IRS Information | QuickBooks for Contractors blog

11Dec 2013 by BruceMc

Employee Reimbursements-Accountable vs Non-Accountable Plans

Be A Better Bookkeeper, From Our Guest Bloggers, IRS Information, Payroll Tips

As a tax preparer and payroll provider for my clients I always recommend, whenever possible, that they keep employee reimbursements’ out of payroll. The IRS even suggest this in Publication 583 (https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p583.pdf). If it is your habit to include reimbursed expenses in employee paychecks and your payroll is ever audited, be it from the IRS or the State, I am sure you and your employer could be very unhappy. In a perfect world, all expenses would be paid with company checks, or credit cards, leaving a clear path for accounting to identify the source and business reason for each expense. However, we do not live in a perfect world, and it is oftentimes necessary for employees to pay for these expenses. Reimbursements are not so cut and dry. If you…

21Nov 2013 by Nancy Smyth

QuickBooks Year-End Tip – Tracking 1099 & W-9 Information

1099"s, IRS Information, Payroll Tips, Reports, Vendors & Accounts Payable

Every vendor record in QuickBooks provides you with a place to indicate if a Vendor is eligible for a 1099 and a spot for you to enter the Vendors tax ID number and I highly recommend that you utilize this functionality along with the ability to attach a completed W-9 to the Vendor record. You can enter this information by going to the Vendor Center, selecting and editing a Vendor record. Exactly where you enter this information will depend on what "year" version of QuickBooks you are using, I've included a couple of examples below to help point you in the right direction. [caption id="attachment_4362" align="aligncenter" width="300"] In QuickBooks 2012 - you'll enter 1099 information in the Additional Info tab.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_4363" align="aligncenter" width="300"] In QuickBooks 2014 you'll enter Vendor…

23May 2013 by Nancy Smyth

I-9 Form Updated – Make Sure You’re Prepared

IRS Information, Payroll Tips

An updated Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification form was released by the U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services on May 8, 2013. As an employer you are required to complete a Form I-9 whenever you hire a new employee, so make sure that it is part of your New Hire Packet. The employee must complete Section 1 of the I-9 on the day that you hire him and you must review the employee’s supporting documentation and complete Section 2 of Form I-9 within 3 business days of the hire date. You can photocopy the documents that the employee provides you and you can keep them with the completed I-9 or store them with the employee’s records. Important Note: If you hire a person for less than 3 (three) business days,…

25Jul 2012 by Nancy Smyth

An IRS Audit..and They Require Copies of Canceled Checks

Be A Better Bookkeeper, IRS Information

An IRS Audit can require you to substantiate expenditures with front and back copies of canceled checks according to an article that I read yesterday on the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) website, are you going to be prepared if that happens to you? Perhaps you haven't received your canceled checks back from your bank in years, or perhaps your bank has even stopped providing you with printed images of those checks with your bank statement, like mine has - and I must confess I can't even remember when they stopped doing that with our business account - but I do know that it's been several years. Perhaps like me, when your bank stopped returning your canceled checks or stopped providing you with images of them with your bank statement;…

22Jun 2012 by Nancy Smyth

Weekly Wrap-Up: News You Can Use 6/15/2012-6/21/2012

Be A Better Bookkeeper, Certified Payroll/Prevailing Wage, Construction News, IRS Information, News You Can Use, Payroll Tips, QuickBooks Corner, Social Media, Webinars & Training

Weekly wrap-up of news and information from around the web – there’s so much information out there that it’s difficult (at best) to keep up! I’ve added a WordPress plug-in that grabs information from my Twitter stream to help me (and hopefully you as well) keep up with everything. Look for the Weekly Wrap-Up: News You Can Use every Friday. I’ll try to be consistent and organize the information into the same categories each week. Accounting & Taxes A letter from a Bookkeeper https://t.co/nr0twsHi via @bruce_taxguy -> How I answered the letter https://t.co/WIa8lzll via @bruce_taxguy -> IRS "repair regulations" can be overly complex https://t.co/O9Ix29KR -> Is Remortgaging Equity Release Debt a Good Option? https://t.co/TRNXJ9Ue via @bruce_taxguy -> 3 Strategies to Help You Conquer Your Debt https://t.co/aLTQtJQX via @bruce_taxguy ->…

