Category: Business Practices
Guest Author Jeff DeVree: Deadlines extended for Affordable Care Act
Last week, the IRS extended the due dates for providing ACA reporting forms to employees and filing the forms with the IRS. The extension applies to the forms for 2015, which are due in 2016. The due date for providing...
IRS provides safe harbor for store and restaurant repairs
The Internal Revenue Service has provided retailers and restaurateurs with a safe harbor of accounting for expenditures related to repairs, remodeling and refreshes. Revenue Procedure 2015-56 provides certain taxpayers engaged in the trade or business of operating a retail establishment...
Payments to exempt organizations are deductible as business expenses
In a recent Chief Council Advice, the IRS ruled that a business that advertised it would donate a certain percentage of its sales proceeds to organizations promoting certain social missions could deduct the payments it made under this program as...
SEC gives go-ahead to crowdfunding
The Securities and Exchange Commission recently adopted final rules to allow companies to offer and sell securities through crowdfunding, which will make it easier for startup companies to attract financing in accordance with the JOBS Act, the Jumpstart Our Business...
Guest Author Heather Ptasznik: Are you thinking of hiring an intern?
This is the time of year when the hiring of interns is at its peak. Although a major opportunity for both the intern and your company, if not undertaken in compliance with the law, mistakes can result in expensive legal...
Social media: Be careful what you ‘like’
The question and answer below appeared in The Journal of Accountancy. Q: Is there any drawback from “liking” things on Facebook (i.e., clicking the Like button)? A: In the past, “liking” a company or group Facebook page (such as the up-and-coming...
Unemployment Insurance Agency extends deadline for employers to settle their accounts
Beginning with the third quarter of 2015, the Taxable Wage Base (TWB), or the maximum annual wage on which an employer must pay unemployment taxes, will be lowered from the current rate of $9,500 to $9,000. This means that non-delinquent...
Addressing common payroll misconceptions
In honor of National Payroll Week, Accounting Today recently interviewed Chris Rush, division vice president of strategy for ADP Small Business Services, about common questions the company receives from customers on payroll. Below is a summary of the interview. For...
Employers providing self-insured health coverage must report on information returns
The IRS reminds taxpayers that, starting with 2015 coverage, all providers of health coverage, including employers that provide self-insured coverage, must file annual returns with the IRS to report information about the coverage and about each covered individual. Applicable large...
Guest Author Eric Nemeth: U.S. Supreme Court says $6 million fraud judgment against Blue Cross Blue Shield will stand
BCBSM changes self-funded customers hidden fees starting in 1994 Before 1994, BCBSM charged its self-funded customers various surcharges and subsidies to prop up its insured lines of business, but those surcharges and subsidies were disclosed on the bill. Over time,...