December 29, 2017/Furniture Insights
December 2017 Furniture Insights
After falling 10 percent in September 2017 compared to September 2016, new orders increased 8 percent over October 2016, according to our latest survey of residential furniture manufacturers and distributors. Remember that the 10 percent decline in September was a bit misleading as the September 2016 orders were up 14 percent over September 2015. The 8 percent increase followed the September decline but also followed increases of 1 percent in August, 11 percent in July and 6 percent in June.
Should You Prepay Your 2018 Real Property Taxes?
The IRS issued an Advisory on December 27, 2017 that stated pre-payment of your 2018 real estate taxes in 2017 may be deductible in certain circumstances. In short, an “assessment” by your county must be made in order for the pre-payment to be deductible. Certain counties in North Carolina (including Guilford and, we believe, Forsyth) are issuing “bills” for 2018 if you go to the property tax office and request one.
December 21, 2017/Press Release
Jeremy Hiatt Makes 40 Under Forty List
Smith Leonard is excited to announce that Assurance Manager Jeremy Hiatt is part of the Triad Business Journal’s 40 Under Forty class of 2018. Join us in congratulating him for this wonderful accomplishment and the service and dedication to his profession and the community that got him there.
December 19, 2017/Not-For-Profit
Winter 2017 Nonprofit Standard
Explore the Winter 2017 Nonprofit Standard. Topics covered will include the use of blockchain for nonprofit organizations, the IRS release of the 2018 work plan for tax-exempt organizations, a year-end accounting update summary, what organizations should do to maintain exemption and public charity status, data privacy considerations, 6 strategies under $6 to exponentially improve organizational performance, priority guidance, and the use of pay.gov.
2017 Tax Update
View the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” (the “Act”) conference report with the latest 2017 tax updates. The conference report was agreed to by the House and Senate conferees last week and reflects the resolved differences between the House bill and the Senate amendment. While the final compromise looks more like the Senate bill, it reflects many compromises, some additions, deletions, and other modifications that are in step with Congressional priorities.
Have You Amended Your Partnership Agreement Yet?
If your first reaction is “Why would I need to?”, then we need to chat. New partnership audit rules go into effect for the 2018 tax year and will make it more attractive for IRS audits.
