Better Business Blog

The IRS has issued proposed regulations that would eliminate paper coupons for deposits of employment taxes, corporate income and estimated taxes, and many other taxes (REG-153340-09).  The paper 8109 coupon payment system will be shut down at the end of 2010.  Taxpayers currently still using the paper coupons to make federal payroll and corporate tax [...]

With the current economy, and not always knowing what lies ahead, most business owners and executives tend to be financially conservative and preserve the cash of the business.  This conservative approach frequently carries over to hiring activities, with many employers choosing to hire independent contractors/freelancers as opposed to full-time employees.  [...]

In today’s tough job market, students seeking summer employment, young adults looking for full-time employment, and college graduates looking to begin their careers are finding it difficult to land a job.  The family business may be the only place for some family members to find work, even if only temporarily until [...]

Corporate officers will sometimes attempt to disguise what should be payment for services as distributions of cash, dividends, and loans as a means of avoiding payroll taxes on the income.  Because they are pass-through entities, Sub Chapter S corporations are especially prone to the misclassification of income attributable to a misunderstanding [...]

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today released a new form that will help employers claim the special payroll tax exemption that applies to many newly-hired workers during 2010, created by the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act signed by President Obama on March 18.
New Form W-11, Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act [...]

A key tax change affecting business was made in the recently enacted Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act.
To help stimulate the hiring of workers by the private sector, the new law exempts any private-sector employer that hires a worker who had been unemployed for at least 60 days from having to pay the employer’s 6.2% share [...]

On December 19, 2009, the 65% COBRA premium subsidy that was due to expire December 31, 2009 for newly terminated employees was extended. The extension adds another six months to the maximum period that the COBRA subsidy can run, and also extends the up-to-15 month COBRA premium subsidy to workers who lose their jobs during the first [...]

In another example of the intention by Congress and the IRS to crackdown on misclassification of workers as independent contractors, Rep. James McDermott (D-Wa) introduced legislation that would make it more difficult for employers to receive protection from a potentially large employment tax assessment after incorrectly classifying a worker as an independent contractor.  The legislation would [...]

Part of a new health-care bill introduced this week includes a provision requiring businesses with over $250,000 in payroll to provide insurance to its employees or pay a penalty of up to 8% of payroll.  As I’m sure most small business owners would agree, this coule be very costly to your business.  Studies estimate that only [...]

The new “Making Work Pay” tax credit is being paid to taxpayers in advance through reduced payroll withholding. The reduction was accomplished by tweaking the payroll withholding tables, which does not consider all specific tax circumstances. You may not have even noticed the difference, especially when spread over weekly, bi-weekly, or [...]