President Obama recently instructed the Department of Labor to draft new rules under which members of same-sex couples who are legally married would be eligible for unpaid time off to care for their spouse, just as members of heterosexual married couples are entitled to. The announcement represents continued progress in determining the ramifications of last […]
President Obama recently announced plans to expand on a 2010 law that capped student loan repayments at 10% of the borrower’s monthly income. The expansion will cover borrowers with older loans who were ineligible for relief under the original law. The goal is to reduce the burden of student loan debt payments on recent graduates […]
Businesses that attempt to gain healthcare coverage for their employees via ACA exchanges are risking severe penalties, up to $36,500 per year per employee according to a recent IRS ruling. Some employers had hoped to reduce their health care costs by allowing their employees to purchase individual coverage on the ACA exchanges and then reimbursing […]
A few days ago, I came across the article linked below regarding IRS notices many small businesses are receiving regarding potential income under-reporting. The gist of it is that credit card processing companies are now required to issue Forms 1099-K to businesses that accept credit and debit cards as a form of payment. The forms report […]
On Wednesday, October 30th the Social Security Administration announced that Social Security recipients would see an increase in benefits of 1.5% as a result of the 2014 Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA). Additionally, the taxable social security wage base will increase to $117,000 from $113,700 as a result of an increase in average wages. The […]
The IRS announced on October 22nd that the start of the 2014 tax filing season would be delayed by one to two weeks as a result of the 16 day federal government shutdown. Originally the start of the filing season had been planned for January 21st, 2014, but now the IRS plans to begin accepting […]
Over the course of the past month two regulatory rulings have been issued which provide greater clarity regarding the federal treatment of legally married same-sex couples in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court decision which struck down the Defense of Marriage Act earlier this summer. First, on August 29th the IRS ruled that all […]
There has been almost nonstop discussion of the effects of the Affordable Care Act (ACA – aka Obamacare) since the bill was passed. However, many individuals and business owners are still confused regarding how implementation of the law will affect them. To help alleviate this problem the IRS has has launched a new Affordable Care Act […]
On June 26th the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the federal Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, was unconstitutional. The decision will influence the way that legally married same-sex couples are taxed, with many of the consequences yet to be determined. One of the biggest questions outstanding is the federal marital status of couples who […]
The wages paid to a shareholder of an S Corporation are often a bone of contention between the corporation and the IRS. The corporation, and its shareholder, typically prefer to minimize their aggregate employment tax liability by paying the shareholder relatively low wages. This practice maximizes the percentage of the shareholder’s total yearly income which is […]
The IRS has announced an easier way for taxpayers to claim the home office deduction in 2013. Now taxpayers can simply calculate their deduction at $5 per square foot of home office, up to 300 square feet. Previously, taxpayers had to keep track of utilities, repairs and maintenance, homeowner’s insurance and all the other costs […]
The deadline for reporting wages paid to your employees in 2012 is January 31st. If you need help preparing your annual payroll reporting forms please contact us. January 31st is also the due date for filing Forms 1099 and 1096. We can also assist with the preparation of those forms.