Author: Leon Clinton

Tax

Claiming the Small Business Health Care Tax Credit

If you’re a small business owner with fewer than 25 full-time equivalent employees you may be eligible for the small business health care credit.

What is the Small Business Health Care Credit?

The small business health care tax credit, part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act enacted in 2010, is specifically targeted to help small businesses and tax-exempt organizations provide health insurance for their employees. Small employers that pay at least half of the premiums for employee health insurance coverage under a qualifying arrangement may be eligible for this credit. Household employers not engaged in a trade or business also qualify.

How Does the Credit Save Me Money?

For tax years 2010 through 2013, the maximum credit is 35 percent for small business employers and 25 percent for small tax-exempt employers such as charities. An enhanced version of the credit will be effective beginning Jan. 1, 2014 and the rate will increase to 50 percent and 35 percent, respectively.

 

Note: The sequester, which took effect on March 1, 2013 includes a reduction to the refundable portion of the Small Business Health Care Tax Credit for certain small tax-exempt employers. As such, the refundable portion of the claim will be reduced by 8.7 percent. Without congressional intervention, this rate remains in effect until the end of fiscal year 2013 (September 30).

 

The amount of the credit you receive works on a sliding scale, so the smaller the business or charity, the bigger the credit. Simply put, if you have more than 10 FTEs or if the average wage is more than $25,000, the amount of the credit you receive will be less.

If you pay $50,000 a year toward workers’ health care premiums–and you qualify for a 15 percent credit–you’ll save $7,500. If you save $7,500 a year from tax year 2010 through 2013, that’s a total savings of $30,000. And, if in 2014 you qualify for a slightly larger credit, say 20 percent, your savings go from $7,500 a year to $12,000 a year.

Is My Business Eligible for the Credit?

To be eligible for the credit, you must cover at least 50 percent of the cost of single (not family) health care coverage for each of your employees. You must also have fewer than 25 full-time equivalent employees (FTEs) and those employees must have average wages of less than $50,000 a year.

Let’s take a closer look at what this means. A full-time equivalent employee is defined as either one full-time employee or two half-time employees. In other words, two half-time workers count as one full-timer or one full-time equivalent. Here is another example: 20 half-time employees are equivalent to 10 full-time workers. That makes the number of FTEs 10 not 20.

Now let’s talk about average wages. Say you pay total wages of $200,000 and have 10 FTEs. To figure average wages you divide $200,000 by 10–the number of FTEs–and the result is your average wage. In this example, the average wage would be $20,000.

Can Tax-Exempt Employers Claim the Credit?

Yes. The credit is refundable for small tax-exempt employers too, so even if you have no taxable income, you may be eligible to receive the credit as a refund as long as it does not exceed your income tax withholding and Medicare tax liability.

Can I Still Claim the Credit Even If I Don’t Owe Any Tax This Year?

If you are a small business employer who did not owe tax during the year, you can carry the credit back or forward to other tax years. Also, since the amount of the health insurance premium payments are more than the total credit, eligible small businesses can still claim a business expense deduction for the premiums in excess of the credit. That’s both a credit and a deduction for employee premium payments.

Can I File an Amended Return and Claim the Credit for Previous Tax Years?

If you can benefit from the credit this year but forgot to claim it on your tax return there’s still time to file an amended return.

Businesses that have already filed and later find that they qualified in 2010 or 2011 can still claim the credit by filing an amended return for one or both years.

Give us a call if you have any questions about the small business health care credit. And, if you need more time to determine eligibility this year we’ll help you file an automatic tax-filing extension.

Tax

Tax Due Dates for April 2013

April 1 Electronic filing of Forms 1098, 1099, and W-2G – File Forms 1098, 1099, or W-2G with the IRS. This due date applies only if you file electronically (not by magnetic media). Otherwise, see February 28. The due date for giving the recipient these forms will still be January 31. For information about filing Forms 1098, 1099, or W-2G electronically, see Publication 1220, Specifications for Filing Forms 1098, 1099, 5498 and W-2G Magnetically or Electronically.Electronic filing of Forms W-2 – File copies of all the Forms W-2 you issued for 2011. This due date applies only if you electronically file. Otherwise see February 28. The due date for giving the recipient these forms remains at January 31.
April 10 Employees – who work for tips. If you received $20 or more in tips during March, report them to your employer. You can use Form 4070.
April 15 Individuals – File an income tax return for 2012 (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 $1,800 or more in 2012 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 2011 or 2012 to household employees. Also report any income tax you withheld for your household employees.

Individuals – If you are not paying your 2013 income tax through withholding (or will not pay in enough tax during the year that way), pay the first installment of your 2013 estimated tax. Use Form 1040-ES.

Partnerships – File a 2012 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 16.

Electing Large Partnerships – File a 2012 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 15 was the due date for furnishing the Schedules K-1 to the partners.

Corporations – Deposit the first installment of estimated income tax for 2013. 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 2013. 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 10 to file the return.Employers – Federal Unemployment Tax. Deposit the tax owed through March if more than $500.
Tax

5 Last Minute Tax Tips for 2013

Are you one of the millions of Americans who haven’t filed (or even started) your taxes yet? With the April 15th tax filing deadline less than two weeks away, here’s some last minute tax advice for you.

      1. Stop Procrastinating. Resist the temptation to put off your taxes until the very last minute. Our office needs time to prepare your return, and we may need to request certain documents from you, which will take additional time.
      2. Include All Income. If you had a side job in addition to a regular job, you might have received a Form 1099-MISC. Make sure you include that income when you file your tax return because you may owe additional taxes on it. If you forget to include it you may be liable for penalties and interest on the unreported income.
      3. File on Time or Request an Extension. This year’s tax deadline is April 15. If the clock runs out, you can get an automatic six-month extension, bringing the filing date to October 15, 2013. The extension itself does not give you more time to pay any taxes due. You will owe interest on any amount not paid by the April deadline, plus a late-payment penalty if you have not paid at least 90 percent of your total tax by that date.

Call us if you need to file an extension and we’ll take care of it for you. If you need to file for late-penalty relief, we can help with that to. See Late-Penalty Relief for Late Filers under Tax Tips below)

    1. Don’t Panic If You Can’t Pay. If you can’t immediately pay the taxes you owe, consider some alternatives. You can apply for an IRS installment agreement, suggesting your own monthly payment amount and due date, and getting a reduced late-payment penalty rate. You also have various options for charging your balance on a credit card. There is no IRS fee for credit card payments, but the processing companies charge a convenience fee. Electronic filers with a balance due can file early and authorize the government’s financial agent to take the money directly from their checking or savings account on the April due date, with no fee.
    2. Sign and Double Check Your Return. The IRS will not process tax returns that aren’t signed, so make sure you sign and date your return. You should also double check your social security number, as well as any electronic payment or direct deposit numbers, and make sure that your filing status is correct.

Remember: Get your documents to us as soon as you can, and we’ll help you take care of whatever comes up.

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