Tax & Business Insights

2020 and all of its tax deadlines are upon us! Below is a quick guide of the most important dates to keep in mind this calendar year. January 15th: due date to pay 4th quarter estimated taxes. January 31st: Due date to send out 1099s and W-2s to recipients. Due date to file 1099s/1096s with […]

“Facts are stubborn things, but statistics are pliable.” ― Mark Twain I’m a big proponent of tracking key metrics in your business. (For those unfamiliar with the term, a metric is simply a quantifiable measure that businesses use to track, monitor and assess the success or failure of various business processes). A large portion of my […]

Nearly seven years ago I started “Micah Fraim, CPA” on a bit of a whim. As I’ve noted to many of you along the way, I started with $2,000 in the bank, no clients, and next to no contacts. I spent half of that money on the laptop and software I needed and hoped for […]

“I can live with doubt and uncertainty and not knowing. I think it is much more interesting to live not knowing than to have answers that might be wrong.” – Richard P. Feynman Hardly anyone is fully content with their current situation – least of all entrepreneurs. If you ask 100 business owners, even those […]

“They used to tell me I was building a dream With peace and glory ahead Why should I be standing in line Just waiting for bread?   Once I built a railroad, I made it run Made it race against time Once I built a railroad, now it’s done Brother, can you spare a dime?” […]

A few years ago, I did a string of articles talking about the importance of charging appropriately. They talked about how customer loyalty can sometimes be fleeting, how low prices can diminish perceived value and the volume of customers you get, and how low prices can attract the wrong type of customers. In the last […]

Bookkeeping is the bane of most business owners’ existence. But ignoring our books or putting them on the back burner can be one of the costliest mistakes we ever make. A few years back, SCORE conducted a poll asking entrepreneurs what was the worst part of owning a small business. A whopping 40% answered bookkeeping and taxes. […]

One of my favorite things in music is when one artist samples another artist’s work. (“Sampling” means taking a portion of an existing song and using that as an element of a new song.) Musicians in all genres do this, but you seem to see it the most in R&B and hip-hop. The sample can […]

“I can do that myself. I don’t need to hire someone else to do it.” How often have you heard the above statement? Someone is capable of doing a task themselves, so they don’t want the “unnecessary” expense of hiring someone else to do it for them. And in some situations, that’s perfectly reasonable. For […]

“I don’t care about money. I’m focused on other people” “My business is about helping others, not profit” “My company has a mission to do good. I’m not worried about the bottom line” There’s nothing wrong with being altruistic. Helping others is one of the single most worthwhile things we can pursue. And it is […]

The tax plan passed last year is the most comprehensive tax reform in three decades. Here’s a helpful guide with what you need to know for filing your taxes this spring:

The business tax plan passed last year is the most comprehensive tax reform in three decades. As a business owner, here’s a helpful guide with what you need to know for filing in 2019:

20 numbers, facts, and tips every self-employed American needs to know for filing their taxes in 2019:

“You should be stronger than me You’ve been here seven years longer than me Don’t you know you supposed to be the man? Not pale in comparison to who you think I am You should be stronger than me But instead you’re longer than frozen turkey Why’d you always put me in control? All I […]

2019 and all of its tax deadlines are upon us! Below is a quick guide of the most important dates to keep in mind this calendar year. January 15th: due date to pay 4th quarter estimated taxes. January 31st: Due date to send out 1099s and W-2s to recipients. Due date to file 1099s/1096s with amounts […]

A few years ago, I wrote an article on gold and the fallacy of so-called “safe” investments. One of the major points in that article was that (over the long-term) “low risk” investments can be very expensive because of opportunity cost. Compounding interest is powerful, and the change of a few percentage points of return […]

Every year, I have (nearly) countless conversations with clients about how they can reduce their tax bills. And, obviously, that is a big part of the expertise we provide and the service for which they pay us. When we meet, at least half of the conversation centers around legal tax maneuvers they can make to reduce their […]

“Hit the road Jack and don’t you come back no more, no more, no more, no more Hit the road Jack and don’t you come back no more.” – Ray Charles   I fire clients. Not with great frequency, and not on a whim. But I do fire them – and more often than you […]

The recently passed business tax plan is the most comprehensive tax reform passed in three decades. As a business owner, here’s what you need to know:

“I’d like to pick your brain. Let me take you out for a beer” – many generally well-meaning individuals A few articles ago I talked about how everyone loves to give advice – irrespective of whether they have any idea what they are talking about or not. Most people love to pontificate to anyone who […]

20 numbers, facts, and tips every self-employed American needs to know:

“We don’t know what it was but we had it We don’t where it went but we lost it And it may never come back again but I sure wish it would We don’t know what it was but it sure was good” – George Jones and Tammy Wynette – “It Sure Was Good” A lot […]

Analysis of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (Trump/GOP Tax Plan) Congress recently passed the most comprehensive tax reform in three decades. And suddenly, I’m a popular guy. People who would normally cross to the other side of the street when seeing a CPA approaching them, or who would avoid me at parties – fearing […]

2018 Tax Calendar 2018 and all of its tax deadlines are upon us! Below is a quick guide of the most important dates to keep in mind this calendar year. Take a careful look as and mark them on your own calendars: January 15th: due date to pay 4th quarter estimated taxes. January 31st: Due date […]