Tax Insights with Hawkins Ash CPAs

A common question we receive is what are the tax consequences of gifting money or other assets to children, grandchildren or other individuals. There is no income tax to the recipient of a gift and non-deduction to the person marking the gift. This podcast covers the tax rules that fall under the Federal Estate and Gift tax system. Hawkins Ash CPAs is a full-service public accounting firm providin...

IRAs and other retirement accounts are intended to help fund a person’s retirement. But sometimes, circumstances dictate the need for those funds. This podcast explains why taking money out of IRAs should be the last resort, since the distribution can come with a heavy tax penalty. Hawkins Ash CPAs is a full-service public accounting firm providing individuals, businesses, and organizations the se...

This podcast covers Financial Statements and information you need to keep an eye on. Accounting software packages can generate reports so that a business owner can stay on top of how the business is truly doing. Many business owners only look at the checkbook balance and how far they are booked out with jobs to get an idea of how the business is doing, but there is much more information than the r...

As baby boomers continue to get older, a transfer of wealth is passed onto the next generation. When a person passes away, their assets must be used to pay off their liabilities. The net amount can then be inherited by others. This podcast covers the tax impact on receiving an inheritance. Hawkins Ash CPAs is a full-service public accounting firm providing individuals, businesses and organizations...

When a business is just starting, the owner is trying to juggle many different things. One thing that can get pushed to the background is accounting. This podcast covers how the right accounting system can give an owner a lot of useful and critical information. Hawkins Ash CPAs is a full-service public accounting firm providing individuals, businesses and organizations the services they need to sa...

In 2018, the corporation tax rate decreased from 35% to 21%. At the same time, the Qualified Business Deduction (QBI) was introduced. This podcast covers the Qualified Business Deduction, a tax deduction meant to even the playing field between corporations who pay their tax and businesses that pass their income to the shareholders or partners. Hawkins Ash CPAs is a full-service public accounting f...

This episode covers how to know if your organization is a charity. Some operations that are operating are not classified as nonprofits. Other organizations, that might be smaller, may have never applied to be tax-exempt. Some other organizations may have been tax exempt at one point, but never kept up with the IRS filings. It's not uncommon as many boards are made up of volunteers and the position...

If your organization is not tax exempt or had its exemption revoked, this podcast will cover the steps that can be taken and some general guidelines. Hawkins Ash CPAs is a full-service public accounting firm providing individuals, businesses and organizations the services they need to save taxes, preserve wealth and maintain compliance. We have offices in Wisconsin and Minnesota. Listen to more of...

The gig economy refers to individuals earning money from non-traditional sources, also called a second job. Sometimes these jobs produce income and sometimes, because of tax deduction, produce a tax loss. This podcast covers side jobs that, in the eyes of the IRS, are actually considered to be hobbies. Hawkins Ash CPAs is a full-service public accounting firm providing individuals, businesses and...

The gig economy refers to individuals earning money from non-traditional sources, also called a second job. Sometimes these jobs produce income and sometimes, because of tax deduction, produce a tax loss. This podcast covers side jobs that, in the eyes of the IRS, are actually considered to be hobbies. Hawkins Ash CPAs is a full-service public accounting firm providing individuals, businesses and...

Multiple stimulus payments have increased the complexity of the tax code and can include new forms. Because of this, there are no easy returns anymore, and we have seen an increase in IRS and state notices. Most of these notices are due to the IRS matching program. No one likes receiving correspondence from the IRS. This podcast can help give you a better understanding of them and lower your stres...

Congress is working on making changes to retirement plans. Unlike most tax bills, a lot of changes are in this bill. This podcast covers those changes called the SECURE Act 2.0. Hawkins Ash CPAs is a full-service public accounting firm providing individuals, businesses and organizations the services they need to save taxes, preserve wealth and maintain compliance. We have offices in Wisconsin and...

