Photo by Amina Filkins If National Small Business Week has you thinking about starting your own company, congratulations. You’ll be joining a growing sector of the U.S. economy. The Small Business Administration (SBA) describes a small business as one with fewer than 500 employees. That covers enterprises from one-person shops to manufacturing facilities with hundreds of workers. The U.S. Census Bureau’s Business Dynamics Statistics indicate there were 5,358,600 firms that met that definition in 2021, the latest year for complete data. That was an increase from 5,322,155 in 2020. But small really is key here. County Business Patterns (CBP) data... Read more →
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Photo by Joshua Rodriguez on Unsplash It’s National Small Business Week 2024! Technically, the U.S. Small Business Administration’s annual recognition event started yesterday, Sunday, April 28. The kick-off yesterday of this year's National Small Business Week (NSBW) included an awards ceremony where this year’s National Small Business Person of the Year and runner-up were named, along with the Small Business Persons of the Year from each state, the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico. The event, with a theme this year of Building on America’s Small Business Boom, continues through Saturday, May 4. Your small business taxes: The full... Read more →
You don’t like the taxes being withheld from your paychecks, but at least you know your tax money is going to fund government services. Most of the time. In some cases, those responsible for getting income and other payroll taxes to Uncle Sam don’t comply with their legal responsibility to collect and deliver the funds to the Internal Revenue Service. Nearly $2.7M unremitted tax: It’s that delivery portion that’s usually the bigger issue. And that’s what a Maryland woman pleaded guilty to today. The woman, whose name is in the official Department of Justice complaint filed back in January, but... Read more →
Millions of people will be celebrating on Monday, April 15. The arrival of Tax Day means they are done with dealing with the Internal Revenue Service for another year. For many others, however, it's just the beginning of another round of collections. The annual federal filing (and paying) deadline also is the start of the current year's estimated tax payment cycle. Extra payments for certain income: The U.S. tax system is pay as earn. That's taken care via paycheck withholding if you're an employee. But even if you have a job where income (federal and state, if applicable) tax is... Read more →
The Employee Retention Credit (ERC) helped many companies keep workers during the difficult COVID-19 pandemic days. But some ERC claims wrong, and the IRS is successfully recouping some of those incorrectly claimed and/or issued funds. The Internal Revenue Service closed out its Employee Retention Credit (ERC) Voluntary Disclosure Program (VDP) on Friday, March 22, on a high note. Going into the day, the VDP, which allowed those who got improper ERC payments to pay back most of the money, had produced more than $225 million from 500+ taxpayers. Another 800 submissions were still being processed, and even more being filed... Read more →
Photo by Nareeta Martin on Unsplash Moving to another country for a job involves a lot of changes, but one thing stays the same. Thanks to our worldwide tax system for individuals, as a U.S. citizen you remain a U.S. taxpayer, regardless of where you live. That makes you responsible for filing federal tax returns on your overseas earnings. Uncle Sam, however, does provide some tax breaks to his citizens living and working abroad. They get more time to file, with a June 15 deadline. And thanks to tax treaties, globally peripatetic taxpayers also get certain foreign earned income exclusions... Read more →
Are you having second thoughts about an ERC claim your company made? It so, it's time to review your records, and if you find you received an incorrect tax credit amount, let the IRS know by this Friday, March 22. (Photo by Henri Mathieu-Saint-Laurent) With the deadline to let the Internal Revenue Service know you got an improper Employee Retention Credit (ERC) fast approaching — it's this Friday, March 22 — business owners who are concerned need to act fast. Recipients of wrong payments can apply for the IRS' ERC Voluntary Disclosure Program by that deadline. If accepted, the businesses... Read more →
Image from IRS Publication/Poster 5731-B Tax law changes often cause filing problems for taxpayers when they try to determine how they are affected. Things can get even more complicated when the Internal Revenue Service steps in with its take on a confusing law. That's exactly what's happened and still happening with Form 1099-K, Payment Card and Third Party Network Transactions. This tax form is supposed to be issued to individuals who get money via a third party processor for goods or services the taxpayers provided customers. 1099-K history: For more than a decade, online apps and marketplaces (think PayPal, Venmo,... Read more →
March's arrival means it's time to start stalking some tax savings. (Photo via Unsplash+ in collaboration with Getty Images) While the saying that March comes in like and goes out like a lamb usually is a reference to this month's weather transition from winter to spring (or, here in Central Texas, to summer already), feline aggressiveness could come in handy at tax filing time. There are plenty of tax moves you can make during this final full month before Tax Day, which is this year is the normal April 15 due date. Here are five tax matters to consider in... Read more →
Consistent contributions to tax-advantaged retirement accounts can help them grow from seedlings to a solid and sizeable amount of money for your post-work years. (Photo by micheile henderson on Unsplash) The stock market has been on a roll, rather than a roller coaster, of late. On Friday, March 1, The Nasdaq recorded its first record close in more than two years. The Dow and S&P 500 are off to their best start to a year since 2019. That's more good news for investors, particularly those whose holdings are in retirement accounts. These savers already saw their retirement vehicles achieve their... Read more →
