Search found 18 matches

by mgcfo
Wed Mar 06, 2013 5:40 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: What is a 'reasonable compensation' for an S Corp?
Replies: 16
Views: 4131

Re: What is a 'reasonable compensation' for an S Corp?

First, I'd recommend Duane Gravley of Burnsville. His firm works on small businesses and can even provide back office bookkeeping support ... http://www.crispandgravley.com/ Your question will always be a hot topic as many s corp owners want to minimize the salary in order to reduce payroll taxes (distributions are not subject to payroll taxes). Yes, fair and reasonable is typically the guiding factor when setting a salary for an s corp owner. But be careful if the year-end bottom line is high compared to other service providers in your field. For example, the typical EBT percent to revenue in your field should easily be 12 to 15 percent after salaries (including owner salaries). If yours is significantly higher, the IRS could argue your sa...
by mgcfo
Tue Mar 05, 2013 6:15 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: CPA recommendation in Seattle area?
Replies: 4
Views: 981

Re: CPA recommendation in Seattle area?

I have worked with Proebstel Michels, but they are based in the central part of Washington in Sunnyside. Great people and extremely knowledgeable.

Specifically, Kirk Michels is the CPA I worked with the most at that firm.

If you have a scanner, they have a secure private portal where documents can easily be uploaded.

Their website is www.pmcpa.net.
by mgcfo
Sun Mar 03, 2013 10:57 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Setting the basis for a home converted to rental
Replies: 5
Views: 809

Re: Setting the basis for a home converted to rental

jared wrote: No, property must be acquired by purchase for use in a trade or business. Therefore, property purchased for personal use and later converted to business use does not qualify for Section 179.

Generally speaking, property used in real estate rental activity doesn't qualify for Section 179 anyway. Property must be used in the active conduct of a trade or business in order to qualify for Section 179.
Thanks!
by mgcfo
Sun Mar 03, 2013 6:54 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Setting the basis for a home converted to rental
Replies: 5
Views: 809

Re: Setting the basis for a home converted to rental

1. Is there a another, better approach? Is there something I am missing? The appliances were new in December, 2005 and six years old in January 2012. The used value of appliances is half or less. 2. Should I separate the appliances and use a different depreciation schedule? 3. Anticipating IRS questions, should I include with my tax return a short statement on how I determined the basis? Thanks in advance for all advice. Ray I'm not an expert, but here are some high-level basics I can share ... 1. Is there a another, better approach? When I'm assisting owners in commercial transactions on the buy side, we always want the seller to break out the land value from the structures for cost allocation purposes and clearly spelled out in the contr...
by mgcfo
Sat Mar 02, 2013 6:51 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: TV show recommendations?
Replies: 606
Views: 248077

Re: TV show recommendations?

24
Lost
by mgcfo
Thu Feb 28, 2013 12:14 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Anybody use Legalzoom for trusts etc.?
Replies: 12
Views: 1835

Re: Anybody use Legalzoom for trusts etc.?

Also, a big reason to use trust expert is to make sure all the questions are asked. It is much easier to get answers once you know the question. That is part of what you pay them for, to ask the appropriate questions for your situation. In my limited knowledge, taxes and estates seem to be an incredibly complex subject area with big consequences for getting it wrong. I have a strong financial background but would never dream of tackling that area without expert help. +1 and some more. Definitely agree with getting an estate attorney involved as they have done hundreds of these and know all the land mines that exist when planning for various scenarios (and no, I'm not an attorney). But I also understand the cost dilemma. Consider one of two...
by mgcfo
Wed Feb 27, 2013 6:22 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: I'm new to the penny market, where to start?
Replies: 52
Views: 5833

Re: I'm new to the penny market, where to start?

Thanks John. I have lots to start with all these posts, you guys are great. The original article that got me thinking that this would be a relatively painless way to begin learning to navigate the investment opportunities was about software and alertness detection technologies. This is a subject that is of interest for me, but then the article used the language about "forward-looking statements" and that gave me pause. The heart of the financials (balance sheets, Equity Rollforwards, P&Ls, cash flows, and note disclosures) do not include forward-looking information - limited exception on disclosures (e.g. future minimum lease payments). Most of the time, forward-looking statements if any are made in the MD&A which are ext...
by mgcfo
Thu Feb 21, 2013 4:29 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Your favorite financial website
Replies: 24
Views: 3248

Re: Your favorite financial website

I read new entries from:

Oblivious Investor
Do-It-Yourself Investor

My kids have The College Investor bookmarked.
by mgcfo
Mon Feb 18, 2013 6:14 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: a john c. bogle book for a lad
Replies: 15
Views: 2429

Re: a john c. bogle book for a lad

In addition to the above, Millionaire Teacher is a great read.
by mgcfo
Mon Feb 18, 2013 6:07 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Books for Selling Consulting/Engineering Services
Replies: 5
Views: 2169

Re: Books for Selling Consulting/Engineering Services

I've been consulting since 2001, and the best resource I've found on selling is Integrity Selling for the 21st Century by Ron Willingham. Consider the following resources over the course of the next year as you think about growing and scaling your business: -1- Go to http://www.gazelles.com and get on Verne's weekly e-newsletter list. This is the best business e-newsletter I've ever read and it only takes a couple minutes to read weekly. You may want to consider buying his book while at the website called Mastering the Rockefeller Habits . -2- Find the audio called Pure Genius by Dan Sullivan on http://www.nightingale.com. It's not about selling, it's not about growing a small professional services practice. Rather, it's aimed at entreprene...
by mgcfo
Sun Feb 17, 2013 8:24 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Help with Excel
Replies: 13
Views: 1717

