29. January 2011 by admin.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

IRS Names 10 New Members to IRPAC

The Internal Revenue Service today announced the selection of 10 new members in 2011 for the Information Reporting Program Advisory Committee (IRPAC).

“Members of IRPAC provide industry perspective and recommendations that assist the IRS in making decisions about third-party information reporting, which is important to sound tax administration,” said IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman.

The new appointees will join 14 returning members who are in the second or third year of their three-year terms.

The following people have been appointed to serve on the committee:

Susan R. Boltacz, JD, CPA of Atlanta, Ga. Boltacz is a Group Vice President, Tax Counsel and Director of Tax Information Reporting at Sun Trust Bank. She has been advising on tax information reporting issues and implementing tax information reporting requirements for financial services and telecommunications industries for over 21 years. She is a member of the Tax Section of the American Bar Association.

Duncan W. Brennan, of Washington, D.C. Brennan is Manager of the Legal Support Group at Burt, Staples & Maner, LLP. He is experienced working with domestic and nonresident withholding and information reporting and holds a Masters of Public Policy Degree.

Julia K. Chang, CPA, of Pacific Palisades, Calif. Chang has worked in the accounting field for over 30 years, specializing in taxation. She is a member of AICPA and the California Society of CPAs.

Terrance C. Coppinger, CPA, of New York. Coppinger is a Director at Deloitte Tax, LLP. He has been advising clients on tax information reporting for more than 15 years. He is a member of the Tax Section and the Personal Financial Specialist Section of the AICPA, and the IRS Relations Committee of the New York State Society of CPAs.

Rebecca M. Harshberger, a Certified Payroll Professional of Burbank, Calif. Harshberger is Director, Payroll Tax Administration at GEP, Administrative Services, Inc. She has over 10 years experience in tax information reporting. She is on the Board of directors of the Los Angeles Chapter of the American Payroll Association and is a member of APA.

Anne W. Jetmundsen, CPA, of Tampa, Fla. Jetmundsen is a Tax Advisor to the University of South Florida. She advises the University on payroll, purchasing and accounts payable and information reporting obligations. She is Chair of the Taxation Subcommittee of the Inter-institutional Committee on Finance and Accounting (ICOFA) and a member of the Tax Council of the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO).

Tony Y. Lam, JD, CPA, of Owings Mills, Md. Lam is an Associate Tax Counsel at T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. He addresses the legal requirements of tax information reporting and withholding for millions of investor accounts and retirement plan participant accounts both domestic and foreign. He is a member of the Investment Company Institute’s Tax Committee.

Michael M. Lloyd, JD, CPA of Washington, D.C. Lloyd is a Member/Counsel/Senior Associate of Miller & Chevalier Chartered. He advises clients in the areas of tax and employee benefits with a focus on cross-border payment reporting and withholding, domestic information reporting, employment tax reporting, fringe benefits, executive compensation and penalty abatement. He is a member of the AICPA and the Section of Taxation of the American Bar Association.

Jeffrey N. Mason, JD, of Salem, N.C. Mason is Tax Counsel, Corporate Tax Department at Wells Fargo & Company. He has 10 years experience ensuring compliance with information reporting requirements in the banking industry. He is a member of the SIFMA Tax Compliance Committee.

Lonnie Young, CPA, of Lake Mary, Fla. Young is owner of Young & Company, LLC. His firm prepares corporate, partnership, trust and individual returns as well as payroll information returns. He is a member of the AICPA and the National Society of Accountants.

The IRPAC was established in 1991 and focuses on information reporting issues. The committee’s purpose is to provide an organized public forum for discussion of relevant tax administration issues between IRS officials and representatives of the public.

Posted in Payroll Tax, Newsletter Topics, Retirement Accounts, International Taxation, Sub S Corporations, Income Tax, LLC's, General | 2 Comments »

8. January 2011 by admin.

For well over a year we have had a scrolling alert on our main website www.USATaxHelp.com about this issue…. here is State of Florida’s latest web post…..

CONSUMER ALERT!   Arvitas, LLC is a private company sending e-mails to businesses in Florida offering to file annual reports.   ARVITAS IS NOT AN AGENT OR REPRESENTATIVE FOR THE FLORIDA DEPT. OF STATE, DIVISION OF CORPORATIONS.   Arvitas is acting on its own to solicit business for its own company.   It is offering to file annual reports for business entities in Florida at an inflated fee.   They do not offer any additional service than what is available to the public on sunbiz.org.   The Attorney General´s Office, on behalf of the Dept. of State, is currently pursuing legal action against Arvitas.  

Posted in International Taxation, Payroll Tax, Sub S Corporations, LLC's, Income Tax, General | 2 Comments »

27. December 2010 by admin.

“Making Work Pay” provision is dropped in favor of the 2% FICA reduction (Social Security part) to the employee from the 2010 rate of 6.2% to 4.2% for 2011. 

