Tag Archives: Business Tax

Early last month, the California Board of Equalization (BOE) sent letters to 16,738 retail business owners stating that the Statewide Compliance and Outreach Program (SCOP) Team would be paying them a visit. The purpose of the visit is to educate them on sales and use tax reporting, tax compliance, and make sure their businesses are properly registered with the correct permits and licenses. Along with trying to collect what the BOE claims is $2 billion in owed taxes that have not been collected, the BOE said that the 2% of California businesses that are not operating with the correct permits … Click to Read More

A new bill was recently introduced in the House of Representatives that would allow companies with less than 500 employees to take an additional 20% tax deduction. Under this new proposal, small businesses would have the option of taking a 20% reduction on their annual domestic business income after they have taken all other available tax credits. The new deduction would be optional, so if for some reason the company would save less by taking the 20% reduction, they could opt not to use it. While both Democrats and Republicans have been interested in talking about business tax breaks, it … Click to Read More

What are the most common tax mistakes for small businesses? Four small business tax mistakes topped the list of a recent Xero survey of 500 accountants. Failure to separate business and personal expenses  Mixing business and personal expenses was the top mistake noted by 45% percent of those polled. Without professional help, you may trigger an IRS audit or be noted to have excessive income deductions. Forgetting to count the home office  A small business’ most commonly overlooked deduction is the home office, said 29% of the accountants. Some home expenses can be deducted and lower your taxable income, but … Click to Read More

The assistance of a qualified business tax resolution professional can be a valuable tool in attempting to resolve any type of tax issue. However, selecting a reputable tax professional can be a difficult task in itself. It is important to verify any and all credentials before hiring someone to help. Many individuals and companies who advertise business tax resolution services are actually marketing agents and salespeople with no professional qualifications. Tax law is intricate and the policies and procedures of the IRS can be so complicated that it takes an individual who is both knowledgeable and experienced to successfully negotiate … Click to Read More

There has been some confusion with the what is included on the new Form 1099-K form and what belongs elsewhere. Here is an update for clarification on credit card payments that may be useful in your business tax preparation. On the directions to Form 1099-MISC, the IRS has made it clear that payments made with a credit card or through any third-party payer, are not reported on Form 1099-MISC. The indicated amounts are now reported on Form 1099-K. As a result, if a business pays a service provider with a credit card, debit card, gift card, or electronically via a service, the … Click to Read More

While taxes for 2011 are due in April, it is important to take care of any IRS notices and bills from past years that were not paid when due, called back taxes. Here are some frequently asked questions about back taxes in relation to business tax preparation. What back tax issues are commonly encountered by small businesses? · Due to the complexity of tax law, many small business owners do not know how to use available deductions to reduce their lax liability and therefore end up with tax balances that are more than the business can afford to pay. · With the current … Click to Read More

Due to the complexity of tax law as it applies to self-employed individuals, the best tax strategy available is often to enlist the help of a qualified tax professional to handle all business tax preparation. Many self-employed taxpayers do not know how to use available tax deductions to reduce their tax liability and therefore end up with tax balances that are more than they would otherwise be required to pay. In addition, self-employed individuals have certain tax obligations which, if not met according to the strict guidelines outlined in governing tax codes, can result in unwanted consequences including interest, penalties, … Click to Read More

When starting or expanding a business, it is important to know how to deal with employment taxes. While they seem to be automatic when you are an employee, employment taxes are calculated and withheld by the businesses and then paid to the IRS. Here is more information on employment taxes for your business to help your business tax preparation go smoothly. What are employment taxes? Employment taxes are a variety of federal, state, and local taxes that must be withheld by business owners from the paychecks of their employees. What types of employment taxes are businesses required to pay? Employment … Click to Read More

When your new employee fills out a W-4, it affects their withholdings for Federal Income Tax, Social Security, and Medicare. What does it mean for the business owner? Businesses are required by the IRS to withhold taxes from employee wages, and then pay them directly to the IRS. This usually occurs on a quarterly basis in March, June, September, and December.  This type of tax is called a Payroll Tax. In some instances, the IRS allows a business to file payroll taxes annually instead of quarterly. Payment can be made electronically or in person at an authorized financial institution. The IRS … Click to Read More

There’s a new IRS 1099 form issued in 2012: Form 1099-K, Merchant Card and Third Party Network Payments. The 1099 is a series of IRS documents used to report non-wage income from a variety of sources like contract work, dividends, earned interest, and pension distributions. The IRS tax Form 1099-K was created as part of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, but it did not go into effect until January 1, 2011. The idea of the law was to “improve voluntary tax compliance by business taxpayers and help the IRS determine whether their tax returns are correct and complete.” There is a … Click to Read More