Recent Articles

Thinking about becoming a Dentist? Please read on!

Four Financial Mistakes That New Dentists Make

Graduating dental school after four years of hard work and beginning your practice brings about a myriad of changes, which include embarking on a rewarding career. Unfortunately, many new dentists do not pay close enough attention to financial considerations…Click to continue

Dental CPA Allen Schiff Gives Back to Maryland Community

Dental CPA Allen M. Schiff, CPA, CFE has continued to make philanthropy a priority in his community after providing financial support to the Maryland State Dental Association Foundation (MSDAF)…Click to continue

Success by Numbers

During the fourth quarter, dentists are not only busy guiding patients to help them take advantage of their unused insurance benefits, they’re also busy preparing financial reports for end-of-year … Click to continue

Ins and out of cash accounting explained

In August 2018, the Internal Revenue Service issued guidance on the change in tax law that allows small business taxpayers with average annual gross receipts of $25 million… Click to continue

Taxes and 179 Expensing

Dentists who own and operate practices who have purchased or financed equipment during the calendar year, may elect to take the Section 179 deduction when filing their taxes in order to… Click to continue

Taking advantage of the student loan interest deduction

In 2017 the ADA successfully advocated to ensure the dental profession benefits from the tax reform law that passed Congress. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was the first major rewrite of the U.S. tax code… Click to continue

DENTAL ECONOMICS: TRANSITIONS ROUNDTABLE

If you have ever purchased a dental practice or intend to purchase a practice, you will be bombarded with papers to sift through as you perform your due diligence… Click to continue

THE DENTAL ECONOMICS ANNUAL FEE SURVEY

Welcome to the Dental Economics 2017 fee analysis survey. Dental Economicsand the Academy of Dental CPAs (ADCPA, adcpa.org) have partnered to provide dental practice information from across the United States regarding the regional differences in dental fees… Click to continue

DENTAL ECONOMICS: 10 STEPS TO INTEGRATING NEW HIGH TECHNOLOGY INTO YOUR PRACTICE

As a dental CPA for the last 25 years, I am often asked this question: What do I need to know about investing in high technology for my dental practice?  And quite frankly, when I am asked this question, I get very excited!  I am impressed that the dentist wants to be proactive in delivering the highest caliber of oral health-care services… Click to continue

DENTAL ECONOMICS: 10 CRITICAL NUMBERS TO WATCH…AND HOW TO TRACK THEM

As a CPA who specializes in consulting services for the dental industry, and as a member of the Academy of Dental CPAs (ADCPA), I often am asked to discuss the critical numbers within clients’ practices, and how to track them. Although there are many critical numbers within a dental practice, this article will focus on 10 of them – those I feel are the most crucial… Click to continue

DENTAL ECONOMICS: THE DENTAL ECONOMICS ANNUAL FEE SURVEY

“Welcome to the 2016 Dental Economics annual fee survey. The Academy of Dental CPAs (adcpa.org) and Dental Economics have partnered to provide data gathered from more than 600 practitioners across the United States. The 2016 analysis was prepared to provide practitioners with an in-depth look at one of the driving forces behind the dental industry… Click to continue

DENTAL ECONOMICS: PROTECTION FROM EMBEZZLEMENT

“Throughout the last 35-plus years as a practicing dental CPA and CFE (certified fraud examiner), I’ve often been called upon to investigate fraud and embezzlement in dental practices. From my professional experiences, coupled with the research I’ve performed over the years, one in six … Click to continue

DENTISTRY IQ: TAXMAGGEDON – WHAT DENTAL PRACTICES NEED TO KNOW

Jan. 1, 2013 is becoming known as “Taxmaggedon” – the perfect storm of expiring Bush-era tax cuts, the expiration of the employee-side Social Security tax cut, and the start of certain new taxes and fees from the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.  According to the Center for Data Analysis at The Heritage Foundation, the total tax increase will be approximately… Click to continue

THINKING OF DENTAL EQUIPMENT PURCHASES?

As the end of 2011 quickly approaches, many of you are asking yourselves, what can be done that will not only save the current year’s income taxes, but will also have a continuing benefit for your dental practice along with the associated delivery of your oral health care services?… Click to continue

RED FLAG RULES – CHANGES

What a difference a week makes. The lobbying paid off! The dental industry is now exempt from the Red Flag Rules, which all of us would have been required to implement and maintain by June 1. The sole purpose of the Red Flag Rules is to safeguard… Click to continue

RED FLAG RULES FOR DENTISTS

Effective June 1, 2010, dentists will be required to implement the “Red Flag Rules” for their dental offices in compliance with Federal Trade Commission (FTC) guidelines. Many of my clients have asked, “Why do we have to implement the Red Flag Rules… Click to continue

2009 YEAR-END TAX PLANNING

As we approach December 31, your tax liability for the 2009 will be set in stone. Until then, year-end tax planning presents a unique last chance to lower your tax bill for 2009. It is an investment in time well worth considering… Click to continue

DENTAL ENTREPRENEUR: HOW TO WRITE A DENTAL BUSINESS PLAN

You are thinking about going into business, have met with the dental lender and were told for the very first time that you will need to write a dental business plan.  The lender goes on to tell you, “The first time you took a trip, you had to use a road map.  Well, this is your road map to your dental success: a dental business plan.”… Click to continue

THE DENTIST REINVESTMENT ACT OF 2006

Dentists have enjoyed an extraordinary run recently in terms of tax savings, and it keeps getting better.  For 2006, accelerated tax write-offs for dentists under IRS Service Code Section 179 have increased yet again.  Formerly known as the “$100,000 expensing provision” (technically $105,000 in 2005 and $108,000 in 2006), it was set to expire at the end of 2005… Click to continue

DENTAL ENTREPRENEUR: CPAS AND THE BUSINESS OF DENTISTRY

By the time you read this article, you are on the verge of graduating dental school.  Most students in their final year of dental school spend virtually no time preparing to become entrepreneurs – that is, learning to run dental practices.  While some U.S. dental schools have excellent curricula for teaching these skills, most schools do not… Click to continue