Category Archives: IRS & Taxes

When Should Small Business Owners Put Themselves on Payroll?

  By Robin E. Davis | March 6, 2012 - 11:42 pm | IRS & Taxes
6 Comments

Tax time is here, and many Small Business Owners (SBOs) are surprised to find that they are going to owe more taxes than they originally planned for.  They begin to wonder, “Should I put myself on payroll in the new year in order to avoid paying taxes next year?  Or should I just leave things the way they are?”  The answer is… “That depends.”  Here’s a few things the SBO should consider before they rush into adding themselves to payroll. Adding an SBO to Payroll Means the Company Pays MORE Taxes. When an SBO is added to the payroll, the … Continue reading →

Employee vs. Independent Contractor

  By Robin E. Davis | December 27, 2011 - 9:32 pm | Internal Controls, IRS & Taxes, Spotlights
16 Comments

Many SBO’s may not realize their decision to classify a worker as an independent contractor rather than an employee can get them into serious trouble with the IRS and possibly the state. Employers pay a matching share of Social Security and Medicare, federal and state unemployment tax and worker’s compensation insurance.  In addition, employers must collect and deposit income tax withheld, and are required to file quarterly and annual payroll tax reports. That’s a lot of work and a lot of reporting.  It’s tempting to treat workers as an Independent Contractor to save the company the costs incurred as an … Continue reading →

Planning Ahead: New IRS Guidance

  By E.T. Barton | October 7, 2011 - 3:37 am | Bookkeeping, Guest Bloggers, IRS & Taxes, Spotlights
2 Comments

Carrie Smith lives near Dallas, Texas.  She has worked as a freelance Certified Bookkeeper for approximately 9 years, and as a Tax Specialist for 4 years.  She specializes in small business, and oil & gas accounting. She has written several other finance and accounting articles at Hubpages.com.  You can see what Carrie’s Tweeting at:  http://twitter.com/#!/applecsmith.  *********************************************************************************** The IRS has set some new guidelines for reporting health care reform on W-2s. This is particularly important for bookkeepers who want to know what data will need to be collected and what applications they should be looking into for software, in order to … Continue reading →

Still Haven’t Filed Your Taxes?

  By E.T. Barton | July 8, 2011 - 11:48 am | Bookkeeping, Guest Bloggers, IRS & Taxes, Spotlights
3 Comments

As founding CEO for Your Simple Bookkeeper, Katrina has successfully lead the company to obtaining investor funding in under one year of operation and has grown the company to multi-state clientale. Katrina’s consulting services to women entrepreneurs who are seeking to create sellable businesses or restructure their existing business with solid exit strategies by building practical structures and entrepreneurship education. Learn more about KMHGroup Services and to schedule a consultation visiting www.katrinamharrell.com or www.tungle.me/katrinamharrell. *********************************************************************************** What? Can this be true? Surely you’ve filed your taxes for EVERY year? Here’s the reality – for one reason or another millions of Americans … Continue reading →

Bookkeeping Money-Saving Tip # 18: QuickBooks, Quicken and TurboTax

  By E.T. Barton | April 26, 2011 - 1:20 pm | Bookkeeping, Decreasing Expenses, IRS & Taxes, Money Saving Tips, Small Business Advice, Virtual Bookkeeping
1 Comment

At this time of year, your taxes are hopefully done, and you are probably not thinking of taxes at all. That’s all well and good, but have you begun planning for next year? Because whether your business is brand new, has never had a “regular bookkeeper”, or has been doing bookkeeping the same old ways for numerous years, it never hurts to consider if this year is the time to update your bookkeeping programs or stick with what you’ve always done. For me, I always like the most updated version of anything… like the iPad 2… I totally want one! … Continue reading →