Shred it. There are some companies out there called “Corporate Record Service” and “Compliance Services” who are mailing solicitations titled either “Annual Minutes Requirement Statement Directors and Shareholders” or “Annual Records Solicitation Form” to corporations in Massachusetts and other states. These solicitations offer to complete corporate meeting minutes on behalf of the corporation for a fee.  Despite the implications contained in the solicitation, corporations are not required by law to file corporate minutes with the Secretary of State in Massachusetts or ..read more

Here are a few thoughts on some last minute tax planning moves.  There are a few avenues that make paying less tax a lot less difficult; business ownership and investment ownership (including home and rental property ownership).  Simply put, our tax system rewards business owners and investors and saps the self-employed and the highly paid employees.  However, for W-2 employees who are not investing and who do not have a small business in the family, we have a few options for you too.   Generally, for all of us, the most widely adopted tax strategy is to postpone income unt ..read more

Your business is growing and it can not grow alone.  You need help and you don't know the difference between an independent contractor and an employee or why any regulatory officials (IRS and Massachusetts Labor and Workforce Dev.) would even care what you call them. Here is the short of it.  There is no black a white definition under fed or state law, it is a "facts and circumstances decision and the burden of proof is on you.  Basically, if the person you are giving paid work to has their own business, does the same type of work for others, and does not require a lot of traini ..read more

Health Saving Accounts (HSAs) are the triple crown of tax favored healthcare accounts. You probably knew that they let you spend the money and save tax now. You also probably got them confused with all those other tricky FSAs or HRAs or MSAs with all the weird rules where you have to spend the money. Did you know how great HSAs could be for retirement planning? Most retirement accounts have you paying tax either now or later and place restrictions on when you can use the money. HSAs do neither and you never pay tax on money invested in them. So, yeah, you get an immediate tax benefit on your 2 ..read more

Small business employers have large portions on their plate right now and tons of information to digest.  They face financial uncertainty, employee needs, and restricted—or nonexistent—cash flow.  Our goal here is to simplify next steps for small business owners with employees. We present a basic outline of a disaster plan that incorporates bite-sized features of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) and the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). Within these acts we are going to focus on the programs we think will be most effective for small businesses: Payc ..read more

Airbnb and other short term rental platforms have begun enforcing Massachusetts occupancy tax laws and a lot of people have been asking us questions. So here are the basic ideas and what you need to know to go about your rental property business in Massachusetts. What happened? In January, Govenor Charlie Baker passed a law applying hotel occupancy taxes to short term rentals. The law also allowed local governments (e.g. cities) to impose community impact taxes so you can ask your local government why they are doing this to you as an “operator” of a short term rental. What does that mean ..read more

Here at Prepared Accounting we know your time is valuable, so we've put together a list of five tips for saving you time in QuickBooks Online so you can get in, get out, and get back to your life. These tips are all centered around the search bar located in the upper right hand corner of your screen.  Tip #1: Searching for a Specific Dollar Amount. Instead of wasting time looking through a whole year's worth of entries, just navigate to the search bar and type in the amount that you're looking for. Make sure to include the ..read more

In order to protect your deduction in the event of an IRS audit examination you should be able to 'substantiate' your expenses.  Otherwise, even if the expense was for a business purpose and otherwise eligible for deduction on your tax return the IRS can disallow the expense if they decide to pin you with regulations.  Here are four classes of expenses requiring substantiation:1.       Travel expenses (including mileage, meals and lodging while away from home)2.       Entertainment, amusement, or recreation expenses in nature3.       Business gifts (limited to $25 per client, unfortunately)4 ..read more