August 10

Employees Who Work for Tips – If you received $20 or more in tips during July, report them to your employer. You can use Form 4070.

Employers – Social Security, Medicare, and withheld income tax. File Form 941 for the second quarter of 2017. This due date applies only if you deposited the tax for the quarter in full and on time.

August 15

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

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

• By Leon Clinton
• August 3, 2017

Federal law requires most employers to withhold federal taxes from their employees’ wages. Whether you’re a small business owner who’s just starting out or one who has been in business a while and is ready to hire an employee or two, here are five things you should know about withholding, reporting, and paying employment taxes.

1. Federal Income Tax. Small businesses first need to figure out how much tax to withhold. Small business employers can better understand the process by starting with an employee’s Form W-4 and the withholding tables described in Publication 15, Employer’s Tax Guide. Please call if you need help understanding withholding tables.

2. Social Security and Medicare Taxes. Most employers also withhold social security and Medicare taxes from employees’ wages and deposit them along with the employers’ matching share. In 2013, employers became responsible for withholding the Additional Medicare Tax on wages that exceed a threshold amount as well. There is no employer match for the Additional Medicare Tax, and certain types of wages and compensation are not subject to withholding.

3. Federal Unemployment (FUTA) Tax. Employers report and pay FUTA tax separately from other taxes. Employees do not pay this tax or have it withheld from their pay. Businesses pay FUTA taxes from their own funds.

4. Depositing Employment Taxes. Generally, employers pay employment taxes by making federal tax deposits through the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS). The amount of taxes withheld during a prior one-year period determines when to make the deposits. Publication 3151-A, The ABCs of FTDs: Resource Guide for Understanding Federal Tax Deposits and the IRS Tax Calendar for Businesses and Self-Employed are helpful tools.

Failure to make a timely deposit can mean being subject to a failure-to-deposit penalty of up to 15 percent. But the penalty can be waived if an employer has a history of filing required returns and making tax payments on time. Penalty relief is available, however. Please call the office for more information.

5. Reporting Employment Taxes. Generally, employers report wages and compensation paid to an employee by filing the required forms with the IRS. E-filing Forms 940, 941, 943, 944 and 945 is an easy, secure and accurate way to file employment tax forms. Employers filing quarterly tax returns with an estimated total of $1,000 or less for the calendar year may now request to file Form 944,Employer’s ANNUAL Federal Tax Return once a year instead. At the end of the year, the employer must provide employees with Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement, to report wages, tips, and other compensation. Small businesses file Forms W-2 and Form W-3, Transmittal of Wage and Tax Statements, with the Social Security Administration and if required, state or local tax departments.

Questions about payroll taxes?

If you have any questions about payroll taxes, please contact the office.

• By Leon Clinton
• July 28, 2017

If you’re one of the more than 3.4 million taxpayers who claimed deductions for business use of a home (commonly referred to as the home office deduction)–but haven’t taken advantage of it because you thought it was too complicated–then you might be interested in the simplified option.

Available since tax year 2013, the optional home office deduction is capped at $1,500 per year and is based on $5 a square foot for up to 300 square feet of office space.

Currently, taxpayers claiming the home office deduction are generally required to fill out a 43-line form (Form 8829, Expenses for Business Use of Your Home) often with complex calculations of allocated expenses, depreciation, and carryovers of unused deductions. Taxpayers claiming the optional deduction complete a significantly simplified form requiring taxpayers to complete a short worksheet in the tax instructions, and then enter the result on the tax return. There is a special calculation for daycare providers.

Self-employed individuals claim the home office deduction on Form 1040, Schedule C, Line 30; farmers claim it on Schedule F, Line 32 and eligible employees claim it on Schedule A, Line 21.

Though homeowners using the new option cannot depreciate the portion of their home used in a trade or business, they can claim allowable mortgage interest, real estate taxes and casualty losses on the home as itemized deductions on Schedule A. These deductions need not be allocated between personal and business use, as is required under the regular method. Business expenses unrelated to the home, such as advertising, supplies, and wages paid to employees are still fully deductible.

Current restrictions on the home office deduction, such as the requirement that a home office must be used regularly and exclusively for business and the limit tied to the income derived from the particular business, still apply under the new option.

Regardless of the method used to compute the deduction, business expenses in excess of the gross income limitations are not deductible. Deductible expenses for business use of a home include the business portion of real estate taxes, mortgage interest, rent, casualty losses, utilities, insurance, depreciation, maintenance, and repairs. In general, expenses for the parts of the home not used for business are not deductible.Deductions for business storage are deductible when the dwelling unit is the sole fixed location of the business or for regular use of a residence for the provision of daycare services; exclusive use isn’t required in these cases.

Please contact the office if you would like more details about the simplified home office deduction.

• By Leon Clinton
• July 28, 2017