When a professional appraiser values a business, he or she will likely seek input from the current owners of the business to get the inside scoop on how the business works. In fact, “nature of the business and history of the enterprise since its inception” is one of the eight factors to consider under IRS…

Intellectual property is a source of significant value for many businesses today, but it can be difficult to value. There are three main reasons it’s hard to value. First, it can be hard to understand, because it’s often technical in nature. Second, there are many types of intellectual property and each asset is unique by nature. (For example, the U.S. Patent Office…

Federal tax law allows deductions for many items, such as legitimate business expenses and charitable donations. But, if you claim deductions on your tax return, you also must maintain adequate records to support them. If your tax return is audited, missing or incomplete records could lead to additional taxes, interest and penalties, as these three…