A Beautiful Summer Day
Jun 05, 2018
Financial Institutions
Summer weather has finally arrived. Spring seemed to skip right over us this year, and here in the Midwest we seemed to go directly from massive snowbanks to warm breezes and sunny skies (not that I am complaining). On a warm summery day, what is better than getting out of the office for a round of golf or a few innings at the ballpark? I’ll even settle for lunch out on the patio. Bring along a customer, do some business, and the result can be a wonderfully refreshing and productive day!
At some point you likely need to return to the office and account for that enjoyable day (sorry!). Can you find those receipts and document the who, what, where, and when of that beautiful day? Separating the day’s expenses by the cost of meals and drinks from the cost of the tickets and greens fees can be tedious. It is, however, much easier to sort out the details while it is fresh in your memory. And as a bonus, doing it soon after will keep you in good standing with your accounting personnel!
Documentation of your meals and entertainment expenses really is important because it establishes the tax deductibility of those expenses. The tax rules have changed in 2018, and as is typical, some details still need to be ironed out by the IRS. However, good recordkeeping now will help simplify tax reporting at the end of the year.
Please do your part to document your day, and we will do our part by keeping you up to date on the rules as the IRS releases them.
Now let’s go out there and have fun!
Author(s)
Wipfli Editorial Team