Posted in Payroll Tax, Sub S Corporations, LLC's, Income Tax, General | 1 Comment »

18. November 2010 by admin.

State of Florida will be increase the minimum state unemployment tax rate.  The article The current minimum rate of 0.36% will nearly triple to 1.08%.  View full article:  http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-11-17/fla-unemployment-compensation-tax-going-up-again.html 

Posted in Payroll Tax, Sub S Corporations, LLC's, Income Tax | 1 Comment »

6. November 2010 by admin.

There is a lot of mis-information out there about Health Insurance being taxable……..

Starting in 2011, (next year folks), your W-2 tax form sent by your employer will be increased to show the value of whatever health insurance you are given by the company. It does not matter if that’s a private concern or governmental body of some sort.  

That is correct… however, it is NOT taxable… will not increase your tax one bit.  It is just a display thing to “show the total compensation an employee receives” but it is not taxable…

BUT, since the reporting requirement will be in place, it could very well be taxable, or a portion of it taxable in the future… but not in 2011.

Posted in Payroll Tax, Sub S Corporations, LLC's, Income Tax | 1 Comment »

6. July 2010 by admin.

SUMMARY 

The Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act. Businesses can receive two tax incentives for each new worker. To qualify the employee must have been unemployed during the 60 days before beginning their new job or worked fewer than 40 hours during that 60 day period. It applies to anyone hired between February 3rd and December 31st of 2010 but the calculations of the credit do not start until March 19th.

The first benefit is a 6.2 percent payroll tax incentive, exempting businesses from their share of the employee’s social security taxes. The second is a tax credit of up to $1-thousand dollars for every worker retained for at least a year.A spokesman for the IRS says the HIRE Act is too new to know how well it’s working or how many companies are filing for the exemptions.

YOU MUST HAVE THE TAX EXEMPTION FORM W-11. 

We must have a signed copy to process this information.Click here to download the tax exemption form W-11. 

DETAIL http://hireact.org/ 

Posted in Payroll Tax, Sub S Corporations, LLC's, Income Tax, General | 2 Comments »

21. June 2010 by admin.

How do you prove a deduction?

First, a cancelled check, credit card charge or cash receipt.  BUT, that only proves you paid for something.

Second, an invoice showing what was paid. 

For example, you have a cancelled check to an insurance company.  It only proves you paid for something.  You might have paid your Grandmothers insurance policy instead of business liability.  So it takes the invoice AND proof of payment.

Every deduction it requires PROOF of PAYMENT and PROOF of the expense, meaning an invoice.

Posted in Payroll Tax, International Taxation, Sub S Corporations, LLC's, Income Tax | 1 Comment »

7. December 2009 by admin.

If you participate in an Employer sponsored Simple IRA, you can put an max of $11,500 in 2009 PLUS $2,500 for being over age 50.  That total is $14,000 maximum as an employee deferral.  Additionally, the employer has some matching options.  By far we have found the most popular Employer matching option to be… the employer matches up to the lower of 3% of your wages or whatever you put in as an employee.

Whatever is withheld from the paycheck must be withheld in no later than the end of December for 2009 and paid in by the employer no later than January 31^st, 2010.

i.e.  Your wages for 2009 are $36,000 x 3% = $1,080.  If you only contribute $800, Employer can only put in $800.  If you contribute $3,000, Employer can only put in $1,080.

There is no commitment to put to the maximum, nor is there a commitment that you continue to participate in a subsequent year.

Note:  Participation in an employer sponsored plan subjects you to limits on Regular IRA contributions.  Contact us for more info at www.USATaxHelp.com

Posted in Retirement Accounts, Payroll Tax, Sub S Corporations, LLC's, Income Tax | 1 Comment »

27. November 2009 by admin.

Client Disclosure Authorization

Posted in International Taxation, Payroll Tax, Sub S Corporations, LLC's, Income Tax, General | 2 Comments »

20. November 2009 by admin.

Set Up an Installment Agreement.  You really don’t need to hire anyone.  Some general rules…

If you owe Personal Income Tax of less than $10k, divide the amount by up to 36 months and offer to pay this… it is a GUARANTEED INSTALLMENT AGREEMENT.

If you owe Personal Income Tax of less than $25k, divide the amount by up to 60 months and offer to pay this…. It is a STREAMLINED INSTALLMENT AGREEMENT.  It is not guaranteed but it usually works.

If you owe Payroll Tax, divide the amount by up to 24 months.  This is usually successful.

In all circumstances, you will have to be “In Compliance”… meaning, you have filed timely, and paid timely since the agreement.  If you violate the “In Compliance”, you are back to square one.

Again, you do not really need to hire anyone in the above circumstances… but if you feel more comfortable in doing so, or your situation is you owe more than the above amounts, you can contact us www.USATaxHelp.com

Posted in Payroll Tax, Income Tax | 2 Comments »