Associated Payroll Services

07/23/2026

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗜 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗺𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀, 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗺 𝗜 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗮𝘅𝗲𝘀?

The short answer is that the deal structure matters just as much as the final sticker price.

If a buyer pushes you into an asset sale, they are trying to buy your equipment and inventory to secure tax write-offs for themselves. The trap for you is that depreciation recapture rules can hit those gains at much higher ordinary income rates.

With a stock sale, they buy your corporate equity instead. If you've held it for over a year, that gain qualifies for long-term capital gains rates, capping the federal hit at 20% plus the 3.8% net investment income tax.

If a buyer forces an asset sale to get their deductions, you can counter by calculating a tax "gross-up." This forces them to raise the purchase price by the exact amount needed to make sure your net, after-tax payout matches what you would have kept in a stock sale.

𝘋𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘵𝘶𝘱 𝘧𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘦?

07/22/2026

Hiring humans to make 𝘼𝙄 more effective? Ford is onto something.

Have you experienced problems with AI tools in your business?

https://finance.yahoo.com/technology/ai/articles/ford-realized-ai-wasn-t-172058677.html

07/21/2026

𝗗𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻 𝗜𝗥𝗦 𝘄𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝘃𝘆 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘂𝗽 𝗼𝗻 𝗮 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸?

A wage levy itself is an administrative action and is generally not a public record, so it rarely appears on a standard background check.

However, the Notice of Federal Tax Lien associated with the debt is a public record. While tax liens no longer appear on traditional consumer credit reports, employers or agencies can discover them during public record background screenings. This occurs most often when you apply for roles involving security clearances or financial responsibilities.

Worried that tax debt could affect a job opportunity? Let’s look at your options before it creates another problem. 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗖𝗛𝗘𝗖𝗞 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗹𝗲𝗱.

07/20/2026

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘄?

📊 Spreadsheet
📱 Budgeting app
🔔 Relying on bank alerts
🙈 "What budget?"

Drop the emoji below that matches your approach.

07/17/2026

𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗜 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝟭𝟳𝟵 𝗼𝗿 𝗕𝗼𝗻𝘂𝘀 𝗗𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗽𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗲𝘀?

One strategy is to apply Section 179 first to erase your active business income down to zero. Then, apply 100% Bonus Depreciation to any remaining asset basis if you want to strategically generate a tax loss.

Here is why: you can't use Section 179 to create a tax loss because it is strictly limited to your net business taxable income. On the flip side, 100% Bonus Depreciation doesn't care about your net income.

For example, if your net income is $100,000 and you buy a $150,000 machine:

• 𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘚𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 179: You can only deduct $100,000 this year. The remaining $50,000 carries forward to next year.
• 𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘉𝘰𝘯𝘶𝘴 𝘋𝘦𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯: The purchase pushes your business into a $50,000 Net Operating Loss, which can potentially offset other income.

This distinction gives you more control over your tax outcome. You can decide whether it makes more sense to wipe out your current business tax bill or intentionally create a loss to offset other income.

When you look at your financial goals for this year, is your priority clearing out your active business income, or are you looking for ways to offset other income sources?

07/16/2026

If you're within 10 years of retirement, dialing your savings in is key. We can definitely help you with #4: https://www.schwab.com/learn/story/6-things-to-do-if-youre-nearing-retirement

07/15/2026

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜𝗥𝗦 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗳 𝗼𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗱𝗼 𝗜 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝗳 𝗜 𝗰𝗮𝗻'𝘁 𝗽𝗮𝘆 𝗺𝘆 𝘁𝗮𝘅 𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗶𝗻 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹?

Just because you can't pay all of your taxes right now doesn't mean you can't do anything. You have three main paths to look at:

𝗦𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘁-𝗧𝗲𝗿𝗺 𝗘𝘅𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗣𝗮𝘆
If you can pay the full balance within a few months, the IRS can give you up to 180 days to pay in full. There is no setup fee, though penalties and interest still accrue during that time.

𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗜𝗥𝗦 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗔𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀
If you owe $50,000 or less in combined tax, penalties, and interest, the IRS approves payments over as long as 72 months without requiring detailed financial statements. An approved agreement drops the monthly Failure-to-Pay penalty from 0.5% to 0.25%, slowing the account's growth while you make payments.

𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁-𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗜𝗥𝗦 𝗣𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘁𝘆 𝗔𝗯𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 (𝗙𝗧𝗔)
This administrative waiver depends on your compliance history. If you filed required returns, paid prior balances, and avoided penalties for the past three tax years, the IRS can remove penalties for one tax period. It doesn't erase the tax itself, but it reduces the total balance.

You don’t have to sort through the IRS collection process on your own.

DM us to schedule an appointment to look at your situation.

07/14/2026

𝗗𝗶𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗲𝗹𝘀𝗲 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗮 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝘄𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗽𝗼𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗸𝗶𝗱?

Wouldn't we all love to receive a guaranteed $200 check just for walking around the block every morning, or patch up a sudden cash flow crunch by handing someone a tiny deed to our Baltic Avenue? Turns out the actual rules of that game don't translate very well to running a business.

Sustainable growth takes a lot more strategy than just rolling the dice. Financial control is about building clean bookkeeping systems, tracking your actual margins, and managing your cash flow with real data.

If you are ready to stop guessing and want a clear, data-driven strategy to manage your business cash flow, reach out to us today. Let’s get your systems dialed in.

07/14/2026

How Do I Maximize My Shakopee Small Business Tax Write-Offs in 2026? https://www.apsofmn.com/2026/07/14/how-do-i-maximize-my-shakopee-small-business-tax-write-offs-in-2026/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=how-do-i-maximize-my-shakopee-small-business-tax-write-offs-in-2026&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=Sendible&utm_campaign=RSS

Maximize your small business equipment tax write-offs in 2026 by using Section 179 and 100% bonus depreciation to lock in savings before year-end.

07/13/2026

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼 𝗜 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝘆𝗰𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝗥𝗦 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿?

You have to stop treating taxes like leftover money and start building them directly into your monthly cash flow.

It's easy to get stuck in a revolving door of tax debt by guessing your estimated tax payments or waiting until tax filing time to see the damage.

To break the cycle, change how you handle your revenue right now:

# 𝟭 - 𝗦𝗲𝘁 𝗶𝘁 𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆
Move a fixed percentage of your revenue into a separate tax savings account the moment it hits your bank.

# 𝟮 - 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗶𝘁
Review your real year-to-date net income before each deadline so your estimated tax payments match your true liability.

# 𝟯 - 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗸𝗲𝘀
If you have a high-revenue month, adjust your annualized projections immediately so your remaining estimated tax payments stay accurate.

If you are already trapped in a cycle of back taxes, you need a strategy to knock out old debt while staying on top of your current IRS obligations.

Let’s audit your current IRS liabilities, evaluate your actual living expenses, and build a settlement plan to get you current for good.