Steps to Take if You’re Behind on Your Taxes | Business

March 26, 2024March 25, 2024 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Tax season is a nearly universal source of stress for business owners. It’s especially fraught with anxiety if you have unpaid taxes. The longer your tax delinquency goes on, the more daunting the prospect of catching up becomes, especially as interest and penalties accumulate. You may feel your only option is hiding from the IRS since any form of contact would constitute an admission of guilt or remind the IRS to audit your business.

However, it’s in your best interest to remedy the situation as soon as possible, and you may be surprised to learn the process isn’t as difficult as you’d guess. You may not even be in that much trouble (and if you are, it’s crucial to address that). Learn the steps to take if you’re past due ― and the potential impact on your business.

IRS Reminds Small Business Owners Q3 Tax Payments Due by September 15, 2023 | Small Biz Trends

September 14, 2023September 12, 2023 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

In a timely reminder from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), taxpayers, especially small business owners such as gig workers, sole proprietors, retirees, partners, and S corporation shareholders, are urged to ensure they meet the third quarter tax payment deadline of September 15, 2023.

Who Needs to Make Quarterly Payments?

Primarily, those not undergoing standard withholding need to be vigilant about these quarterly estimated tax payments. The IRS has specified two conditions to determine if you must make these payments:

If you anticipate owing a minimum of $1,000 in taxes for 2023, post all tax credits and withholding deductions.
Your withholdings and tax credits for 2023 are less than either 90% of your expected tax for 2023 or 100% of the tax reported on your complete 2022 return spanning 12 months.

PPP Loans Are Supposed to Be Tax-Free. These 19 States Didn’t Get the Memo | Inc.com

March 9, 2021March 7, 2021 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Tax time is confusing and stressful under the best of circumstances. It could be even worse if you’ve taken out a loan from the government’s Paycheck Protection Program.

The tax status of the PPP has been muddled from the beginning. While these forgivable loans were never meant to be taxed as income, the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service, under the Trump administration, held that business owners could not deduct expenses that were paid for with PPP. Congress disagreed, and in December 2020 put its position into law with the Consolidated Appropriations Act, which also contained a $900 billion relief package.

Biden wants Amazon to ‘start paying their taxes’ | CNN

May 22, 2020 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Former Vice President Joe Biden said Amazon (AMZN) should “start paying their taxes” in a broader critique of large, successful businesses.

“I don’t think any company, I don’t give a damn how big they are, the Lord Almighty, should absolutely be in a position where they pay no tax and make billions and billions and billions of dollars,” the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee said in an interview with CNBC on Friday.

For the 2017 and 2018 tax years, Amazon’s own financial filings showed that it expected to receive money back from the federal government, not that it owed money in income tax. For the 2019 tax year, Amazon said it owed more than $1 billion in federal income tax, a figure experts said amounted to little more than 1% of its profits.

Perfectly Legitimate Business Expenses You Can’t Deduct | Small Business Trends

February 11, 2020February 10, 2020 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

You may incur certain costs for your company that make good business sense. Unfortunately, the tax law doesn’t view them all as write-offs.

Check out this list of business expenses that remain non-deductible (in whole or in part) these expenses on your 2019 tax return.

NOTE: This article has been specially updated for the 2019/2020 tax season.

Non-Deductible Business Expenses

Additional Medicare taxes. You pay 0.9% additional Medicare tax on net earnings from self-employment or employee wages (if your income is high enough.) You also pay the 3.8% net investment income tax on income from investments. That includes income from a business in which you don’t participate on a day-to-day basis. Again you pay these if your income is high enough. They remain personal taxes that are nondeductible.

Small Businesses Must Think About Taxes All Year Long | Business

June 21, 2019June 18, 2019 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Fold tax planning into your overall business strategy to efficiently tackle your taxes.

For many small businesses, tax season is a grueling time of year. It’s often associated with stress, record-combing and exhaustion. This is one of the key reasons why small businesses should be thinking about their taxes year-round and prepare long before it comes time to file. By folding tax planning into your overall business strategy, small business owners can tackle their taxes far more effectively (and may even end up with bigger deductions than they anticipated!). Here are some of the best tips for keeping taxes a priority for your small business 365 days a year.

Tax refunds 2019: Here’s why yours may be smaller, or why you may owe | Fast Company

February 18, 2019February 17, 2019 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Most Americans have a smaller total federal income tax bill for 2018 than they did in previous years, thanks to the tax law passed by Congress in 2017. But thanks to changing instructions from the IRS on how to withhold tax, many people will see smaller refunds or may even owe money when they file their tax returns.

So far, the average refund paid to taxpayers is down 8.7% to $1,949, from an average of $2,135 this time in filing season last year, according to the IRS.

2019 Tax Refund Chart Can Help You Guess When You’ll Receive Your Money

January 30, 2019January 29, 2019 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

If anyone tells you that they have the 2019 tax filing season all figured, they’re lying. By all accounts, the upcoming tax season is going to be tricky. Despite a shoestring staff due to the shutdown, new tax forms and new tax rules, the 2019 tax season is still set to open on January 28, 2019. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) claims that the season will operate as close to normal as possible—including issuing tax refunds.

So when are those tax refunds coming? Assuming no delays, what follows are my best guesses for expected returns based on filing dates and information from the IRS:

How Entrepreneurs Can Significantly Reduce 2018 Taxes by Choosing the Right Business Entity | Entrepreneur

August 22, 2018August 21, 2018 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

If you’re confused about what type of business entity to set up — entrepreneur or contractor — under the new Tax Cuts & Jobs Act of 2017, you’re not alone.

Whether you’re an Uber driver, tech startup founder or medical professional contractor, you’ll find that the new tax law will significantly impact your 2018 returns. So, don’t waste any more time mulling this question because you have only a few months left to make changes that will affect your 2018 tax liability.

What are Tax Extenders for Small Businesses | Morey & Associates

September 15, 2015 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Tax extenders are a group of fifty tax breaks that apply not only to small businesses but teachers and individuals as well. What you need to be concerned with are those that apply directly to small businesses. While these tax breaks are temporary in nature, they can have a serious impact on how you conduct your business for the next year.

In 2013, these tax breaks actually expired on December 31st, but the United States Congress retroactively extended the tax breaks into 2014. They typically do this at the last moment of the year, or right after the first of the new year, making it difficult for small businesses to plan ahead. These tax breaks are also only renewed for one year meaning they will have need to extend them again before the end of 2014, so they can carry over into 2015.