As we get close to April 18th, this is what you should do if you cannot file your taxes on time or if you can't pay what is owed. Remember, that the filing of the return can be extended. Hawkins Ash CPAs is a full-service public accounting firm providing individuals, businesses and organizations the services they need to save taxes, preserve wealth and maintain compliance. We have offices in Wisco...

This time of the year, we get a lot of questions from proprietors as to whether they should change the way they are taxed and whether they should look at becoming an S-Corporation. In this episode, we talk about what you need to know about S-Corporations. Hawkins Ash CPAs is a full-service public accounting firm providing individuals, businesses and organizations the services they need to save tax...

We have talked in the past about paying your taxes electronically and having your refunds deposited directly into your bank account and I want to continue to recommend doing both. So let’s say you filed your return and chose direct deposit, and now you want to know when your refund will be deposited. There are tools on the IRS and state websites to tell you when you can expect it. Hawkins Ash CPAs...

With the changes to tax laws over the last few years, most taxpayers now take the standard deduction. This limits the amount of tax deductions available for medical costs. That is why understanding Health Savings Accounts is important since you can take a deduction even if you take the standard deduction. Hawkins Ash CPAs is a full-service public accounting firm providing individuals, businesses a...

With the service issues the IRS is having, there are ways to make your life and theirs a lot easier. Here are some things you can do. Hawkins Ash CPAs is a full-service public accounting firm providing individuals, businesses and organizations the services they need to save taxes, preserve wealth and maintain compliance. We have offices in Wisconsin and Minnesota. Listen to more of the Tax Insight...

With all the changes in tax law, more importantly, all the stimulus from the last couple of years, it is important to keep track of the payments your business received as much of it is not taxable. This podcast covers the different stimulus, grants and loans that businesses may have received. Hawkins Ash CPAs is a full-service public accounting firm providing individuals, businesses and organizati...

With so much of our information being online these days, the risk of our identities being stolen is higher than it has ever been. Did you know that you can request a free copy of your credit report annually? Hawkins Ash CPAs is a full-service public accounting firm providing individuals, businesses and organizations the services they need to save taxes, preserve wealth and maintain compliance. We...

Most people are aware that they can do an online search to see if the state is holding any funds for them, but today I want to talk about how those funds get to the state. In general, when a business owes a customer money or refund and that customer cannot be located, the business is required to submit those funds to the state. Hawkins Ash CPAs is a full-service public accounting firm providing in...

The IRS is dealing with a backlog of work and a lack of staffing. Although the IRS has started processing returns, they are warning that it could be a rocky season. We recommend that anything taxpayers can do to help themselves will make their lives easier and get their refunds in the quickest way possible. Here are a few ways. Hawkins Ash CPAs is a full-service public accounting firm providing in...

In the past, the only way to pay your tax was by a paper check. Over the years, other electronic methods became available, but most of them required you to pay a fee. Now the IRS and many states have ways that you can pay your tax or estimates without any fees. We are recommending to our clients that they pay their tax electronically due to processing delays at the IRS. Hawkins Ash CPAs is a full-...

Now is the time that people are receiving their tax statements for last year. You can expect to see forms like W-2s and 1099s for interest and dividends earned. There are also statements showing how much mortgage interest and charitable contributions you made. But there are some forms that you will receive based on the tax changes that happened in 2021. This podcast covers the tax material you nee...

As a business owner, you probably know that you are required to send Form 1099s to your vendors and that your customers may be required to send them to you. For any Form 1099s that you are required to send, they are due by January 31. Hawkins Ash CPAs is a full-service public accounting firm providing individuals, businesses and organizations the services they need to save taxes, preserve wealth a...

There are certain benefits that owners of s-corporation get that need to be reported as income and be included on the Form W-2 for the year. This episode covers some of them. Hawkins Ash CPAs is a full-service public accounting firm providing individuals, businesses and organizations the services they need to save taxes, preserve wealth and maintain compliance. We have offices in Wisconsin and Min...