You may have heard in the press recently that the IRS is now demanding QuickBooks and Peachtree files from taxpayers during audits. The IRS does have authority to request these files, and it has been upheld in court. The taxpayer must provide the electronic records upon request. If a taxpayer attempts to withhold them, the [...]
Business Alabama just released their March publication which features a story on surviving tax season. Read and find out how we, and other firms in Alabama stay in our best frame of mind by taking fun breaks. Click here to read more.
Family businesses are different from closely-held businesses in that the two or more family members own more than 15% of the equity of the business, family members are employed or manage the business, and the intent of the members is to retain ownership. Per the Family Enterprise USA in 2011, there are 5.5 million family [...]
Have you ever considered ways to manage your payroll taxes? One good way to keep employer paid payroll taxes down is to manage your employee turnover. Each employee has related payroll tax expenses. On the first $8,000.00 in wages, for Alabama, and on the first $7,000.00 in wages, for Federal, you are taxed as the [...]
IRS has made available the new Standard Industry Fare Level (SIFL) rates for the first half of 2012 (January 1 through June 30). The SIFL formula is used in certain instances to determine the value of a noncommercial flight for employment tax purposes. The terminal charge has increased to $44.88 (previously, $43.79). The rate for the first [...]
Congress acted on Friday to extend the payroll tax cut on the employee portion of Social Security through the end of 2012. Please make sure to get a payroll update if you use QuickBooks for payroll before running any payroll in March. This is very important because QuickBooks had already pushed out an update assuming [...]
There is a new Veterans Tax Credit which was included in the The VOW to Hire Heroes Act of 2011 (enacted 11/21/11) expanded the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC), for businesses that hire eligible unemployed veterans on or before 12/31/12. The credit maximum is $9,600 per veteran for for-profit businesses depending on the length of [...]
As we roll out of deer season and into turkey season we are reminded of the passage of Alabama Senate Bill 84. Senator Gerald Allen (R-Cottondale) sponsored this bill and it was signed into law last year by Governor Bentley. This important piece of legislation will hopefully pave the way for many more tracts of land in Alabama to be [...]
Recently Forbes ran a great article titled, "How To Avoid -- Or Win -- An IRS Audit or Court Battle" after the IRS posted its annual report to Congress by the National Taxpayers Advocate. The top litigation areas highlights where the IRS is focusing most of its enforcement effort, especially directed at individuals and small [...]
Several states have increased their minimum wage rates as of January 1, 2012. That makes it a good time to publish this state by state minimum wage rate table. State by State Minimum Wages We are still waiting on Congress to act on extending the Social Security payroll tax cut beyond February 29, 2012. I [...]