Dollars and Sense LLC

Warning:

Tax scammers now vary their cons, according to the IRS. Crooks now pretend to be from the IRS, offer fake badge numbers, and warn that if back taxes and penalties are not paid right now you will be arrested. The caller threatens to send the local police or sheriff to arrest you. Soon after, you get a follow-up call from the crook’s cohort claiming to be some kind of law enforcement officer who is on his way to arrest you.While the crooks have you on the phone, they will obtain personal data or induce you to pay, usually by buying a specific type of prepaid payment card, then calling the crooks back and giving them the information needed to charge the card.The crooks used to call immigrants or the elderly. Now, the IRS says they call businesses and even tax professionals.

Warning on estimated taxes

Self-employment income is added to wages to determine whether the tax applies.

As always check with your CPA, Financial advisor or tax attorney

Warning on estimated taxes

1. Self-employeds and employees with side businesses need to re-examine their estimated tax payments. A key shortfall is the added 0.9% Medicare tax on individuals who have wages or self-employment income or both exceeding $250,000 for marrieds filing jointly, or $200,000 for singles or heads of household.

As always check with your CPA, Financial advisor or tax attorney

Postdated checks.

1. Debit the check to Notes Receivable not to cash

2. On the date written on the check, deposit it to your firm’s account, debiting Cash and crediting Notes Receivables

Returned checks
When the bank notifies you that it is returning a customer’s check for NSF (not sufficient funds), debit the customer’s account immediately

1. Instruct your bank to address all returned checks to someone other than you—possibly the owner or a senior manager.
This can protect you if an employee tries to use fictitious checks to cover temporary shortages

Paid Vacation

1. Federal law does not require paid vacation

2. Vacation Pay is strictly up to the employer.

3. Vacation Pay should be in writing in the employee handbook so both management and employees know the rules such as When and how vacation pay is distributed.

Sole proprietorships and partnerships 100%-owned by parents:

2. If a 100% parent-owned sole proprietorship’s or partnership’s only employees are immediate family, the owners’ children need not be paid the minimum wage—but if others are regularly employed, even family must be paid minimum wage.

***As always check with your Payroll Service, DOL or CPA***

Sole proprietorships and partnerships 100%-owned by parents:

1. Children of the owner can work any number of hours or time of day, regardless of their age. If under 16, they cannot do any hazardous work near flammable or hazardous materials, or where food is cooked.

***As always check with your Payroll Service, DOL or CPA***

Making sure that business dinner,
night out or ball game is deductible

Expenses must be directly related to active conduct of the trade or business. They must meet each of four requirements:

1. The taxpayer must have had more than a general expectation of deriving some income or other business benefit at an indefinite future time.

Rules on requesting employees' Social Security card:

3. Once you have the Social Security card, make sure the name on your payroll records precisely matches the name on the Social Security card. Although it is the employee’s responsibility to correct such errors with the SSA, employers can be fined if they have a number of Social Security Number errors.