Unlike employees, who have income, Social Security, and Medicare taxes withheld from their wages, self-employed individuals must prepay their taxes by making quarterly estimated tax payments. These are referred to as estimated tax payments because the self-employed individual must estimate his or her net earnings for the year and pay taxes on a quarterly basis [...]
Congress has approved the 21st Century Cures Act, which includes a provision allowing small employers to reimburse their employees for medical expenses under a health reimbursement arrangement without being liable for the draconian, $100 per day penalty for violating the Affordable Care Act’s rules. President Obama has indicated his approval of the bill. Background: Stand-alone [...]
The IRS, in an effort to combat rampant tax filing fraud, has introduced what they hope will be two new fraud-prevention measures for the upcoming filing season. The first will purposely delay until February 15 the issuance of refunds for tax returns where there is an earned income tax credit (EITC) and/or a refundable child [...]
Whew! Elections are over. Now here is some of the fallout for employers: As you may already know Arizona voters passed Proposition 206 for an increase to minimum wage from $8.05 to $10 starting January 1st, 2017. Here are a few more details on the changes below. Increase the minimum wage to $10 in 2017, [...]
When an individual itemizes deductions, one of those deductions is the cost of medical and dental expenses, including health insurance premiums. However, the medical expense deduction has been historically limited to the amount that exceeds 7.5% of a taxpayer’s adjusted gross income (AGI). With passage of the Affordable Care Act, commonly referred to as Obamacare, [...]
A frequent question that arises is: Can I deduct the cost of my work clothing on my tax return? The answer to that question is “maybe.” The IRS provides the following guidelines for when expenses for work clothes are deductible: 1) They are worn as a condition of employment, AND 2) The clothing is not [...]
Business owners are experts at their industry. You know your products and services well – better than the competition. You know how to reach those customers, too. But, managing what’s behind the scene isn’t always as easy. With the right tools and resources, including a professional by your side, you can enhance the way you [...]
If you are planning a new business start-up and are incurring some expenses, you probably anticipate deducting those expenses in the first year of the business’s operation. Unfortunately it is a little more complicated than that. Expenses a business incurs in the beginning can include equipment purchases, vehicle purchases and use, leasehold improvements, organizational costs [...]
From time to time business owners will replace vehicles used in their business. When replacing a business vehicle, the tax ramifications are different when selling the old vehicle and when trading it in for a new vehicle. If the vehicle is sold, the result is reported on the taxpayer’s return as an above-the-line gain or [...]
The wonderful life of self-employment includes many things including autonomy, ability to earn as much money as you want, self-sufficiency and the feeling of accomplishment that comes with creating something. I have owned my own firm for 12 years and every year there is a new challenge. In the first years it was how [...]