The Biggest Loser is a TV show where contestants attempt to lose the most weight for cash prizes. Full Disclosure: I don't watch the show and I have only seen short clips of it. I don't proclaim to fully understand the show. It appears to me however the biggest loser has nothing to do with losing weight. It's the self-employed in Connecticut. They are losing far too much to income taxes. And they certainly aren't getting any cash prizes for it. For this discussion, the self-employed include sole proprietors, single member limited liability companies ("LLC's) and partners in partnerships. It does not include owners of "C" Corporations or Subchapter S Corporations.

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Did you know that CT provides tax incentives to hire new employees in small businesses?

The Qualified Small Business Job Creation Tax Credit Program provides incentives to Connecticut’s small businesses to hire new full-time employees. Under this program Connecticut-based businesses with less than fifty employees are eligible for a $200 per month tax credit for each new full-time employee they hire. Below are the guidelines for the program, a link to the application and the contact. more…

January 31st is the deadline to furnish Form 1099- Misc. to recipients.

The 1099-MISC form is used to report more than two dozen types of payments that must be claimed as income by the recipient. This category includes payments made by businesses as fees to attorneys, service providers and freelancers. Other types of payments covered by the 1099-MISC include reimbursement for auto expenses, awards and bonuses, commissions, prizes and vacation allowances for non-employees. more…

Here are 4 ways to Help Your CPA and Reduce Your Taxes:

1) Have a Year End Planning Meeting with Your CPA

This meeting can be in person or over the phone, it really doesn't matter.  The only thing that matters is that it happens.  Most individual income taxpayers are on the cash basis.  This means, with some limited exceptions, for a taxpayer to take advantage of a tax strategy, it needs to happen in that tax year. This is where most of the heavy lifting is done, with the tax planning.    more…

Startup businesses are often considering either a Limited Liability Company ("LLC") or a Subchapter S Corporation.  Here are the differences:

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