News

The partners and staff at Kemper CPA Group LLP are pleased to announce a merger with Yettke & Rapp LLC, effective January 2, 2022. Yettke & Rapp LLC has been serving Champaign and surrounding counties since 1994, and the merger strengthens Kemper CPA Group’s presence in the Champaign-Urbana market. The staff from Yettke & Rapp will join the Kemper team, and the combined office will operate under the Kemper CPA Group LLP name.

Here are some of the key tax-related deadlines affecting businesses and other employers during the first quarter of 2022. Keep in mind that this list isn’t all-inclusive, so there may be additional deadlines that apply to you. Contact us to ensure you’re meeting all applicable deadlines and to learn more about the filing requirements.

The IRS recently announced that the amount individuals can contribute to their 401(k) plans will increase in 2022. The tax agency has also announced other cost-of-living adjustments affecting dollar limitations for pension plans and retirement-related items for tax year 2022.

The U.S. supply chain is overwhelmed and it’s expected to remain so for some time. With so many shipments tied up in ports and too few workers to watch them, cargo theft has become a significant problem. Yet theft from ports of entry isn’t the only way goods disappear.

Hopefully, you already have a sound estate plan in place to protect the interests of your heirs and minimize potential estate tax liability. But that doesn’t mean you’re completely in the clear. You can’t just fill out the paperwork, lock up the documents in a file cabinet or store them electronically, and forget about it. Consider your estate plan to be a "work in progress."

On November 17, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued a new accounting standard on disclosing certain types of government incentives that businesses receive to set up shop in a locality. The standard comes at a time when investors have been clamoring for more detailed information around incentives businesses get — some to the tune of billions of dollars in tax breaks.

An external audit is less stressful and less intrusive if you anticipate your auditor’s document requests. Auditors typically ask clients to provide similar documents year after year. They’ll accept copies or client-prepared schedules for certain items, such as bank reconciliations and fixed asset ledgers. To verify other items, such as leases, invoices and bank statements, they’ll want to see original source documents.

Don’t let the holiday rush keep you from considering some important steps to reduce your 2021 tax liability. You still have time to execute a few strategies.

Kemper CPA Group LLP has been named to Forbes’ America’s Best Tax and Accounting List for 2022. The list includes firms recommended for both tax and accounting, and Kemper was included in both categories, a distinction only 176 other firms in the country earned.

The COVID-19 pandemic has put unprecedented stress on private business owners. Some are now considering selling their businesses. Before putting your business on the market, it’s important to prepare it for sale. Here are six steps to consider.

The Employee Retention Credit (ERC) was a valuable tax credit that helped employers survive the COVID-19 pandemic. A new law has retroactively terminated it before it was scheduled to end. It now only applies through September 30, 2021 (rather than through December 31, 2021) — unless the employer is a "recovery startup business."

For 2022, the federal gift and estate tax exemption has cracked the $12 million mark: $12.06 million to be exact. Arguably more notable, the annual gift tax exemption has increased by $1,000 to $16,000 per recipient ($32,000 for married couples). It’s adjusted only in $1,000 increments, so it typically increases only every few years.