Re: Help with Excel

I've searched the forum for this question, but keep striking out. While XIRR is great for deriving the overall return, I'd still like to see the return attributed to earnings (dividends and interest) and capital gains (or losses) and then combined. Please tell me I'm not the only one wanting to see results in this manner - is there an easy way to do this? To keep it simple, assume the following AND all dividends are reinvested: January 1, 2012 beginning value: $715,300 March 31, 2012 earnings: $4,500 June 30, 2012 earnings: $5,200 September 30, 2012 earnings: $5,300 December 31, 2012 earnings: $8,600 December 31, 2012 ending value: $785,800 XIRR = 9.86%, but I'd like to break this out this return between dividends and capital appreciation. ...
by mgcfo
Sat Feb 16, 2013 7:17 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Investing for end-of-life healthcare?
Replies: 25
Views: 3393

Re: Investing for end-of-life healthcare?

I apologize if I'm getting a little off track - part of my long-term care insurance is taking care of myself now. I weighed 216 November, 2010 (age 50 at the time). Today, I'm in the low 170's eating right and exercising about 6 days per week. No, this will not keep certain forms of cancer away. Nor can I control dementia or Alzheimer disease. But I'm taking my lifestyle seriously to do what I can to stay away from extended hospital visits down the road. While I have 'compartmentalized' some of our assets that can be earmarked for long-term health care, taking care of my health now and in the future is a serious priority. Having said this, I'm not naive. My father-in-law lives in assisted living and he has Alzheimer's and my mother lives in...
by mgcfo
Thu Feb 14, 2013 5:51 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: What % of your income are you saving for retirement?
Replies: 228
Views: 35363

Re: What % of your income are you saving for retirement?

About 26% to retirement accounts
About 7% to after-tax accounts I'll never touch till after retirement
by mgcfo
Thu Feb 14, 2013 6:58 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Investment Bank Internship versus Accounting Courses
Replies: 27
Views: 3216

Re: Investment Bank Internship versus Accounting Courses

Even though I'm biased as I worked for a (what was then called a) Big Eight firm, if she can get an internship offer, she should take it. Assume she does an internship and finds she does not like it and decides accounting is her passion. The downside is that she spends an extra semester finishing her accounting work, but the upside is that the internship will look great on her resume. Again, a lot of 'what ifs' here, but assuming she ultimately goes down the accounting path and gets great grades along the way, she should not have a problem obtaining a position with a Big 4. While she'll probably have to spend time getting her feet wet in the audit (assurance services) area for presumably the first two years, the Big 4 firms and the next 6 l...
by mgcfo
Wed Feb 13, 2013 6:18 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Self Employment Question
Replies: 4
Views: 833

Re: Self Employment Question

In the scenario you provide, there is probably nothing else you need to do (additional filings would be required if you were passing the income through a single member LLC taxed as an s-corp, but I doubt that's your situation). As a professional gambler, you will file those earnings and expenses (if any) on Schedule C. In the contractor situation, those earnings will be listed on a second Schedule C. Make sure you track any out-of-pocket expenses to offset the contractor revenue on that applicable Schedule C. In both cases, the payers will normally request a W-9 from you, but those are typically sent/mailed to you to complete which enables those entities to submit a 1099-Misc to you and the IRS each January. I may be reading too much into y...
by mgcfo
Fri Feb 08, 2013 8:58 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Options for Partially Self-Employed Wife
Replies: 5
Views: 788

Re: Options for Partially Self-Employed Wife

I am not an expert on this topic, and I'm assuming there will be some CPA's and financial planners to give more specifics. In my situation, I use a SEP IRA which I rolled over from my employer's 401k plan in 2001 when I started my practice. I purposely went with the SEP IRA for ease and simplicity. Through last year, the contribution limit was $50,000 or $51,000. The other limit is no more than 25% of your net operating income can be contributed. Additionally, I knew I'd never need to borrow from it, so that was another reason I leaned toward the SEP IRA. I'm not too familiar with the solo 401k plans. Since your question caught my attention, i did a quick Google search on "SEP IRA vs solo 401k" and you will find a great starting p...
by mgcfo
Fri Feb 08, 2013 6:47 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Live in rural area, need internet provider
Replies: 12
Views: 2416

Re: Live in rural area, need internet provider

Although I live in rural Missouri, my situation is similar. I use a Verizon wireless air card for my business, and here at home, download/upload speeds are average to good. Presumably, that's because Verizon has contracts with nearby cell tower owners. Previously, my wife and I were on AT&T, and the service was awful. So, trying the wireless air cards from Sprint, Verizon, or another major carrier may be an option. The downside is that you are not allowed to test the air cards. But if you go to your nearest store selling cell services, they may have customers where you live giving feedback on the speeds. Are your utilities serviced by a rural cooperative? My local cooperative sells Exede which boasts download speeds of 12 Mbps and their...
by mgcfo
Thu Feb 07, 2013 5:18 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: SIMPLE IRA question
Replies: 7
Views: 826

Re: SIMPLE IRA question

I'm a new Vanguard customer as of late November. I started the transfer/rollover process of my SEP IRA from Raymond James to Vanguard during the second week of January. So the answer is yes. If you go to Vanguard's home page, click on What We Offer and click on IRAs. Along the right side of the page, you will find some links under Invest Now. One of those links is Transfer an IRA online. The process is easy, but expect 2 to 4 weeks for the transfer to be completed. You will be instructed to sign one of those pages which I then FedEx'd immediately. Mine has taken longer as I instructed Vanguard/Raymond James (via the paper work) to liquidate all of my holdings to cash first, then transfer to Vanguard. https://personal.vanguard.com/us/whatweo...