Let’s take a look back as the year’s most popular blog posts.

1. 1099 Filling Question: Can My Company Issue a 1099 Using only Partial Social Security Numbers? – How can I meet the guidelines and still protect the identities of recipients? When filing Form 1099, if an employee is reluctant to provide a social security number or tax ID, the IRS allows you to truncate payee identification numbers if you meet certain requirements, so as to avoid any risk of employee identity theft.
2. Deciphering Qualified vs. Non-Qualified Dividends – The way you treat dividends could have a huge impact on your taxes and ROI of your investments. While nonqualified dividends are taxed at ordinary income rates, qualified dividends are taxed at capital gains rates. Make sure you’re aware of the status of your dividends and how they will affect your taxes.
3. Two New Medicare Taxes for High Income Earners – Don't be caught off guard with your tax planning, you could end up owing thousands. Two Medicare taxes in particular—the 3.8% net investment income tax and the 0.9% surtax on wages and self-employment income, specifically prevalent among high income earners, often come as a surprise when it comes time to file returns. Find out if your modified adjusted gross income level will make you liable for these taxes.
4. Tax Question of the Week: Can I Borrow Money from My Retirement Account? – Borrowing is not available for traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs, SEPs, or SIMPLE IRAs. However, if you participate in a qualified retirement plan through your job or self-employment, such as 401(k), profit-sharing, or Keogh plan, you might be able to borrow some of the funds in your account.
5. IRS Announces 2014 Standard Mileage Rates – Although outdated now, this information is still popular among visitors. You can find the 2016 Mileage Rates here. Besides the new rates, learn how you can reduce your fuel consumption for 2016, too.
6. IRS Updates Estate and Gift Tax Limits for 2016 - For wealthy individuals and couples looking to leave a tax-free inheritance, the individual estate and gift tax limit has increased by $20,000. High net worth individuals looking to cut down their estates to remain below the previous $5.43 million threshold will be thankful for this increase (now $5.45 million). Read more on how married couples could be affected by this increase.
7. Solar Energy Tax Credits- Considering installing a renewable energy system? If you are thinking of implementing one that uses solar energy, you could drastically reduce the cost of installation because of tax benefits associated with using solar.
8. Top 10 Challenges Facing Restaurants – Working in the restaurant industry presents its difficulties such as; understanding common challenges such as market trends, how to manage capital, staying on top of technology trends, and minimizing employee turnover. Read our two blogs for all ten challenges, and tips on avoiding them.
9. IRS Updates 2016 Per Diem Rates for Business travel – Looking for a way to avoid lengthy and burdensome record keeping requirements for business travel expenses? Per diem rates could be the answer. Read about how they’ve changed from 2015.
10. Important Tax Figures for 2015- Every year, the dollar amounts allowed for various federal tax benefits are subject to change based on inflation adjustments and legislation. Amounts such as the personal exemption limit and the federal estate tax exemption have changed for 2016—Find these and other updated Tax Figures and Brackets for 2016 here.

Check these blogs out for helpful information about your business and tax liabilities. Feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions.