 Family Owned Businesses, Tax Read more...

Bond Beebe Welcomes Krista Ferguson as Health Claims Specialist

Bond Beebe, a certified public accounting and advisory firm with offices in Bethesda, Maryland and Alexandria, Virginia, is pleased to welcome Krista Ferguson to the Firm’s Claims Auditing team. An experienced professional, Ferguson will focus on reviewing health claims for the Firm’s benefit plan clients. With over 8 years of in-depth medical industry experience, with a focus in medical claims and billings, Ferguson has intensive first-hand knowledge of medical claims, billings processes and best practices.

“Our clients frequently turn to […]

August 6, 2013 Firm News & Events Read more...

Tax Strategies For the “Sandwich Generation”: Claiming Dependents Young and Old

Posting by Billy Thomas

The aging population and the challenging job market has “sandwiched” middle-aged Americans. As more and more elderly parents outlive their retirement savings
and unemployed college graduates return to the nest, this generation often finds themselves caring for either their adult children or their elderly parents, and sometimes both.

In both cases, the additional financial responsibility can significantly affect family finances. While the financial stress is certainly not the only factor worth considering, a quick review of the dependent […]

August 2, 2013 Tax Read more...