Our Blog

  • Highlights of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act

    • March 28, 2020
    • Posted by: Jen Gostovic
    • Category: COVID-19 Updates, Tax, Tax Legislation
    No Comments

    The Families First Coronavirus Response Act has been signed into law. Among other things, the new law temporarily requires certain employers to provide expanded paid sick and family leave for employees affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Employers’ increased costs will be offset by new tax credits, which also may be available to self-employed individuals.

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  • Tax Deadline and Payments Extended to July 15, 2020

    • March 23, 2020
    • Posted by: Jen Gostovic
    • Category: Tax
    No Comments

    The deadline to file individual federal tax returns has been automatically extended to July 15, 2020 – as announced by the Treasury Department and IRS on Friday, March 20, 2020. No additional forms need to be filed to receive the 90-day extension. The extension applies to corporations, estates, and trusts. Minnesota Department of Revenue also

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  • COVID-19 Impacts for Tax Season

    • March 19, 2020
    • Posted by: Kathy Klang
    • Category: CKCO News, Tax
    No Comments

    After driving through the Minneapolis and St. Paul metro these days, it’s clear that we are navigating in an uncertain time during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The health and safety of the CKCO team, our families, clients, and communities is most important to us. The CKCO offices remain open and continue to provide the client

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  • Real Estate Investors: Is that expenditure a Repair or Improvement?

    • February 7, 2020
    • Posted by: Ryan Carriere
    • Category: Real Estate, Tax, Uncategorized
    No Comments

    Determining whether an expenditure is a repair (expense) to write-off in the current year or an improvement (capitalized) to depreciate over many years sometimes causes confusion for the real estate investor and even a CPA. As always, the decision for whether a cost is a repair or an improvement will require reviewing the facts and circumstances.

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  • Vehicle mileage deduction rate increases for 2019

    • March 21, 2019
    • Posted by: Bill Jacob
    • Category: Accounting & Bookkeeping, Tax
    No Comments

    Just about every family-owned and closely-held business relies on vehicles to get things done. From company cars for the bosses to service vehicles and delivery trucks, and of course your employee’s cars being utilized for business purposes, these vehicles can add up to be a considerable expense of the course of the year. Thankfully, the

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  • Do you own business real estate? These Depreciation-related breaks may help you.

    • March 21, 2019
    • Posted by: Ryan Carriere
    • Category: Accounting & Bookkeeping, Tax, Tax Legislation
    No Comments

    One of the benefits of owning a commercial building has been provided by the tax code in the manner of depreciation write offs. While commercial buildings and improvements generally are depreciated over 39 years, special tax breaks that allow deductions to be taken more quickly are available for certain real estate investments. Unfortunately, land is

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  • Wayfair Decision Update: The States React

    • February 6, 2019
    • Posted by: Jen Gostovic
    • Category: Accounting & Bookkeeping, Tax, Tax Legislation
    No Comments

    Since the June 2018 Wayfair vs South Dakota Supreme Court decision, states have begun adopting new and differing rules for collecting their share of sales tax from businesses in other states selling locally. The result is a complex matrix of collection requirements on the part of businesses selling to customers across state lines, particularly sales

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  • What the Supreme Court decision regarding online sales tax means to your business

    • August 28, 2018
    • Posted by: Jen Gostovic
    • Category: Tax
    No Comments
    Does your business have to begin collecting sales tax on all out-of-state online sales? At this point, most people are aware of the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision allowing state and local governments to impose sales taxes on more out-of-state online sales. The ruling in South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc. has been met with a
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  • Ability to deduct business travel mixed with vacation is questionable

    • August 1, 2018
    • Posted by: Jen Gostovic
    • Category: Tax, Tax Legislation
    No Comments

    If you travel for business, combining a business trip with a vacation to offset some of the cost with a tax deduction can sound appealing. However, be careful, as you may not be eligible for the deduction you’re expecting. General rules of the road Business travel expenses are potentially deductible if the travel is within

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  • 2018 Ushers in Big Changes in Taxes

    • June 15, 2018
    • Posted by: Jen Gostovic
    • Category: Tax, Tax Legislation
    No Comments

    2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act: Planning Required For Leveraging Benefits of Tax Code Changes At this point, everyone is aware of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. On December 22, 2017, Congress passed sweeping tax code changes intended to create jobs and spur economic growth. 2018 tax year changes welcome a host of

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