Photo by Ozan Safak on Unsplash Higher income taxpayers tend to take the most advantage of tax breaks. That's no surprise. They can afford to hire tax professionals, who keep track of all the benefits they qualify for and claim them on the well-to-do taxpayers' returns. But there are some valuable tax breaks for the rest of us who are far from wealthy. And while higher-income households do enjoy greater per dollar benefits tax benefits, the breaks available to us tax plebeian are more beneficial when they are measured as a share of our income. Tax credits provide the most... Read more →
Last week, I finally got all the documents I need to file my 2023 tax return. As an independent contractor, the bulk of my income tax statements were 1099-NEC forms. But some folks are getting 1099-Ks. And these tax statements still are causing confusion. Form 1099-K has become more common with the growth of the gig workforce, and the delivery of products and services through online apps and marketplaces, such as PayPal, Venmo, CashApp, eBay, Etsy, Uber, Lyft, and Airbnb. Old form, new amounts: The forms are not new, but the amount of earnings that trigger their issuance has changed.... Read more →
Taking things a bit more slowly often is a good idea. For many, that approach also applies when it comes to filing their annual tax return. (Photo by Kay Bell) While millions of taxpayers are eager each January to get their returns to the Internal Revenue Service, there just as many who want to take their time. Some are just natural procrastinators. They wait until the last minute to finish every task. But when it comes to tax filing, there actually are some good reasons to not be in such a hurry. Here are seven. 1. To see if Congress... Read more →
Unsplash+ in collaboration with Getty Images Tax season 2024 officially starts Monday, Jan. 29. Lots of taxpayers have already filled out their 1040 forms and are just waiting for the Internal Revenue Service to start processing them next week. Most of these early filers are expecting tax refunds. They also likely have relatively simple tax lives. Lucky them. Others, however, have more complicated tax and financial circumstances. These folks have more tax documents with details that must be transferred to their return forms and schedules. They also need to consider how their situations might affect their tax returns. Below is... Read more →
Tax season 2024 officially starts on Jan. 29, and millions of taxpayers are getting ready to deliver their returns that day to the Internal Revenue Service. Some, however, are asking a more basic question. Do I have to file a Form 1040 at all? The answer probably is yes. If you're asking the question, you likely made some money, and the Internal Revenue Code doesn't exempt much from taxation. But as with all things tax, there are exceptions. In some situations, Uncle Sam doesn't demand individuals file. Here's a look at whether you might be able to join that group... Read more →
You're ready to file your tax return, but there's one problem. You don't have all the statements you need to complete your Form 1040 and associated schedules. Many of us, however, are just going to have to be patient for a couple more weeks. While some issuers have sent taxpayers the required statements, many don't get them out until close to, in most cases, the mandated Jan. 31 delivery date. The documents typically are snail mailed, but technology is gaining ground. Issuers of most of my annual tax statements now let me know by email the documents are ready. Then... Read more →
You probably are getting ready for the three-day weekend coming up with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. federal holiday on Monday, Jan. 15. But if you pay estimated taxes, you also know that date usually is the deadline for the prior tax year's fourth payment. Since it's MLK Day this year, this due date is pushed to the next business day, Tuesday, Jan. 16. You need to meet that final deadline to avoid a possible tax bill or penalty (or both) when your file your 2023 tax return later this year. Why estimated tax? Most of us pay... Read more →
Updated Monday, Jan. 8, 2024, to include the just announced official start of the 2024 tax filing season. Not only is it the first week of a brand, spanking new year, it's the first week of the 2024 tax filing season. I know, the Internal Revenue Service isn't yet accepting 2023 tax returns. That won't happen until the official start of the 2024 filing season on Monday, Jan. 29. But lots of taxpayers already are getting their forms in order, so they can send them the minute the IRS officially opens its doors, and computer system, to process them. And... Read more →
Although hybrid work is still around, most companies returned mostly to pre-COVID-19 pandemic operations in 2023. That apparently includes bonuses for workers. These added employee payments came back in a big way this year, according to a survey last month by the national staffing firm Robert Half. The agency found that 96 percent of employers expect to award year-end bonuses, with 54 percent of those generous employers saying the amounts will be more than a year ago. If you're among those who got a little (or a lot of) extra cash from your boss, congratulations. Now let's talk taxes. Bonus... Read more →
Only 80% of wrongly-claimed Employee Retention Credit amounts must be repaid. Photo by Anastasiia Chepinska on Unsplash We're all aware of the continuing medical issues from long COVID. The coronavirus' tax effects appear to be just as persistent. The Internal Revenue Service is still dealing with law changes enacted to provide pandemic relief. The Employee Retention Credit, or ERC, is one of them. This refundable business tax credit was designed for companies that continued paying employees during the COVID-19 pandemic despite financial hardship. To qualify, the businesses were either fully or partially suspended due to a government order, or had... Read more →