BHT&D Certified Public Accountants Blog

Here are a couple quick updates on changes to 1099 non-employee compensation reporting and delay of Michigan minimum wage increase.  Please note important filing dates and related penalties:

Tags: Small Business Accounting, Michigan Minimum Wage, Compensation, Independent Contractors

Section 139 of the Internal Revenue Code excludes from a taxpayer’s gross income certain payment to individuals to reimburse or pay for expenses related to a “qualified disaster”.  Covid-19 is a federally declared disaster.

Tags: Tax Planning, Small Business, Individual Tax, COVID-19, Work From Home

2% or more shareholders of an S-corporation (and family members) are not treated as an employee when it comes to most benefits.  Please see the table below for benefits that are taxable and for benefits that are tax-free to a 2% or more shareholder (and family members) of an S-corporation:

Tags: Business Tax, Taxable Benefits

This is the time of year when many employers give deserving employees a reward for a job well done.  For FICA and income tax withholding purposes, wages don’t include gifts that are classified as de minimis fringe benefits.  Tax-free de minimis fringes are benefits provided by employers that are offered infrequently and have a fair market value so small that it is impractical and unreasonable to account for them.  The following are treated as de minimis fringes: 

Tags: Business Tax, Payroll Tax, Small Business, Gifts

The State of Michigan has rolled out their new Corporations Online Filing System (COFS).

Tags: Small Business, MICHIGAN ANNUAL STATEMENT, COFS, MICHIGAN ANNUAL REPORT

Real property used and owned as a homestead by a Disabled Veteran who was discharged from the armed forces of the United States under honorable conditions, or by the unmarried surviving spouse of a disabled veteran, is exempt from the collection of property taxes.  

For this exemption, a Disabled Veteran means a person who is a resident of this state and who meets 1 of the following criteria:

Tags: Michigan Personal Property Tax Exemption

The deadline for filing information returns requires Forms W-2, W-3, and 1099 with non-employee compensation to be filed on or before January 31 of the year following the calendar year to which such returns relate, regardless of whether the forms are filed on paper or electronically.  Please note the following due dates:

Tags: W-2, 1099, Information returns

Small employers who have been filing Form 941 - Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return - and expect that their employment taxes for the 2016 calendar year will be $1,000 or less may contact the IRS to request  to file annually on Form 944.  

Tags: Payroll Tax, Small Business, Employment Tax, Form 944

There are big payroll tax changes coming in 2017 as a result of the tax extenders bill, Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes (PATH) Act of 2015:

Tags: Payroll Tax, Tax Extenders Bill, Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Acts of 2015,, PATH

With few exceptions, Federal payroll tax deposits must be paid to the US Treasury by electronic funds transfer.

Tags: Payroll Tax; EFTPS