On April 14, 2011, President Obama signed into law the Comprehensive 1099 Taxpayer Protection and Repayment of Exchange Subsidy Overpayments Act of 2011 (a.k.a. 1099 Act).  This essentially repealed the expanded 1099 reporting requirements included in the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 (SBJA), as well as in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA).  Essentially, the 1099 Act repeals two of the most burdensome 1099 reporting requirements: Read the rest of this entry »

Although you may be familiar with Section 179 Expense Deductions, there have been some significant changes placed in effect for 2010 and 2011.  Simply put, Section 179 is an expense deduction, which applies to tangible business property placed in service during the tax year, up to $500,000, subject to phase out and other limitations.  For the first time, you can use up to $250,000 of the total available deduction for qualified restaurant property, leasehold and retail improvement property (i.e. capital improvements).  Read the rest of this entry »

In the past year, there has been an increase in electronic funds (EFT) fraud being perpetrated on small to medium-size businesses.  In this type of cybertheft, victims have their bank login credentials stolen by cybercriminals, who the take remote and unauthorized control of the victim organization’s computer, and proceed to transfer all available funds from the accounts via wire transfers or (to a lesser extent) Automated Clearing House (ACH) transactions.  Read the rest of this entry »

 You may have already heard that, as part of the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010, there will be expanded form 1099 reporting requirements for tax years beginning January 1, 2011.  In 2010 and years prior, businesses are required to report, on form 1099-MISC, payments for services made to any unincorporated business or individual that exceeded $600.  The new law adds owners of rental real estate and recipients of rental income from real estate to the list of taxpayers subject to the same information reporting requirements as taxpayers engaged in a trade or business.  Read the rest of this entry »

Recently released from the IRS.gov:

“The Internal Revenue Service has issued several recent consumer warnings on the fraudulent use of the IRS name or logo by scamsters trying to gain access to consumers’ financial information in order to steal their identity and assets. When identity theft takes place over the Internet, it is called phishing. Read the rest of this entry »

 On December 17, 2010, the president signed into law the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization and Job Creation Act of 2010.  While this act was, in essence, a two-year extension of the 2001/2003 Bush-era tax cuts, the Act also reduced the Social Security tax rate on employees to 4.2% (from 6.2%) and reduced the self-employment tax rate from 10.4% (from 12.4%) for 2011 only.  The employer tax rate remains at 6.2%.  Note that the Act did not reduce the contribution base, which is $106,800 for 2011.  Thus, the maximum tax in 2011 for employees is $4,485.60.  This is effective for payrolls beginning January 1, 2011.  As always, if you have questions or concerns, give us a call at the office. 

It’s a new year, which means busier times and tax deadlines are around the corner.  Since taxes are at the top of our “to-do” lists, it is also an excellent time to do some planning ahead to maximize the amount of deductions your business can claim.  One deduction that might be worth a look is the Domestic Production Activities Deduction (DPAD).   Businesses engaged in qualifying production activities are eligible to take a tax deduction of 9% of qualified net income in 2011, which works out to be a free tax break, pure and simple.  Read the rest of this entry »

 E-Verify is an internet-based system that allows an employer, using information reported on an employee’s Form I-9,  to verify electronically the employment eligibility of newly hired employees.  The program is free and most verifications only take a few seconds.  This program is designed to help U.S. employers maintain a legal workforce, as well as improve the accuracy of wage and tax reporting.  Read the rest of this entry »

On September 27, President Obama signed into law the new Small Business Jobs Act of 2010.  The legislation includes a number of taxpayer-friendly changes that you may benefit from.

Health Insurance Premiums Can Be Deducted in Calculating 2010 Self-employment Taxes.  For 2010, health insurance premiums for self-employed individuals are allowed as an expense to reduce Self-Employment Tax (Social Security and Medicare tax).  This could be significant, especially if your health insurance premiums are considerable and you are a sole proprietor or single member LLC taxed as a sole proprietor.  Read the rest of this entry »

If you own a building that was purchased, constructed, expanded or remodeled in the last 20 years at a cost greater than $750,000, a cost segregation study might be something to consider.  Cost-segregation studies (CSS) allow taxpayers to write off a greater percentage of their buildings over a shorter time period by identifying and reclassifying personal property assets and real property assets.  Read the rest of this entry »