If you are a family that has privately hired a household employee to provide childcare, senior care, etc., in your home,  there’s a relatively low chance that you'll know what aspects of household employment have changed from 2015 to 2016. The good news is that most of the changes are relatively minor, but here are five topics you should be aware of:

If you are a professional fundraiser or volunteer for an organization, this article is a must-read to help you better understand the difference between deferred and temporarily restricted revenue.

Many of our not-for-profit clients frequently ask me to explain when funding is considered deferred revenue and when is it considered temporarily restricted revenue.  This area can be confusing, as the reporting and accounting implications can vary greatly.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently announced that it is changing the website it uses to collect information from IRS Form 990-N filers. The Form 990-N is a very brief annual filing that smaller tax-exempt organizations are able to utilize in place of submitting the lengthier Form 990-EZ or Form 990. Many state, regional, and local affiliates and chapters of national nonprofit organizations qualify to submit the 990-N.

The Form 990-N submission website will change as of February 29, 2016. All nonprofit organizations submitting Form 990-N should consider filing by February 28, 2016 in order to use the old submission website. Starting February 29, 2016, in order to file the Form 990-N, all nonprofits will be required to complete a one-time registration and file Form 990-N submissions through the IRS’s website at www.irs.gov.

Who Must File the Form 990-N

The Form 990-N is a short, 8-question filing that must be filed by organizations whose annual gross receipts are normally $50,000 or less. An organization meets this criterion if it:

Published in OSCPA Takeaways, Mar. 10, 2016
By Jennifer Rieman, CAE, manager, public relations

Clients. Culture. Community. 
It's not about the work we do; it's about the people we serve. 

Beginning this week, we will kick off a series of FAFSA-related articles that will visit topics and scenarios related to financial aid, navigating the FAFSA process, how your income or your taxes play into the FAFSA and important dates for timely form filing.

From divorced parents, to income variances, to which college savings plan is right for your family, we’ll address these topics and much more. This series is a great resource for parents preparing to send their child to college or degree-seeking adults entering the education marketplace.

FAFSA: The Nitty and the Gritty
First in a series

We all have our favorite seasons – spring, summer, baseball, football. As a CPA, I have tax season, and, if you are parent of a college-bound student, you know all too well, it is FAFSA season. Why should an event that seems invasive, confusing, and stressful be given such a lofty ranking?  How about a chance at free money?

So, you are feeling pretty good about that lingering debt that has finally been stamped "paid in full." 

Maybe you have refinanced, modified a loan or emptied the piggy bank to clear last year's credit card frenzy that left you with a bothersome monthly payment, accruing fees and a high interest rate.  But, is it all that simple? Will debt cancellation bu ok "as is" or are there other considerations to factor?

As recommended and published by the IRS, below, find a few of most common situations that you should be aware of surrounding debt cancellation and income. 

 The following is an article published March 2, 2016, by Michael Cohn of Accounting Today.