Monday, August 18, 2014

Workbox Software LLC Adds Functionality to Its Flagship iPad Accounting App for Small Businesses

Workbox Software LLC, a New York City-based software development company, announced today that it has added new functions to Workbox, its already robust iPad accounting app for small businesses. The new additions allow entrepreneurs on the go to import data from their Apple, Google or Outlook calendars for easier bill generation. Users can also use the new capabilities to assign an image or PDF to their expenses and to track mileage.

Workbox, currently in the top 100 finance apps at the Apple Store, provides most of the day-to-day accounting functions entrepreneurs need to run their businesses. Built-in timers record hours worked for each client, and the Workbox users can keep track of billable appointments, products sold and services provided. It can handle both billable and non-billable expenses as well as recurring appointments and fees relying on a highly intuitive interface. Workbox also greatly facilitates the billing process, not only generating bills but also tracking accounts receivable. It allows the small businessperson on the move to enter client payments and access a full suite of reports. And all of it from the user’s iPad.

Designed as a supplement to full-blown but desktop bound accounting packages, Workbox addresses the needs of an increasing mobile marketplace. Bob Glass, founder of Workbox and a software developer with more than three decades of experience, explained, “Being in business for yourself used to mean living at the office, and if you had a business where you went to the client, it meant working late into the night to get the accounting done. Those days are ending, and Workbox is helping entrepreneurs get home in time for dinner.”

About Workbox
Users can download the app for a 90-day free trial. After the 90-day trial period, users pay just a monthly subscription of $4.99. The software resides on the iPad itself, meaning that it works even when the device is not connected to the Internet. Users come from a wide array of professions such as healthcare, consultants, graphic designers, software developers, artists, landscapers, store owners, lawyers and other small operators and professionals. 

Glass stated, "Workbox handles all of the accounting functions that are necessary to have in the field, and we are constantly working to make these functions more user-friendly and comprehensive. We have designed our app to augment what your accountant does for you, and many of our clients say that their accountants appreciate the support that Workbox provides. A single tap generates whatever sort of report is needed.

"The new functionalities we have added will make Workbox a more powerful workhorse for entrepreneurs. If your business has to keep track of mileage, you know how much time and effort that takes. Workbox handles it for you so that you spend only a fraction of the resources on it. If you take a potential client to lunch, you don't have to keep up with the paper receipt and staple it to an expense report – just snap a picture of the receipt and attach it to the expense entry in the app."

Glass continued, "Being able to import calendar data from Apple, Google or Outlook platforms will save time and reduce aggravation for people who live by these. With a single tap, your appointments move into the accounting software and become actionable data for billing and reports. Workbox offers a full suite of reports including time analysis, expense analysis, billing, aged accounts receivable, client payments, sales tax and project tracking."
Posted on 1:47 PM | Categories:

Moving to Florida for a Better Tax Climate: Not if You’re a Same–Sex Couple

Jennifer Bol for Hodgson Russ LLP  writes: Conventional wisdom suggests that New Yorkers should retire and move to Florida. They will enjoy a better climate (the polar vortex means 30 above, not 30 below). Florida also generally brings lower taxes as Florida has no personal income tax and no estate tax.

