The main thing Live Oak Bank has going for it is high APY and no monthly fee. You won’t find fintech features like invoicing or accounting like you would with LendingClub and Lili Bank. You also won’t find business checking yet, so if you want additional features, a checking account, or no foreign transaction fees, a Live Oak bank alternative might be a better fit for your business.

Depreciation is a method of writing off an expense over a period of years rather than all at once with a typical tax deduction. Depreciation is used for purchases and expenses that are considered long-term assets, meaning their usefulness lasts longer than one year.

By knowing the basics of what tax deductions are and how tax deductions operate, you’ll be able to understand how to lower your overall taxable income and take the deductions you’re eligible for with confidence this tax season.

A tax credit is an amount of money taxpayers can claim to decrease the amount owed on taxes. Tax credits affect the total a taxpayer or business owes at the end of their tax calculations by allowing you to reduce the amount of money owed, or even in some cases, increase the amount received in a tax refund.

Tax credits are a great way to lower the amount of taxes you owe the IRS and can even increase your tax refund if you’re lucky. With over 30 tax credits available to small business owners, it can be overwhelming to learn which tax breaks you should (or are allowed to) take.

A tax deduction is a business expense you can use to reduce your total taxable income. According to the IRS, expenses that qualify for deduction must be “both ordinary and necessary.” Expenses that meet these requirements can be written off on your tax return, saving you hundreds or potentially thousands of dollars each tax season.

There are four types of payroll software systems to choose from: traditional payroll software, industry-specific payroll software, payroll software for accountants, and professional employer organizations (PEOs). Each option will make it easier to process payroll for your business, but may be designed for specific users or provide advanced services.

If it’s too late for you to withdraw your ERC request, but you know that the request is invalid and that you weren’t actually eligible for the employee retention credit, you may be faced with filing error penalties and/or held responsible for repaying the employee retention credit.

An ERC refund refers to the employee retention credit that eligible taxpayers can receive from the IRS, while an ERC loan is a type of advance that some companies offer to give employers faster access to their ERC credit.

The goal of a ghost preparer is to take advantage of taxpayers by taking a large fee or directing the taxpayers return to their own bank account or mailing address without the taxpayer’s knowledge — and then disappear without a trace to secure their fraudulent money can be tracked.