Small Business Archives - Wiss & Company, LLP

Tax-Free Qualified Disaster Relief Payments to Employees in Connection With COVID-19 Will End May 11, 2023

Written on February 23, 2023. Posted in General Business, Small Business, Tax.

The Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget, announced on January 30, 2023, that the COVID-19 national and public health emergencies declared in 2020 would end on May 11, 2023. As a result, COVID-19 cannot be the reason used to make tax-free “qualified disaster relief payments” to employees (or others) under Internal Revenue Code Sec. 139 for expenses incurred on and after that date. This wind-down aligns with the administration’s previous...

Confronting the Onshoring Workforce Crisis

Written on November 16, 2022. Posted in General Business, Small Business.

For decades, the goal was globalization. In the early 1990s, the end of the Cold War and the growing ubiquity of the internet ushered in an age of new possibilities for American manufacturing, which caused supply chains to sprawl worldwide. Recent years have provided strong incentives to reverse this trend and encourage investment in reshoring. As BlackRock CEO Larry Fink noted in a March 2022 letter to shareholders, we are seeing the “end to the globalization we have experienced...

Remote Employment 101: A Successful Compliance Structure

Written on April 20, 2022. Posted in General Business, Human Resources, Small Business.

The number of remote workers has increased, and companies are going outside of normal state boundaries to find top talent. These quick changes have spotlighted the issues surrounding this employment relationship over the past two years. Throughout this series, we have highlighted some considerations that every business owner should pay attention to with remote employment. This final blog covers important compliance areas that should not be ignored. Separation of Employment Employers...

What is the Angel Investor Credit Program?

Written on March 15, 2022. Posted in Early Stage, Small Business, Startups, Tax.

What if there was a way to guarantee a return on an investment? If your business operates in one of the 29 states currently offering Angel Investor Tax Credit Programs, it may be possible. These programs are popular avenues by which states incentivize innovation, job creation, and economic growth in their region and, in some instances, encourage the development of growing neighborhoods and minority-owned businesses. Parameters of angel investor credit programs vary drastically from...

Can I Raise Cash Flow for My Small Business With Government Money?

Written on February 23, 2022. Posted in Early Stage, Small Business, State & Local Tax Services, Tax.

There’s nothing worse than finding out you could’ve qualified for government funding after it’s too late, especially when your business is in its infancy and you could use all the cash you can get your hands on. Most of the founders we advise aren’t aware of the financial help that’s out there, or which programs are available for their business. We introduce two specific opportunities for government funding that are important for startups to know about: national tax credits and...

What did I do wrong? (Common traps small business owners can avoid)

Written on February 15, 2022. Posted in Early Stage, Small Business, Startups.

If you’re like most founders, when you first begin the process of starting a company, you’re focused on being compliant in every way. You aim to build a business people want to invest in. But even with the best of intentions, you could overlook some rules that have big implications. Taxes are an area in which new small business owners make frequent mistakes. It’s not intentional, they’re usually just unaware. Let’s talk about two specific tax-related errors many of our clients make...

How can I take advantage of Qualified Small Business Stock?

Written on February 8, 2022. Posted in Early Stage, Small Business, Startups, Tax.

In the early days of startup formation, it’s helpful to think years into the future — more than five years, to be exact. That’s the minimum term to which the Qualified Small Business Stock (QSBS) tax exemption applies. QSBS is a big incentive for structuring your U.S.-based business as a C corporation (or converting from an LLC) because it’s reasonable to assume your investors will someday want to exit. When they do, they could be looking to qualify for this huge tax break. What...

Storytelling is Serious Business for Businesses Serious About Reaching Goals

Written on October 21, 2021. Posted in Early Stage, General Business, Small Business, Startups.

Serious business people often think they have to stick to serious business facts to make their points. But introducing storytelling to presentations and meetings is an effective way to deliver a message to an audience rather than lecturing them. Think about your business goals and choose stories that support what you want to do right now. They have to be true, though. As with any other business skill, you can learn to tell stories. There are eight questions to ask yourself to help...

Biden’s Announcement on Employer Vaccine Mandates

Written on September 13, 2021. Posted in General Business, Healthcare, Human Resources, Small Business.

Employers have been grappling with whether to enforce vaccine mandates in their companies, however President Biden’s recent Executive Order may now take that decision out of their hands. Late last week, the President announced his multi-level strategy for combatting the continued spread of COVID-19 – a key piece of which includes sweeping vaccine mandates for many employers. The mandate for private employers affects those with 100 or more workers. The proposed plan stipulates that...

Tax Breaks for Casualty Losses

Written on September 3, 2021. Posted in Financial Planning, General Business, Small Business.

By Nicole DeRosa, CPA, MAcc, Senior Tax Manager Hurricane Ida has wreaked havoc since it made landfall in Louisiana just this past week and has since caused massive destruction for all things in its path as it traveled up the coast. Between widespread power outages, flooding, fires, and more, the last thing on people’s minds (as it should be) is the tax implications of suffering a casualty loss but it’s important to know that (believe it or not) you could be eligible for...

Get Ready to Apply for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund

Written on March 30, 2021. Posted in American Rescue Plan, Financial Planning, General Business, Small Business, Stimulus Package.

By Ilya Brodetskiy, Ilya Brodetskiy, CPA, MST, Senior Tax Manager In January, Congress passed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, landmark legislation designed to help U.S. residents and businesses stay afloat in the midst of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. One under-reported element of the plan is the establishment of the $28.6 billion Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF), to be administered by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). This program will offer tax-free...

PPP Loans Become More Favorable for Small Business, Other Important Updates

Written on March 4, 2021. Posted in PPP, Small Business, State & Local Tax Services, Stimulus Package, Uncategorized.

By Travis Miskowitz, Director, CFO Advisory The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) became more favorable to small business as the Small Business Administration (SBA) in cooperation with the Department of Treasury, revised the loan calculation for sole proprietors, independent contractors, and those that are self-employed increasing their chances of obtaining a higher loan amount in contrast to existing guidance. Other important updates were included in two new pieces of...

Biden Administration Targeting PPP Aid to Smallest Businesses – 2 Week Delay Starting Wednesday Morning

Written on February 23, 2021. Posted in Financial Planning, General Business, PPP, Small Business.

By Travis Miskowitz, Manager, CFO Advisory Early Monday morning, the Biden Administration announced it is instituting a 2-week period targeting Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans to small businesses only. The temporary freeze goes into effect Wednesday morning beginning at 9:00 am, and only small businesses with 20 or fewer employees will be eligible to apply for a PPP loan for the next 2 weeks. The move by the current Administration is an effort to provide much-needed funding...

SBA to Speed Up PPP Approval Process

Written on February 11, 2021. Posted in Financial Planning, General Business, PPP, Small Business.

By Travis Miskowitz, Manager, CFO Advisory In response to concerns from the small business community regarding delays and processing issues with the latest round of PPP funding, the SBA released a procedural notice on 2/10 implementing changes to speed up the loan approval process. As many as 30% of all PPP loan applications have been delayed due to Hold or Error codes as a result of stepped-up front-end compliance and verification checks. Late last week, we covered the issues causing...

What type of entity should my startup be (a C-Corp or LLC)?

Written on February 1, 2021. Posted in Early Stage, Financial Planning, General Business, Small Business, Startups.

CPA and Partner at WISS & Co., Matt Barbieri discusses the reason he’s doing this podcast (basically to answer all those questions he gets over-and-over) and then answers a question he gets ALL THE TIME from startup founders, which is, What type of entity should our company be? Listen to the episode here… Still need more guidance? No problem! Reach out to a Wiss expert for answers. Contact Us