The IRS recently released a proposed rule for loosening penalties on the health law's requirement for not-for-profit hospitals to submit a community health needs assessment, granting some waivers for minor infractions and giving hospitals a window of time to repay taxes if they don't meet stiffer criteria to keep their tax exemptions.

On March 20, the IRS issued guidance providing penalty relief to both individual and business taxpayers who file for an extension of their 2012 tax return and ultimately owe additional tax — but only if they meet certain criteria. First, the reason for filing for the extension must be that the taxpayer’s 2012 return involved forms whose publication was delayed because of the American Taxpayer Relief...

We talk a lot about the security industry and our experiences here at the LBMC security blog, but I wanted to step back and write a little bit about my experience as a team member of the LBMC Risk Services department. When I was interested in joining LBMC there were a few questions I wasn’t able to get answered. The problem wasn’t that I didn’t ask—the problem was that I would have been...

The manufacturers’ deduction, also called the “Section 199” or “domestic production activities deduction,” is 9% of the lesser of qualified production activities income or taxable income. The deduction is also limited to 50% of W-2 wages paid by the taxpayer that are allocable to domestic production gross receipts.

Previously, employers could set whatever limit they wanted on employee contributions to Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) for health care. But starting this year, the maximum limit is $2,500.

In his State of the Union address President Obama said: "Our first priority is making America a magnet for new jobs and manufacturing." His proposed plan to invest in American manufacturing builds on that momentum.

President Obama outlined the plan’s goals to:

While the many revived breaks under the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (ATRA) are good news for taxpayers, they would have been better news had they been signed into law earlier.

Because many breaks were retroactively extended back to Jan. 1, 2012, numerous IRS forms have to be updated accordingly. But the IRS couldn’t get started until after the changes were signed into law Jan. 2, 2013. And...

February 20, 2012 - Section 179 expensing allows businesses a 100% deduction for the cost of qualifying asset purchases. Its 2012 benefits were recently enhanced by the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (ATRA).

Sec. 179 expensing is subject to an annual limit, which is phased out if purchases exceed a designated threshold. So if total purchases are large enough, a business might not be...

In honor of Financial Wellness Month, Mark Burnette, LBMC's Director of Risk Services provides the following tips for companies to reduce the risk of data theft and keep IT systems and sensitive information protected from compromise: