The Learning Center

Taxes are no longer something you can do once a year. If you want to ensure you have mastered your cash flow, then quarterly taxes are something that can help you do this.

Although it might seem like a bit of a chore, there are many upsides. Paying your taxes quarterly allows you to spread the responsibility over the year so you don’t experience any challenges with your cash flow, and you can make sure you don’t have a huge bill to pay in April. Here we’re going to look at how quarterly taxes work and what you should know.

 

An S corporation is a pass-through entity that is treated very much like a partnership for federal income tax purposes. As a result, all income is passed through to the shareholders and taxed at their individual tax rates.

Tax problems aren't just a worry that hang over people's heads from January through April every year. Many of them go far beyond the numbers that you report, and they can require additional evidence that your bank statements and paychecks can't provide. Additionally, the IRS isn't the only source of those problems: state tax authorities are hungry for revenue, and if you divide your time among different states, you may find it difficult to establish nexus and may even have to file taxes in multiple states.

Running a business is downright difficult.  Keeping track of important tax due dates shouldn't be.  Review these deadlines on a monthly or quarterly basis to keep track of what is due and when!

The Form 1099 rules can get complicated - staying compliant doesn’t have to be.  For the 2020 tax year, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has made some changes that could impact the way you have to issue Form 1099s.  Read below to learn about the new rules and how your business may be affected.

The Heroes Group is now DiMercurio Advisors!

While our name might be changing, who we are and what we stand for will remain the same. We will continue to provide quality advisory, accounting, business registration and tax services to empower business owners to succeed.

When it comes to saving for your child’s future college expenses, 529 college savings plans are one of the most popular options — and for good reason. These plans allow you to tuck away money for future tuition expenses without taking a hit from taxes. 

If you are the owner of a small business that was able to obtain a Paycheck Projection Program (PPP) Loan, you have probably already started worrying about how you are supposed to spend the loan proceeds to maximize loan forgiveness.

Even if you always hire a tax preparer to do your taxes for you, you probably know that the most effective way of reducing your tax liability is through deductions and tax credits. Since one of the biggest deductions available is the one taken for home office space, in this strange and disorienting period of isolation due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many workers who’ve been told to work from home are wondering whether they’ll be eligible for that additional tax benefit. Unfortunately, the short answer to that question is probably “no.”

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, signed into law on March 27^th by President Trump, includes an unemployment assistance program for individuals who under normal circumstances would not qualify for unemployment benefits, which traditionally have only applied to employees. Under the CARES Act, unemployment benefits are now available for self-employed individuals, independent contractors and others – even some with limited work history – who are unable to work because of the coronavirus emergency.

Among the hardest hit during the coronavirus epidemic are the small businesses that have lost their revenue sources and do not have the financial resources to weather the storm. In this case, the federal government’s SBA (Small Business Administration) Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) can help a business make it through these trying times.

If you are struggling financially due to the COVID-19 epidemic, you will be happy to know Congress, as part of the CARES Act enacted on March 27, has made it easier for you to access your retirement funds during this emergency.

In these times of uncertainty, governments all over the world are taking unprecedented action to support people who have been adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. On March 12th, the U.S. Department of Labor released updated eligibility criteria for unemployment insurance (UI) programs to include people that have become unemployed as a direct result of the coronavirus outbreak.

To help businesses retain employees and keep them employed during the COVID-19 crisis, Congress has provided a refundable employer retention credit available to all qualifying employers regardless of size, including tax-exempt organizations.

The “Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act” (Cares Act) includes many tax and financial breaks for both individuals and businesses. We broke down many of the essential elements and how they can assist you and your business during this troubling time.

If you’re a small business owner struggling financially due to the COVID-19 outbreak, there is help available. The SBA is offering Economic Injury Disaster Loans of up to $2 million – here are answers to the FAQs.

The COVID-19 epidemic has created situations where employees are not able to work because they tested positive for the virus or have been quarantined after coming in contact with someone who has tested positive. It has also caused parents to miss work because their children’s school has closed due to the outbreak and there is no one to watch the kids.

As a result, the federal government is providing sick leave benefits and child care leave benefits to affected taxpayers whose employers have fewer than 500 employees. The way this is being handled is the employer will pay the benefits to the employee and then will be reimbursed by the government (more on this later in this article).

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has never faced a challenge like the COVID-19 outbreak, but they’re stepping up to help small business owners who are suffering financially.

Although most American taxpayers receive a refund each year when they file their income tax returns, there are those who for one reason or another end up owing. However, lots end up owing on April 15^th and many don’t have the means to pay what they owe.

The COVID-19 outbreak is affecting every facet of our lives – including our taxes. Check here for all your FAQ to see how you may be impacted.

The rapid spread of the COVID-19 virus has begun to initiate an economic downturn and spurred a series of rapid responses on the part of the government. There have been so many proposals and versions floated regarding employee policies during the public health emergency that employers are understandably confused. Though there was an initial belief that the crisis would require businesses to make permanent reductions in their work force in order to survive, the final version of the Act may make these types of drastic actions unnecessary.

When you sell up, you want your business to have as much inherent value as possible – so you get a good price, a great return on your investment and the best possible payout.

There are three fundamentals to successfully scale up your business: having a clear (and documented) organization structure, having comprehensive systems and processes, and developing great leadership.

Making a profit isn’t something that happens overnight – to create a good return from your business you need a clear focus and a well thought-out strategy for increasing profitability.

Accountants tell their clients to reduce their overhead costs as one of the seven ways to grow your business. One of your overhead costs is your accounting fees. So, is what you spend with your accountant an expense which needs to be reduced, or is it an investment?

Scaling up your business isn't about steady growth over time – it's a predetermined strategy to proactively expand your business at pace and achieve hypergrowth.

Starting your own business is a BIG leap of faith. Will you find any customers? Will you make enough income? These are questions that any founder will ask themselves.

Great question!   The IRS and most states require taxpayers to e-file their tax returns.  Sometimes though there’s legitimate reasons why a return will be paper filed instead.  Here's a few of them!

This is a question many taxpayers ask during this time of year, and the question is far more complicated than people believe. To fully understand, we need to consider that there are times when individuals are REQUIRED to file a tax return, and then there are times when it is to the individuals’ BENEFIT to file a return even if they are not required to file.

Audits are relatively rare, as fewer than 1% of taxpayers grouped by income level will get that dreaded notice on IRS letterhead.  Only 7% of tax returns reporting an eight-figure adjusted gross income were audited.  If you are ever facing an audit, either as an individual taxpayer or a small business owner, you don’t have to go it alone: we can help.

Taxpayers are frequently blindsided when their filing status changes because of a life event such as marriage, divorce, separation or the death of a spouse. These occasions can be stressful or ecstatic times, and the last thing most people will be thinking about are the tax ramifications. But the ramifications are real, and the following are some of the major tax complications for each situation.

When discussing taxes, reading tax related articles or interpreting instructions, one needs to understand the lingo and acronyms used by tax professionals and authors to be able to grasp what they are saying. It can be difficult to understand tax strategies if you are not familiar with the basic terminologies used in taxation. The following provides you with the basic details associated with the most frequently encountered tax terms.

If you are registered to do business in Florida, you are required to complete a Florida Annual Report by May 1st each year with the Florida Secretary of State.  Follow our Tips, Tricks and FAQs below to make the annual report filing process painless.

If you are receiving Social Security, then you have just recently received your annual letter from the Social Security Administration letting you know that your Social Security benefits for 2020 have increased by 1.6 percent as a result of a rise in the cost of living. The letter also lets you know how much will be withheld from your monthly retirement benefit for Medicare Parts B (medical insurance) and D (Prescription Drug Plan).

Congress, at almost the last minute, has passed a large number of tax changes, including retirement plan issues that will become effective in 2020, as well as extensions through 2020 of a number of tax provisions that had expired or were about to end. The list of changes is quite large, so we have only included those that are most likely to affect individual tax returns.

You may think we harp on you a lot about protecting yourself against identity theft and tax scams. You are right… but we do it because having your identity stolen becomes an absolute financial nightmare, sometimes taking years to straighten out. Identity thieves are clever and relentless, and they are always coming up with new schemes to trick you. And all you have to do is slip up just once to compromise your identity, and your nightmare will begin.

UPDATE:

As of tax year 2020, the Form 1099 rules have changed.  Click here to read the updated article. 

Original:

The Form 1099 rules can get complicated - staying compliant doesn’t have to be. Many business owners aren’t sure of the best practices when issuing a Form 1099. Get to know the rules and learn how to avoid common mistakes when issuing a Form 1099.

It may be common for employers to pay their employees weekly, though there are several options available to you! It’s worth exploring these options to see what works best for both your team and your business.  The most commonly used payment frequencies are:

• Weekly (52 times a year)
• Bi-weekly (26 times a year)
• Semi-monthly (24 times a year)
• Monthly (12 times a year)

An extension gives you additional time to prepare and file your tax return.  You might need additional time because you haven't received everything or don't have enough time to gather everything for your tax preparer.  The most important thing to understand is that an extension DOES NOT give you additional time to pay what you owe.

Can I write that off? Sometimes income tax deductions can get complicated as a self-employed professional or small business owner.  There are many strategies available to maximize tax savings. Since The Heroes Group is a team of Sidekicks supporting Heroes (our clients), we found it appropriate to use on of our favorite Heroes, Batman, to simplify the complexities of income tax deductions. So, can Batman write off….

Quite often we are asked "Should I register as an LLC or S-Corporation?".  While this question makes attorneys and CPAs cringe, lets break it down together and empower you to select the best entity type for your business!

DiMercurio Advisors is on a mission to eliminate small business owners from processing their own payroll. Fun fact: Business owners can be held personally liable for ensuring payroll taxes are handed over to the IRS. It’s called the Trust Fund Recovery Penalty (TFRP), and many small business owners haven’t heard of it.