Author: Leon Clinton

Tax

Tax Due Dates for April 2015

April 10

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.

April 15

Individuals – File an income tax return for 2014 (Form 1040, 1040A, or 1040EZ) and pay any tax due. If you want an automatic 6-month extension of time to file the return, file Form 4868, Application for Automatic Extension of Time To File U.S. Individual Income Tax Return or you can get an extension by phone if you pay part or all of your estimate of income tax due with a credit card. Then file Form 1040, 1040A, or 1040EZ by October 15.

Household Employers – If you paid cash wages of $1,900 or more in 2014 to a household employee, file Schedule H (Form 1040) with your income tax return and report any employment taxes. Report any federal unemployment (FUTA) tax on Schedule H if you paid total cash wages of $1,000 or more in any calendar quarter of 2013 or 2014 to household employees. Also report any income tax you withheld for your household employees.

Individuals – If you are not paying your 2015 income tax through withholding (or will not pay in enough tax during the year that way), pay the first installment of your 2015 estimated tax. Use Form 1040-ES.

Partnerships – File a 2014 calendar year return (Form 1065). Provide each partner with a copy of Schedule K-1 (Form 1065), Partner’s Share of Income, Credits, Deductions, etc., or a substitute Schedule K-1. If you want an automatic 5-month extension of time to file the return and provide Schedule K-1 or a substitute Schedule K-1, file Form 7004. Then file Form 1065 by September 15.

Electing Large Partnerships – File a 2014 calendar year return (Form 1065-B). If you want an automatic 6-month extension of time to file the return, file Form 7004. Then file Form 1065-B by October 15. March 16 was the due date for furnishing the Schedules K-1 to the partners.

Corporations – Deposit the first installment of estimated income tax for 2015. A worksheet, Form 1120-W, is available to help you estimate your tax for the year.

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

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

April 30

Employees – Social Security, Medicare, and withheld income tax. File form 941 for the first quarter of 2015. Deposit any undeposited tax. (If your tax liability is less than $2,500, you can pay it in full with a timely filed return.) If you deposited the tax for the quarter in full and on time, you have until May 11 to file the return.

Accounting Quickbooks

Make Your Preferences Known in QuickBooks

There are some features that all small businesses need in their accounting software. Everyone needs a Chart of Accounts and a good set of report templates. There must be tools to bill customers and to document income and expenses. Some companies need payroll management, and some need the ability to create purchase orders. These days, many businesses want to accept payments online.

But what does your company need? It’s unlikely that you would use absolutely every feature that QuickBooks offers, but you need to make sure that every tool you want to use is set up properly.

If you’ve been using QuickBooks for a while, you may have been directed to the Preferences window already (accessible by clicking on Edit | Preferences). If you’re just starting out with the software, it’s a good idea to acquaint yourself with the most important elements contained there. Here are some of them.


Figure 1: QuickBooks’ Preferences window. Some features are already turned on or off by default, but you can change their status. 

Accounting

Click on the Accounting tab in the left vertical pane, then on theCompany Preferences tab. Here, QuickBooks wants to know whether you plan to use account numbers. It also offers the option to turn onclass tracking, which lets you define classes like company locations or divisions, or salespeople. Not sure what you should do here? Please ask.

Desktop View

Options here involve usability and visibility issues. Getting them right can save you time and frustration. For example, under the My Preferencestab, you can choose between a VIEW that displays only One Window, or one that keeps Multiple Windows open. Click on the Company Preferences tab to turn specific features–like Payroll and Sales Tax–on and off.

Finance Charge

Should you decide to apply Finance Charges to late payments, for example, please let us go over this feature with you. We’ll explain how it is set up and how it works in day-to-day accounting.

Items & Inventory

This is critical: you must visit this screen if you will be buying and selling products. First, you need to make sure that the box in front ofInventory and purchase orders are active has a check mark in it. If not, click in the box. Also important here: QuickBooks can maintain a real-time inventory level for each item you sell so that you neither run short nor waste money by stockpiling. Check the box in front ofQuantity on Sales Orders if you want the software to include items that appear on sales orders in the count. Also, do you want a warning when you don’t have enough inventory to sell (as you’re filling out an invoice, for example)? Call if you need help understanding the difference between Quantity on Hand and Quantity Available; it’s rather complex.


Figure 2: Some inventory concepts may be unfamiliar to you. If you’ll be buying and selling items, let us walk you through this section. 

Payroll & Employees

Payroll is integrated with QuickBooks, but it’s so complex that it almost acts as another application. If you’re planning to take this on yourself, some training will be necessary.

Reminders

Unless you have a very simple business or an extraordinarily good memory, you’ll probably want QuickBooks to remind you when you need to complete certain tasks. Click Reminders | Company Preferences to see the lengthy list of events that QuickBooks supports, like Paychecks to Print, Inventory to Reorder, and Bills to Pay. You can have the software display either a summary or a list of what needs to be done, and you can specify how many days in advance you want to be alerted.

Sales & Customers, Sales Tax, and Time & Expenses

If your accounting workflow includes tasks in any of these areas, you’ll need to visit them to turn features on and make other preferences known.

You probably won’t need to have absolutely every feature turned on from the start. But as your business grows and changes–and we hope it does–you can always revisit the Preferences window to let QuickBooks know about your new needs.

Tax

What You Should Know about the AMT

Even if you’ve never paid Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT), before, you should not ignore this tax. Why? Because your tax situation might have changed and this might be the year that you need to pay AMT. AMT attempts to ensure that taxpayers who claim certain tax benefits pay a minimum amount of tax. You may have to pay this tax if your income is above a certain amount.

Here’s what you should know about the AMT:

1. When AMT applies. Your filing status and income determine the amount of your exemption. You may have to pay the AMT if your taxable income, plus certain adjustments, is more than your exemption amount. In most cases, if your income is below this amount, you will not owe AMT.

2. Exemption amounts. The 2014 AMT exemption amounts are:

  • $52,800 if you are Single or Head of Household.
  • $82,100 if you are Married Filing Joint or Qualifying Widow(er).
  • $41,050 if you are Married Filing Separate.

Your AMT exemption is reduced if your income is more than certain limits.

3. Use the right forms. If you owe AMT, you usually must file Form 6251,Alternative Minimum Tax–Individuals. Some taxpayers who owe AMT can file Form 1040A and use the AMT Worksheet in the instructions.

4. AMT rules are complex. The easiest way to prepare and file your tax return is to use a qualified tax preparer who will figure out AMT for you if you owe the tax. Call today for more information or to set up a consultation.

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