Tax updates and local business stories from the SMP team. Check the date on anything with a deadline.
The American Opportunity and Lifetime Learning credits cut your tax bill directly, but you can claim only one per student each year.
Read more: Make College Pay You Back: Your Guide to Education Tax CreditsJulie Amy on twenty years of running a childcare center, raising eight kids, and leading Pinckney's business owners.
Read more: Mom of 8 & Community Champion: Our Coffee Chat with Julie AmyWild Flour opened in August 2024 and makes fresh mini pancakes at events, markets, and private parties.
Read more: Hometown Highlights: Wild Flour Mini PancakesHow much you can give before gift tax applies, and why the rules are friendlier than they sound.
Read more: Gift Taxes Explained: Because Love Shouldn’t Come With a Tax Bill!What Michigan employers owe their employees under the updated Earned Sick Time Act.
Read more: Michigan Earned Sick Time Act Update: What Employers Need to Know This WeekFederal refunds and Social Security payments are moving off paper checks, and here is how to help someone switch.
Read more: No More Paper Checks: Important Changes You Need to Know AboutA look-alike notice from “New Business Filing LLC” asks Michigan businesses for annual statement fees.
Read more: Scam Alert: Don’t Fall for This LLC Annual Statement Trick!Tax credits for energy-efficient upgrades and charitable giving, and why so many go unclaimed.
Read more: Save Green by Going Green: Your Guide to Impact Tax CreditsMichigan’s new minimum wage schedule, the sick time changes, and where BOI reporting stood in February 2025.
Read more: Important Updates: Minimum Wage, Sick Time, and BOI ReportingThe stages and signs of burnout, and the steps that help business owners recover.
Read more: Business Owner Burnout: How to Recognize the Signs and Get Back on TrackDeductions independent contractors often miss, from the home office to health insurance premiums.
Read more: The Independent Contractor’s Ultimate Tax Deduction GuideTwo couples turned a holiday coffee trailer into a downtown Fowlerville café built around giving back.
Read more: Hometown Highlights: Good Deeds Coffee – Brewing Up Community SpiritAn offer of 50 turkeys grew into holiday meals for families across the community.
Read more: Hometown Highlights: How Jenuine Gardens Is Growing Hope in Our CommunityThe Fantasy 5K, the family walk, and the parade that start the holiday season in downtown Howell.
Read more: Celebrate the Holidays at Howell’s Fantasy of Lights Parade & Fantasy 5KA pet parade, hot air balloon flights, a 5K, and an evening parade fill the day in Fowlerville.
Read more: Christmas In The ‘Ville 2024Tree lighting, Santa, hot cocoa, and caroling in Howell’s Alley District.
Read more: Hometown Highlights: Deck The Alley in Downtown HowellWhich entities had to file with FinCEN, and what a missed deadline could cost.
Read more: Important: FinCEN Filing Requirement Starting in 2024Why a tax professional is worth keeping, whatever the TurboTax ads say.
Read more: Breaking Up With Your Tax Pro? Here’s Why You Should ReconsiderFamily Impact Centers shares how a small food pantry grew into a resource for Fowlerville families.
Read more: Supporting Families, Spreading Hope: A Look into Family Impact CentersOur office dog, Collin, takes the Employee of the Month title.
Read more: Meet Collin: Our Beloved Employee of the Month!Torch 180 trains people for work, and its Heroes for Hope 5K supports that mission.
Read more: Shine a Light on Local Heroes with Torch 180’s Heroes for Hope 5K!