05Jun 2012 by Nancy Smyth

Think You Can’t Afford to Pay Your Payroll Taxes-Think Again

IRS Information, Payroll Tips

Failing to remit payroll taxes is a big mistake! Sometimes a business owner will let the payment of payroll taxes slide in favor of paying other vendors OR perhaps will make a partial payment, thinking it will be ok -- not a good idea ----- always remit the full amount of your payroll taxes before paying other bills. Here are a couple of examples why. If you have check writing authority and it can be shown that you were aware your company or client paid other expenses when payroll taxes were due, the IRS can come after you for the taxes, penalties and interest. D and her husband were equal owners and sole corporate officers of a business. After they separated, they continued to run the business. The firm…

24May 2012 by BruceMc

Is Your CPA REALLY the Right Person to be Completing Your Tax Return?

From Our Guest Bloggers, IRS Information

Is your CPA REALLY the right person to be completing your tax return? Did you know that there are different educational requirements for different types of tax preparers? Maybe you have heard maybe not. The IRS is beginning to mandate preparers who complete your tax return. Yes, if you use a paid tax preparer there are rules that are being mandated by the IRS. These regulations/rules are being put in place in an effort to assure you that you are getting the best possible return from a knowledgeable trained preparer. So what are they? What regulations are being implemented to protect you? The IRS will require all individuals who are required to sign a federal tax return as a paid tax return preparer to register and obtain a…

15May 2012 by Nancy Smyth

Deducting the Cost of Lost Equipment from an Employee’s Pay

IRS Information, Payroll Tips

Can you deduct the cost of lost equipment from your employee’s pay? As a business owner I'm betting that on more than one occasion you have had an employee who has lost his company provided cell phone more than once and you've have to replace it. Perhaps you want to recover the cost of the phone via a payroll deduction - before you do, read the rest of this great article from HR Matters E-Tips, because the answer depends first on state and federal restrictions and second on how much you want to deduct. Both federal and state laws limit the deductions employers can take from their employee’s wages. The federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which requires minimum wage payments and premium overtime pay for covered employees,…

26Mar 2012 by Joyce M. Washington

Construction – Tools & Tax Tips

From Our Guest Bloggers, IRS Information

In the construction industry, for tax purposes, you do treat the purchase of a hammer and a cement mixer differently. Sure you may view them as "tools of the trade" - but the IRS thinks differently! Construction is by nature a tool driven industry. Buying and providing them can get expensive. But how do you know when you can expense a tool and when you should capitalize a tool and depreciate (expense) it over time? Here are a few tips. First off, let’s define expenses from the tax perspective. Any business expense that is considered to be ordinary and necessary is deductible. An “ordinary” expense is considered to be something that is common and accepted in your industry – in this case, the construction industry. To be considered “necessary”,…

17Nov 2011 by Nancy Smyth

Payroll Tips – Answers to 7 Holiday Pay Questions

Be A Better Bookkeeper, IRS Information, Payroll Tips, QuickBooks Corner

Payroll and holiday pay can be confusing and overwhelming and here we are right at the height of the upcoming holiday season! I found these great tips from HR Matters and wanted to share them with you. These tips provide answers to common questions such as: Do you have to provide paid holidays? What about for new employees? Do you have to pay overtime to employees who have to work on a holiday? We’re officially heading into the holiday season with Thanksgiving coming up next week and Christmas and the New Year just around the corner. If you are like most employers, you may be dealing with holiday pay issues. To help you out, the HR Matters E-Tips Editors have put together the top seven holiday questions that they answer…

