Here are the key tax-filing deadlines for 2010. Keep this tax calendar handy for reference throughout the year. Note: If your business operates on a fiscal-year schedule for tax purposes rather than the usual calendar-year schedule, your due dates for each quarter will line up differently.

Say you need a financial guru to help make tough decisions that go beyond your accounting department’s expertise … yet you can’t afford a full-time CFO. In such situations, more small companies are choosing to outsource that function. They’re “renting” part-time CFOs ...

Q. Our company is purchasing used equipment from one of our suppliers. Can we deduct the full cost under Section 179?

To determine the value of your business inventory at year-end, you can use either the first in, first out (FIFO) method or the last in, first out (LIFO) method. Strategy: Switch to the LIFO method if the costs of goods are rising or you’ve had a high-income year. The change can result in a larger deduction for the cost of goods sold and a lower taxable income for your company.

Your company may benefit from a special “bonus depreciation” deduction if it acquires business property this year. The bonus depreciation deduction is equal to 50% of the cost of qualified new (not used) assets placed in service in 2009. What’s more, you may be able to combine bonus depreciation with the Section 179 election.

Several states peg the minimum wage to the cost of living. For decades, inflation has meant cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) that delivered regular pay raises. But what's happening now that the cost of living has declined 1.3% so far this year?

The tax law provides a special jobs credit—called the Work Opportunity Tax Credit—if you hire workers from one of several economically disadvantaged groups. Strategy: Hire qualified workers before year-end. For instance, if you hire a worker in November and pay him or her $2,000 a month, you can claim a credit of $1,600 (40% of $4,000) this year.

Suppose your employees regularly incur business expenses that are not reimbursed by your company. For example, they might personally pay for business travel or tools. If that’s the case, there’s a way you can save income tax for employees while cutting employment tax for your company: Set up a salary reduction plan.

The IRS now requires many small business owners to use its Electronic Federal Tax Payment System to deposit employment taxes. Your business must use the electronic method if it has aggregate tax deposits of more than $200,000 ... If your company doesn’t comply, it may be assessed a 10% excise tax for failing to deposit taxes on time—even if the taxes are deposited in a timely manner by other means.

Texas Workforce Commission Chairman Tom Pauken of Dallas recently announced that Texas employers should expect their unemployment insurance taxes to rise significantly next year. Pauken said the increase in layoffs is close to exhausting a state trust fund.

Q. We can’t afford to give employees raises this year. Can we provide group life insurance, which would be cheaper, instead?

The IRS is finally poised to impose new tax rules concerning the personal use of employer-owned cell phones. Alert: Technically, employers are required to account for use of cell phones by employees. However, few do because of the logistics. New IRS proposals simplify the process, but could result in taxable income for many employees.

Are you collecting your maximum tax breaks from the massive economic stimulus law passed earlier this year? The IRS has issued a fact sheet touting the tax perks available to small business owners under the new American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Here are eight key provisions:

The enhanced Sec. 179 deduction is a tax bonanza for small business owners. You can write off up to $250,000 of new business assets placed in service in tax years beginning in 2009. But remember: The Sec. 179 deduction is limited to the amount of annual taxable income from the business. Strategy: Buy new assets soon and place them in service before Oct. 1. Here's why.

Florida ranked as one of the nation’s business-friendliest states in the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council’s (SBEC) Business Tax Index for 2009. The SBEC annually assesses the tax climates for business and entrepreneurs in the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Ohio ranked among the nation’s most business-friendly states in the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council’s (SBEC) Business Tax Index for 2009. The SBEC annually assesses the tax climates for business and entrepreneurs in the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

A professor says most human resources professionals are ill-equipped to carry out value-added workforce planning and transformation. Addressing a crowd of about 300 financial executives, a professor of human resources soundly denounced the corporate HR profession for being mostly unable to provide analytics that are useful in making workforce decisions that build economic value.

Q. My company was forced to lay off some employees. Do we have to subsidize COBRA payments for married ex-workers?

The so-called “manufacturing deduction” isn’t limited to companies that manufacture products only in the traditional sense. It’s available to a wider range of business operations. Strategy: See whether your company can squeeze through one of the Section 199 loopholes. If you qualify, you are eligible to deduct up to 6% of your qualified production activity income (QPAI) for the year.

New terms for business start-ups have sprung up a world away from the cash-burning dot-coms of yesteryear. “Ramen profitable” is one, “LILO” (a little in, a lot out) another. They refer to new ventures that run on no more than the founder’s living expenses. Working best right now, venture capitalists say, are concepts that either make customers money or save them money.

The Keystone State ranked 29th out of 51 jurisdictions in the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council’s (SBEC) Business Tax Index for 2009, a score that would have been better if it didn’t have the nation’s highest state corporate tax rate.

New Jersey finished next to last in the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council’s (SBEC) Business Tax Index for 2009. The SBEC annually assesses the tax climates for business and entrepreneurs in the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

North Carolina finished in the bottom third of states ranked in the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council’s (SBEC) Business Tax Index for 2009. The Tar Heel State placed 38th overall, well below neighboring South Carolina (11th), Tennessee (13th), Virginia (16th) and Georgia (19th).

Treasury has formally released its explanations of President Obama’s tax proposals for the 2010 fiscal year. The long-awaited “Green Book” provides vital in-depth information for both individual and business taxpayers. The proposed tax changes hit hard: Revenue-raisers aimed at individuals total more than $736 billion over 10 years while business tax cuts amount to $71 billion over the same period.

Instead of waiting until next spring to launch random audits of employment tax returns, the IRS recently announced it would begin the first 1,500 examinations this November. In particular, IRS agents are being instructed to examine worker classifications, employee benefits and executive compensation.