Category: Taxes
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S-Corporation owner/employee health insurance
Tax treatment of health insurance for owner/employees of S-Corporations has always been, and continues to be, a confusing issue. The controlling authority is Rev. Proc. 2014-41 that provides guidance to compute the business deduction (IRC §162) for health insurance costs for self-employed individuals and the premium tax credit allowed under (IRC§ 36B). IRS Notice 2015-17 provides assurance…
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4980D Small Business Excise Tax Liability
This is the original submitted version of the article published by New Jersey CPA magazine under the same title in the January 2016 edition. The published version was slightly shortened to meet space requirements in the print publication. Background The Affordable Care Act adds Section 9815 to the Internal Revenue Code that requires employer-provided health plans…
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Tax preparation fees for 2015 tax returns
(This post is for 2015. For 2016 tax return average rates, see this schedule). I’ve drawn some attention lately, both positive and negative, for my two personal beliefs that: a) tax preparation industry fees should be bench-marked in some manner, and, b) that fees ought to be available to consumers in advance of making a…
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Tax preparation fees represent the “wild west” of the financial services industry
We are just three weeks away from the opening of a new tax filing season and so the subject of disclosure of tax preparation fees comes up again. My opinions differ sharply from the mainstream of the tax preparation industry. The tax preparation industry may be the last bastion of “let the buyer beware” free…
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News: 2015 small businesses health plan tax filing extension
This article summarizes the issues that apply to small business employers only. See the IRS publication for provisions of Notice 2016-4 that pertain to larger employers. Small business employers who provide health benefits outside of an insurance policy have a two month extension on reporting those benefits to employees and a three month extension for…
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Year-end tax Scrooge on auto purchase and charitable contributions
We hear plenty of auto sales ads touting the benefits of increased depreciation as a great reason to buy a new car this week. Likewise, charities make a big year-end push this week promoting the tax benefits of charitable contributions. I don’t want to be a spoil-sport and discourage anyone from buying a car or…
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More on Section 105 plans
A reader commented on my vague discussion in an earlier post about the difference between an employee benefit plan and a payroll accommodation plan. The first type is regulated and subject to ACA market reforms and the second type is not. Describing the distinctions is not something that I feel could be usefully summarized in a…
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Where are the checklists for 2015 small business tax changes?
Accountants handling difficult tax and audit issues typically work from checklists. Checklists are a well-proven tool in many other work activities outside of tax and financial statement preparation. This year all of the significant federal tax law changes affecting small businesses pertain directly to the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. Accounting organizations like AICPA…
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2016 tax deadlines for small business owners
February 2 – W2s to employees and 1099s to contractors February 29 – Form 1095-B for uninsured health plans, W2s and 1099s to IRS March 15 – due date for corporation tax returns April 15 – regular individual tax filing deadline and deadline for filing extensions September 15 – extended tax filing deadline for corporate…
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Watchlist for tax preparers: 2015 small business health plans
2015 brought dramatic changes to the way that small business health benefits are handled for wage and income tax reporting purposes. Harsh new penalties now apply to small businesses who may still be unaware of the new rules. Until recently many accountants believed that we would see relief provisions to these laws since so many small employers…