Utah Real Estate Investors Association

"Having a child is like getting a tattoo ... on your face. You better be committed." -Elizabeth Gilbert

Because raising children truly does "take a village", know that I'd love to help walk you through some of these steps in greater detail. Everybody's childcare costs look different, and together we can plan for child-based tax breaks. Don't hesitate to give me a call today. (801) 278-2700

Child Tax Credit (CTC)

Over the last few months, we've spent some time discussing the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), and although some of its outcomes have altered taxpayers' refunds in a negative way, there are indeed some perks. In this case, the signed law meant a CTC increase from $1,000 to $2,000. Read More...

"For every minute spent in organizing, an hour is earned." -Benjamin Franklin

In addition to the usual suspects -- W2 forms, 1099 forms, bank statements, brokerage statements, etc. -- we're talkin' receipts, sales slips, invoices, cancelled checks, and credit card and charity statements. Anything you can get your hands on will help you. Why?

There are many reasons why you should keep meticulous tax year records. At the top of that list, alongside the possibility that your business gets audited, is that it's easier to file when you have all your tax records in one spot.

That answer may sound simple, but when we're preparing to file your taxes, shuffling through closets and drawers and file cabinets will only create added frustration. No one wants that. Read More...

"The University brings out all abilities, including incapability." -Anton Chekhov

College is expensive.

Let's put that fact out on the table because we all know it's true, and most of us have been affected by this reality in some way, shape or form.

Side note: College is even more expensive if you're trying to cheat the system so your kid gets into a prestigious school. We're all seeing how that turns out ... right before our eyes.

But did you know there are various tax breaks which can help chip away at the cost of your son's or daughter's (or your own!) college tuition?

Note these steps if you're interested in saving on tuition costs with some help from Uncle Sam. Read More...

"Creativity is the answer. I always prefer the creative solution to an expensive solution." -Keenen Ivory Wayans

The Wall Street Journal released an article at the beginning of March, and the subject matter was bad news.

To be clear, the article highlighted how tax professionals and accountants deliver bad news ... something more prevalent this year than many years prior. You and/or your business may have already felt the weight of some big tax changes this year. You are not alone in what the changes have meant for your tax refund, but the article brought up an interesting point: Read More...

"With acceptance comes opportunities. And with opportunities come numbers and, most importantly, hope." - Julie Foudy

If you are involved in making decisions for your business' growth, then you know: it's a numbers game.

There is inherent value in creating sales and marketing goals, and there's also value in measuring those goals on a week-to-week basis. At quarter's end, sales and marketing results will indicate if quantitative data was left out of your organization's process. In other words, if you fail to track numbers at the beginning of the quarter, you won't be happy with your numbers at the end of the quarter.

I want to discuss how your team can begin measuring numbers with consistency, because the reality is that numbers are too important to ignore.

One of the hardest things about tracking your numbers (read: growth or decline) is transparency. It's hard to let others in on the reality of your business' sales and marketing efforts, especially if there's underperformance. But that's exactly why you should press for such transparency. Read More...

"Time is what we want most, but what we use worst." - William Penn

You know those big projects that haunt you on a week-to-week basis? Although you manage to get them done, they often come with a dose of procrastination and a heap of stress.

But if any given project looms over you in such a way, try breaking it up into micro tasks.

For instance, if you are giving a presentation at the end of the week and wonder when you'll get to work on the presentation -- don't get frustrated when your busy schedule, filled with meetings, takes over your timeline.

With micro tasks, there is cause for hope. It essentially breaks up pieces of your larger task (in this case, a presentation) into smaller tasks in between meetings and other time-sucking parts of your day. Read More...

"The best preparation for tomorrow is doing your best today." - H. Jackson Brown Jr.

The issue we're tackling today might overwhelm you because of what it means for your business. But there's a simple, helpful solution -- have us handle all of it for you. Please reach out if you find out the IRS is auditing your business. We'd love to help in any way.

Before I dive into some ways you can prepare for a business audit, allow for a quick refresher:

IRS audits are often not initiated at random. The IRS will likely audit businesses with glaring errors from business taxes filed the year before (i.e. when they sense something is up). These tax audits cover a number of areas such as employment and income tax. They are comprehensive and not something to take lightly. Read More...

"It is not more vacation we need - it is more vocation." Eleanor Roosevelt

There is a lot of discussion these days surrounding employees taking time off. Specifically, a number of organizations have enacted "Unlimited Paid Time Off (PTO)" as company policy.

No limit to vacation days ... for all of their employees.

If this concept is foreign to you, it's reasonable to ask how these companies meet their quarterly objectives, and finish the fiscal year above and beyond their goals.

But although there can be setbacks, I want to give you a few reasons why Unlimited PTO might be an interesting conversation to drum up with HR ... all you'll need to bring is a cup of coffee and wide open mind. Read More...

Opportunity Zones/Funds

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017 is pretty much in place now that the Federal Government is once again funded. There will still be lots of “clarifications” coming out. One of the programs created by the TCJA is Opportunity Zones (OZ). These are areas across the nation that are recognized as low income areas. Utah has 46 Opportunity Zones ( https://opportunitydb.com/location/utah/ ). The US Government is offering incentives to investors to make substantial investments into real estate in these Zones. Essentially the Government is allowing investors to defer capital gains taxes, if the investor will use the capital gains dollars to invest in these Zones. The vehicle for taking advantage of this opportunity is called an “Opportunity Fund” (OF).

An Opportunity Fund is any investment vehicle organized as a corporation or a partnership to invest in Opportunity Zones and must hold at least 90% of its assets in Opportunity Zone assets. Read More...

"Humility is attentive patience." -Simone Weil

In April of 2017, NPR conducted a survey which produced some eye-opening stats on Americans' beliefs about the tax code. Among those stats: nine out of 10 Americans, across party lines, believe the tax code is too confusing.

Let that sink in ... 90%.

But rest assured, that is why we are here -- to help Salt Lake County individuals like you who have any type of question regarding your personal or business taxes. As you can imagine, we've heard every kind of question (about which, let me say, there are no dumb questions when it comes to this stuff), and we have all the answers to help guide you. Read More...