27Oct 2011 by Nancy Smyth

How the IRS Feels About Employer Provided Cell Phones

IRS Information

The Internal Revenue Service has released guidance aimed at clarifying the tax treatment of mobile phones provided by employers to their employees. The guidance explains a provision of last fall's Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 that removed cell phones from the definition of listed property, a category under tax law that normally requires taxpayers to perform additional recordkeeping. IRS Notice 2011-72, issued in mid-September, provides guidance on the treatment of employer-provided cell phones as an excludible fringe benefit. According to the new guidance from the IRS, when an employer provides an employee with a cell phone primarily for noncompensatory business reasons, the business and personal use of the cell phone is generally nontaxable to the employee. The IRS will not require recordkeeping of business use in order to receive…

12Oct 2011 by Nancy Smyth

Employers Receiving Name/SSN No-Match Letters from SSA

IRS Information, Payroll Tips

Employers and employees, be aware that you could be receiving name/SSN no-match letters at home from the SSA {Social Security Administration} - learn what it means and how to respond to such a letter. Information contained in this article is from the General Ledger - the Complete Newsletter for Professional Bookkeepers, published by the American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers. The SSA started sending out name/SSN no-match letters again in March of this year to employer and employee or self-employed at home. The new notices have one mismatch per letter and are called "Decentralized Correspondence" (DECOR). SSA wants to make sure that a worker's earnings are posted to the right account. Exception: SSA will not be sending no-match letters for tax years 2007-2009. SSA recommends responding to a no-match letter as…

28Jul 2011 by Nancy Smyth

Form I-9 Reverification Rules – Learn the Fine Ponts

IRS Information, Payroll Tips

Do you have to reverify an employee's Form I-9 if his driver's license expires? What about if an employee's work authorization expires? The answer is no for one, but yes for the other. Find out which situations require reverification. From HR Matters E-Tips. Question: When do we need to reverify the Form I-9? Do we have to reverify if an employee’s driver’s license or passport expires? What about when we rehire former employees? Are there other times that we have to reverify an employee’s Form I-9? Answer: The Form I-9, otherwise known as the Employment Eligibility Verification Form, must be completed and kept on file for each new employee and also must be reverified in certain limited circumstances. You do not need to reverify the Form I-9 when an employee’s…

20Jul 2011 by Nancy Smyth

IRS Gives Truckers Three-Month Extension on Highway Use Tax Return

IRS Information

From the July 15, 2011 IRS Newswire - IRS Gives Truckers Three-Month Extension; Highway Use Tax Return Due Nov. 30, 2011 WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today advised truckers and other owners of heavy highway vehicles that their next federal highway use tax return, usually due Aug. 31, will instead be due on Nov. 30, 2011. Because the highway use tax is currently scheduled to expire on Sept. 30, 2011, this extension is designed to alleviate any confusion and possible multiple filings that could result if Congress reinstates or modifies the tax after that date. Under temporary and proposed regulations filed today in the Federal Register, the Nov. 30 filing deadline for Form 2290, Heavy Highway Vehicle Use Tax Return, for the tax period that begins on July 1,…

27Jun 2011 by Nancy Smyth

What’s New with New Hire Reporting? Date of Hire

IRS Information, Payroll Tips

Reporting new hires has been a requirement for a long time, however, the "first day of work" law went into effect on June 8, 2011. New Hire Reporting is one of the best tools for locating noncustodial parents who may be evading their child support responsibilities. Employers play a key role in ensuring children receive the financial support they need. The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act (PRWORA) of 1996 requires employers to report all new hires tot heir State Directory of New Hires. Moreover, the Claims Resolution Act of 2010 was recently passed to reform the Unemployment Insurance program, including changes to Section 453A (b) and (c) of the Social Security Act. This legislation added a new requirement for employers to report, in addition to other information, the date…

Category: IRS Information