Tax Due Dates for March 2019

March 1

Farmers and Fishermen – File your 2018 income tax return (Form 1040) and pay any tax due. However, you have until April 15 (April 17 if you live in Maine or Massachusetts) to file if you paid your 2018 estimated tax by January 15, 2019.

March 11

Employees who work for tips – If you received $20 or more in tips during February, report them to your employer. You can use Form 4070.

March 15

Employers – Nonpayroll withholding. If the monthly deposit rule applies, deposit the tax for payments in February.

Employers – Social Security, Medicare, and withheld income tax. If the monthly deposit rule applies, deposit the tax for payments in February.

Partnerships – File a 2018 calendar year income tax return (Form 1065). Provide each partner with a copy of their Schedule K-1 (Form 1065-B) or substitute Schedule K-1. To request an automatic 6-month extension of time to file the return, file Form 7004. Then file the return and provide each partner with a copy of their final or amended (if required) Schedule K1 (Form 1065) by September 16.

S Corporations – File a 2018 calendar year income tax return (Form 1120S) and pay any tax due. Provide each shareholder with a copy of Schedule K-1 (Form 1120S), Shareholder’s Share of Income, Credits, Deductions, etc., or a substitute Schedule K-1. If you want an automatic 6-month extension of time to file the return, file Form 7004 and deposit what you estimate you owe in tax.

S Corporation Election – File Form 2553, Election by a Small Business Corporation, to choose to be treated as an S corporation beginning with calendar year 2019. If Form 2553 is filed late, S corporation treatment will begin with calendar year 2020.

April 1

Electronic Filing of Forms – File Forms 1097, 1098, 1099 (except Form 1099-MISC), 3921, 3922, and W-2G with the IRS. This due date applies only if you file electronically. The due date for giving the recipient these forms generally remains January 31.

Electronic Filing of Form W-2G – File copies of all the Form W-2G (Certain Gambling Winnings) you issued for 2018. This due date applies only if you electronically file. The due date for giving the recipient these forms remains January 31.

Electronic Filing of Forms 8027 – File copies of all the Forms 8027 you issued for 2018. This due date applies only if you electronically file. Otherwise, see February 28.

Electronic Filing of Forms 1094-C and 1095-C and Forms 1094-B and 1095-B – If you’re an Applicable Large Employer, file electronic forms 1094-C and 1095-C with the IRS. For all other providers of minimum essential coverage, file electronic Forms 1094-B and 1095-B with the IRS.

By Leon Clinton
March 2, 2019

Applying Finance Charges in QuickBooks

There are myriad ways to bring in customer payments faster and improve your cash flow. You can:

Get a merchant account and let customers pay you electronically
Offer a discount for early payments
Shorten the payment due cycle (21 days instead of 30 days, for example)
Be more aggressive about collections

QuickBooks can help you take all of these steps. It also offers a fifth option: assessing finance charges for tardy remittances.

Maybe you don’t want to do this because it seems like a less-than-friendly way to treat customers – especially valued ones. But you’re not in the business of lending money, which is what you’re doing when you continue to let your accounts receivable slide. So, here’s how to do add finance charges to your payment policies.

Multiple Issues Involved

Before you can start adding finance charges to tardy payments, you will need to let QuickBooks know how you want them handled. Open the Edit menu and select Preferences. Click the Finance Charge tab in the left vertical pane, then the Company Preferences tab in the window that opens. You will see something like this:

Figure 1: You will need to decide on your QuickBooks Finance Chargesettings before you can begin to apply these late fees.

What Annual Interest Rate will you charge? Will there be a Minimum Finance Charge? Do you want to offer a Grace Period? If you’ve never worked with finance charges before, you might be at a loss as to how you should answer these questions. If so, don’t hesitate to call a QuickBooks pro in the office who can help you make sure you’re selecting the correct Finance Charge Account. In this example, QuickBooks defaulted to 70100 – Other Income, which may be the best option for you.

The next question may require some research. Some jurisdictions don’t allow you to Assess finance charges on overdue finance charges; you’ll need to find out if this is the case. If there’s any doubt, make sure that the box in front of that option isn’t checked.

QuickBooks also needs to know on what date it should start calculating finance charges: on the due date or invoice/billed date. Finally, check the box in front of Mark finance charge invoices “To be printed.” QuickBooks doesn’t include finance charges on invoices themselves; it bills them on separate invoices. Check this box if you want the software to print all of them as a batch.

When you’re done here, click OK.

Applying the Charges

Figure 2: By selecting an Assessment Date, you are telling QuickBooks how many late days should be included in its finance charge calculations.

When you are ready, open the Customers menu and select Assess Finance Charges. A window like the one in the image above will open.

QuickBooks, of course, performs all of the required calculations in the background. But it must first know what specific date you plan to actually assess the charges so that it can determine the number of late days that should be included. This may not be the current date, so be sure the Assessment Date is correct before proceeding.

All you have to do here is make sure there’s a checkmark in front of every finance charge that should be invoiced (the check marks should already be there, but you should verify this). If you send statements, clear the box in front of Mark Invoices “To be printed. “ The finance charges will appear on the next statement.

When you are satisfied, click Assess Charges.

Dispatching the Charges

Your finance charges have now been recorded in QuickBooks as individual invoices. When it’s time to print, open the File menu and select Print Forms | Invoices. You will see your numbered finance charge invoices displayed like this:

Figure 3: You can see your finance charge invoices when you go to print them.

Of course, if you email invoices, you would click on File | Send Forms.

It is a good idea to notify your customers before you start assessing finance charges. This will give them a chance to catch up, and no one will be surprised to see the extra invoices.

QuickBooks does the heavy lifting as far as calculations are concerned, but it is important that you set your finance charges up correctly. Customers will be annoyed by mistakes, and it is much easier to get this tool set up right from the start than to have to go in and untangle errors. If you plan to start assessing finance charges but aren’t sure how to proceed, please call the office for assistance.

Penalty Relief for Witholding, Estimated Tax Shortfalls

The estimated tax penalty has been waived for many taxpayers whose 2018 federal income tax withholding and estimated tax payments fell short of their total tax liability for the year; however, there is a catch: the penalty is only waived for taxpayers who paid at least 85 percent of their total tax liability during the year through federal income tax withholding, quarterly estimated tax payments or a combination of the two. Typically, a taxpayer must pay 90 percent to avoid a penalty.

The waiver computation will be reflected in a revised Form 2210, Underpayment of Estimated Tax by Individuals, Estates and Trusts, and instructions.

This penalty relief is designed to help taxpayers who were unable to properly adjust their withholding and estimated tax payments to reflect an array of changes under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), the far-reaching tax reform law enacted in December 2017. Although most 2018 tax filers are still expected to get refunds, some taxpayers will unexpectedly owe additional tax when they file their returns.

The updated federal tax withholding tables, released in early 2018, largely reflected the lower tax rates and the increased standard deduction brought about by the new law. This generally meant taxpayers had less tax withheld in 2018 and saw more in their paychecks.

However, the updated withholding tables were not able to fully factor in other changes, such as the suspension of dependency exemptions and reduced itemized deductions. As a result, some taxpayers could have paid too little tax during the year, if they did not submit a properly-revised W-4 withholding form to their employer or increase their estimated tax payments; i.e., a “Paycheck Checkup” to avoid a situation where they had too much or too little tax withheld when they file their tax returns.

Please call the office if you need assistance updating your withholding this year to make sure you are having the correct amount of tax withheld for 2019.

Author: Leon Clinton