taxes Archives » Checkbox Accounting

22Jan 2018 by Fred Crooks No Comments

Tax Reform Changes

Business Advisory, Compliance, Tax, Uncategorized

Tax Reform Changes - How will they affect you? When you file your 2018 tax returns - about a year from now - your return will look very different. Here are a few of the biggest changes that may affect you. Individual TaxIndividual tax rates will range from 10% to 37%.Standard deduction increases and personal and dependent exemptions eliminatedThe Child Tax Credit increased and a new Dependent Credit created.Disappearing deductions: Beginning with the 2018 tax year, you will no longer be able to deduct:State income tax and property taxes above $10,000 per year in total;Moving expenses (with an exception for certain military);Employee business expenses such as mileage, travel, entertainment, home office expenses, union dues, tax preparation fees, and investment fees, among others;Mortgage interest beyond interest on $750,000 of acquisition debt (if…

20Jun 2017 by Fred Crooks No Comments

The Four Biggest Questions You’ll Ask Yourself as a Business Owner

Uncategorized

There are many reasons for starting a business. Perhaps you’ve spotted a gap in the market. Maybe you’ve grown weary of working for someone else. Or it might just be the fulfilment of a lifelong dream to be your own boss. No matter your reason for taking the leap as an entrepreneur, you will encounter a number of concerns as you progress. It’s important that you know how to recognize and handle these concerns so as to avoid derailing your business. In dealing with many small and medium-sized businesses over the years, we have been able to distill some of these concerns down to four of the most common questions. At some point in your business journey, you will find yourself asking a variation of the following: How will I…

25Jul 2014 by Mike Giotto

Tips for Employers Who Outsource Payroll Duties

Business Advisory, Tax

The IRS has released the following reminder with regard to an employer’s responsibility for payroll taxes even when the employer uses a payroll service. Many employers outsource their payroll and related tax duties to third-party payers such as payroll service providers (PSP) and reporting agents (RA). Reputable third-party payers can help employers streamline their business operations by collecting and timely depositing payroll taxes on the employer’s behalf and filing required payroll tax returns with state and federal authorities. Though most of these businesses provide very good service, there are, unfortunately, some who do not have their clients’ best interests at heart. Over the past few months, a number of these individuals and companies around the country have been prosecuted for stealing funds intended for the payment of payroll taxes. Examples…

21Apr 2014 by Mike Giotto

Tax Alert: Eight Facts about Penalties for Filing and Paying Late

Tax

April 15 is the tax day deadline for most people. If you’re due a refund there’s no penalty if you file a late tax return. But if you owe taxes and you fail to file and pay on time, you’ll usually owe interest and penalties on the taxes you pay late. Here are eight facts that you should know about these penalties. 1. If you file late and owe federal taxes, two penalties may apply. The first is a failure-to-file penalty for late filing. The second is a failure-to-pay penalty for paying late. 2. The failure-to-file penalty is usually much more than the failure-to-pay penalty. In most cases, it’s 10 times more, so if you can’t pay what you owe by the due date, you should still file your tax return on…

02Apr 2014 by Mike Giotto

Tax Scams to be on Alert About

Tax

With the tax season upon us, we remind you and your clients to be wary of tax scams andtheft ploys involving scammers who attempt to mimic us to obtain access to your personal information. Do not give out social security, bank, or credit card numbers over the telephone or by email to anyone who cannot verify they are our employees. Have your clients ask the agent to confirm information on the tax notice we mailed to them or hang up and contact us immediately to talk to a live agent. We heard from people who received phone calls from scammers impersonating the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), telling the “would-be victims” that they owed taxes and, if the taxes not paid, they would be arrested. These scammers also told the taxpayers that the…

26Mar 2014 by William Simi

IRS Tax Fraud Alerts

Business Advisory, Tax

IRS Wants You to Know About Schemes, Scams and Cons "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!" Don't become a victim to any scheme that offers instant wealth or exemption from your obligation as a United States citizen to file tax returns and/or pay taxes. Some of these schemes can literally cost you your life savings. Others can result in your prosecution and imprisonment if you knowingly participate in them. Abusive Return Preparer Taxpayers should be very careful when choosing a tax preparer. While most preparers provide excellent service to their clients, a few unscrupulous return preparers file false and fraudulent tax returns and ultimately defraud their clients. It is important to know that even if someone else prepares your return, you are ultimately responsible for…

29Jan 2014 by Mike Giotto

Report Name Change Before You File Taxes

Tax

Did you change your name last year? Did your dependent have a name change? If the answer to either question is yes, be sure to notify the Social Security Administration before you file your tax return with the IRS. This is important because the name on your tax return must match SSA records. If they don’t, you’re likely to get a letter from the IRS about the mismatch. And if you expect a refund, this may delay when you’ll get it. Be sure to contact SSA if: - You got married or divorced and you changed your name. - A dependent you claim had a name change. For example, this would apply if you adopted a child and that child’s last name changed. File Form SS-5, Application for a Social…

16Feb 2012 by William Simi

IRS Eliminates the 1099 – K Line on all Business Tax Returns

Tax

The IRS has determined that businesses will not need to reconcile their gross receipts with their merchant credit card transactions reported to them on Form 1099-K. This new ruling is now in effect for the year 2012 and later tax returns. The IRS deputy commissioner for services and enforcement, Steven T. Miller, said in a written memo to the National Federation of Independent Business that no reconciliation will be required on 2012 or future business tax returns. The IRS previously said in October of last year that no return entry would be required for 2011 tax returns, although they left a line on the returns saying “For 2011, enter 0.” We previously advised our business clients to separately track their cash receipts from merchant card payments beginning in 2012. Please…

Tag: taxes