Following conventional wisdom as a same-sex married couple, however, could have disastrous tax consequences. How could that be? It is 2014. The Windsor case was decided more than a year ago now, meaning the federal government must recognize same-sex marriages. New York State has recognized same-sex marriages since 2011.
Florida does not recognize same-sex marriages. While Windsor requires the federal government to recognize same-sex marriages, the Windsor case does not require states to recognize same-sex marriages. More importantly, though, based on the Windsor case, if a marriage is not recognized by a couple’s state of residence, it will not be recognized by the federal government.
Some of the ramifications of Florida’s failure to recognize same-sex marriages are serious, particularly for wealthy couples. If a same-sex married couple moves from New York, where they were legally married, to Florida, where they are no longer legally married, the estate tax consequences will be severe if one of them dies. Federal estate tax will apply to the entire estate being gifted to a surviving spouse. Since Florida-resident same-sex married couples are not married for purposes of Florida law, there is no federal estate tax marital deduction for gifts from one spouse to another.
In a common example, consider a same-sex married couple: one spouse has about $15 million in assets. The other spouse has few assets and is a full-time parent to their one child. The couple’s estate is set up to pass entirely for the surviving spouse’s benefit at the first death. At the surviving spouse’s death, all of the assets will pass to the child.
As a Florida resident, federal estate tax would apply on the death of each of the spouses, resulting in a final gift to the child of less than $10 million. As a New York resident, no federal estate tax would be due on the first death, and the child would end up with closer to $14 million ($13 million after accounting for the New York State estate tax) on the second death. Moving to Florida in this example would have been a $3 million mistake.
Being married for federal estate tax purposes opens up a host of benefits that are not available to non-married couples. Two of the most important are the unlimited marital deduction and portability.
The unlimited marital deduction means that the estate of a married couple can be planned so that no estate tax is due until the surviving spouse dies. Portability means that spouses can share the $5,340,000 federal estate tax exemption that every individual may use (i.e., all individuals can pass a maximum of $5,340,000 in assets at death to anyone without incurring estate tax).
Breaking down our example, when our couple is not married (i.e., Florida resident), at the first death, exemption must be used to pass assets ($15 million) to the surviving spouse and then federal estate tax paid on the balance. The net to the surviving spouse is $11,882,720. On the death of the second spouse, the net to the child, after federal estate tax being applied a second time, is $9,812,846.
When the couple is married, at the first death, no estate tax is paid on the $15 million passing to the surviving spouse and the first to die spouse’s exemption will shelter $5,340,000 in assets eventually designated to pass to the child. On the second death, all of the assets will pass to the child. After application of federal estate tax, the net to the child in this example is $13,678,368.
The moral of the story: wealthy same-sex married couples should stay put in New York (and perhaps buy an extra pair of mittens).
Posted on 11:56 AM | Categories:

Deducting Moving Expenses

If you move because of your job, you may be able to deduct the cost of the move on your tax return. You may be able to deduct your costs if you move to start a new job or to work at the same job in a new location. The IRS offers the following tips about moving expenses and your tax return.

In order to deduct moving expenses, your move must meet three requirements:

1. The move must closely relate to the start of work.  Generally, you can consider moving expenses within one year of the date you start work at a new job location. Additional rules apply to this requirement.

2. Your move must meet the distance test.  Your new main job location must be at least 50 miles farther from your old home than your previous job location. For example, if your old job was three miles from your old home, your new job must be at least 53 miles from your old home.

3. You must meet the time test.  After the move, you must work full-time at your new job for at least 39 weeks the first year. If you’re self-employed, you must meet this test and work full-time for a total of at least 78 weeks during the first two years at the new job site. If your income tax return is due before you’ve met this test, you can still deduct moving expenses if you expect to meet it.

See Publication 521, Moving Expenses, for more information about these rules. It’s available on IRS.gov or by calling 800-TAX-FORM (800-829-3676).

If you can claim this deduction, here are a few more tips from the IRS: 
  • Travel.  You can deduct transportation and lodging expenses for yourself and household members while moving from your old home to your new home. You cannot deduct your travel meal costs.
  • Household goods and utilities.  You can deduct the cost of packing, crating and shipping your things. You may be able to include the cost of storing and insuring these items while in transit. You can deduct the cost of connecting or disconnecting utilities.
  • Nondeductible expenses.  You cannot deduct as moving expenses any part of the purchase price of your new home, the cost of selling a home or the cost of entering into or breaking a lease. See Publication 521 for a complete list.
  • Reimbursed expenses.  If your employer later pays you for the cost of a move that you deducted on your tax return, you may need to include the payment as income. You report any taxable amount on your tax return in the year you get the payment.
  • Address Change.  When you move, be sure to update your address with the IRS and the U.S. Post Office. To notify the IRS file Form 8822, Change of Address.
Premium Tax Credit – Changes in Circumstances.  If you purchased health insurance coverage from the Health Insurance Marketplace, you may receive advance payment of the premium tax credit in 2014. It is important that youreport changes in circumstances, such as when you move to a new address, to your Marketplace. Other changes that you should report include changes in your income, employment, family size, or eligibility for other coverage. Advance credit payments provide premium assistance to help you pay for the insurance you buy through the Marketplace. Reporting changes will help you get the proper type and amount of premium assistance so you can avoid getting too much or too little in advance.

Additional IRS Resources:
Posted on 9:06 AM | Categories: