 As the pandemic continues, many businesses are dealing with the best ways they can support their employees. Here are a few tips and suggestions to help with your company and your employees.
We are now in the third quarter of the year and everyone is getting ready to head back to school. As you and your company continue to manage through the continued pandemic, we know that your employees are at the top of your priority list. We know you're exhausted and tired of hearing "we're all in this together!" and "this is the new normal". We know you are very aware of the situation because you've been dealing with it up close and personal for the last few months. You might have to figure out something new every week for your employees, you might have already found a great new work plan, or you're still searching for what the best options are. No matter where you and your company might be, we want to help as much as possible. This blog is full of different ways you can help your employees during this difficult time.
Consider your employees who have school-aged children. They are stuck in the middle of potentially working from home and homeschooling their children. This can add to their stress, affect their work, and interfere with their concentration. Consider offering flexible work hours and being more understanding if a parent needs to care for a child or handle certain situations during the workday. Help them find or offer support for childcare and help them find resources to help with homeschooling.
Video meetings and conference calls have become a necessity for our everyday work lives. You can also use these to your advantage. Host social gatherings or and support your employees to have them. As employers, you can use some of your business time to play ice breakers, do brain teasers, or play a game or two of trivia over these digital platforms. You can still celebrate milestone moments, promotions, and celebrations with your employees, too. Suggest that your employees meet for virtual lunch hours, coffee meetings, or even happy hours. These moments of connection can keep everyone in the loop, connected, and help their mental health in a safe and non-invasive way.
Being a business owner in 2020 has been an incredible challenge. There have been and will continue to be so many hurdles to overcome. Through all of this, make sure you remember your employees. Care for them like they have cared for and supported your business. If you can support them and be honest, they are more likely to hang on and support you through whatever else might be coming in 2020.
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 Many of us are still working from home, and some have decided to work from home for good while the pandemic remains with us. For those new to this world, what kind of tax write-offs, if any, could we be looking at for 2020?
We've made it through this unique and very different tax season. So, what does that mean? We start looking ahead to next year! Many of our clients are friends are still working from home, while others have decided to work from home for good. If this year has taught you anything new about your professional life, its if you are a fan of working from home or not. We know and recognize that it's not for everyone, and we also understand the reason why so many companies are still having their employees work from home. If anything, we appreciate the safety of it and we are trying to find the silver lining. This year has meant saving money on gas, saving money on takeout, getting rid of that morning commute, more time in comfortable clothes, spending time with our families, and for some, it has meant a whole makeover of their homes, especially their backyards! For those who don't own their own small business and don't work from home regularly, when you did move home, one thing that might have made the transition less painful was the possibility of writing off your new expenses in your 2020 taxes. Will this be a possibility? Could there be an even bigger silver lining waiting at the end of all of this? FROM HOME There have been many silver linings to this experience than many of us have tried to focus on, but like it or not, it does cost extra to work from home. You're buying supplies, buying new office furniture, getting better wifi, and possibly paying a ton more in child care. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to write all of that off or at least a part of these expenses on 2020 taxes? Unfortunately, due to a tax reform in 2017, this opportunity was eliminated, according to Kiplinger and AccountingToday. Granted, this decision was made years before we knew what the coronavirus was and it was thought to be a good idea to eliminate this possibility. According to AccountingToday, the reasoning behind this change was that a "doubling of the standard deduction would help offset the pain of ending or cutting itemized deductions". That idea was nice at the time, but for all of us working from home and through the pandemic, it's not much help at all. Before this tax reform, you were able to write off your business expenses that were not paid back by your employer. These expenses included part of your home as an office, and much more. Sadly, if your company has sent you home during the pandemic, this will not be an option. With so many of us struggling with this reality, and with potentially limited funds as it is, what is the best way to recover from it? AccountingToday suggests the best route to go is to approach your company and try to negotiate with them. When it comes to federal taxes for your employers, tax code does allow them to reimburse their employees for certain costs during periods of disaster. The IRS has stated that is current pandemic does qualify. It will be up to our employer to choose what costs the will and will not cover, but if you approach them with a reasonable list of items, that can be a great place to start (i.e. wifi, child care, cost of buying new supplies). SIDE HUSTLE If you're working from home for your company, but also have a second job or a small side hustle, there might be a small tax break in there for you. According to Kipling, as long as you meet all the proper requirements, you will be allowed to claim deductions for your business expenses and your at-home business expenses for your own company. WORK FROM HOME If you are self-employed, this might be one of the greatest advantages for you right now. Those who are self-employed are still allowed to deduct business expenses with the Schedule C Form 1040 when filing. Your small business must be your only form of income, and the space you work in must only be used for work purposes, according to H&R Block. This means that your kitchen table won't count. If you do use a small corner of your home or a specific table just for work, then that will count. One of the biggest things you must do is keep meticulous notes and records of your expenses if you plan on writing these expenses off. Many self-employed individuals get flagged when they file and get stuck with an audit. Make sure you're reading to back up your deductions at a moment's notice. If you have a building outside of your home that you use only for work (like a barn, shed, garage), it can also be written off. Also, if you work outside of your home for your own business, but have been forced back to your home for safety reasons, you are allowed to write that off on your expenses too. According to H&R Block if you own your own business under a 1099, and you meet all the standards created by the IRS, you'll be allowed to write off all of your direct expenses for your small business. You will also be able to write off a portion of your indirect expenses too! But please take caution, you will still need to keep good records of everything. CONCLUSION This year has brought its fair amount of challenges. Many of these challenges could reappear when filing your 2020 taxes. Make sure you speak with your company about your expenses before just assuming they won't help you. If you're self-employed or work under a 1099, make sure you keep excellent records and understand everything about your writeoffs to avoid an audit. Hang in there everyone! We know this is a personal and financially difficult time for all of you. We are always here to help. Don't forget! If you're looking for the best tax accountant in Summerville, the best tax services in Summerville, the best Quickbooks services in Summerville, and the best payroll services in Summerville, we are still here for you. Tax season may be over for some and just starting for others, and we will be here for you no matter what!  In the beginning, working from home with your spouse can be exciting. Is that excitement going to last forever? Here are some tips on how to successfully work at home with your partner, to maintain your relationship and your career.
We have all shared workspace in new ways in the last three months than many of us expected us to. Some with our whole families, some alone, and some with their spouses. Each situation comes with its pros and cons, adjustments, and excitement. We've spent time talking about how to set up your own home office and how to make the most of your space. But, what happens if that space is not entirely yours? Sharing a workspace with a spouse can be challenging, but thankfully if you put in the time and effort, it doesn't have to be. From the moment you entered the serious stages of your relationship, we're sure you started hearing the age-old saying that relationships, to be successful, take work. It's no surprise to any working professional that this saying applies to any relationship, personal or private. You need to cultivate and work hard for any connection to be a successful one. As many of us continue to work from home and to deal with this transition, we have to cultivate a healthy working relationship with our spouses. This might be something you never thought you'd have to do, but even with this new necessity, these tips and suggestions can make your professional and private lives equally as happy under the same roof. To make this a successful working relationship on top of your personal one, you need to make sure you're taking positive steps in this transition together. Acknowledge that this is going to be difficult, and could even get a lot harder. If you're both dedicated to making it work and supporting one another to make sure that each of you succeeds in your workday, it will work out.
We urge you both to recognize together that this is going to be a change, and it's going to be hard. But, you WILL get through it. Take the time to nurture your relationship together and apart. Work hard to cheer on one another and to support one another's careers. Let this be another important milestone in your career and your relationship, and push to come out strong. Don't forget! If you're looking for the best tax accountant in Summerville, the best tax services in Summerville, the best Quickbooks services in Summerville, and the best payroll services in Summerville, we are still here for you. Tax season may be over for some and just starting for others, and we will be here for you no matter what!  Retirement funds and how to care for them have been a hot topic during this pandemic. For some, it's been easy to leave them untouched. For others, retirement may no longer be an option. But with the creation of the CARES act, some incredible tools have been introduced that can help you maintain and save your retirement funds.
Hello Summerville! As you read this, we hope you continue to be safe and healthy. It's been nice to come to work every day and see a sense of normalcy in our incredible town. Let's keep it up! It is very clear to everyone that this pandemic has affected our finances in more ways than one. One of the many unsung woes during this time has been retirement plans. The CARES act of 2020, the act that has supplied us with our stimulus checks and other resources, has also been geared towards helping retirement plans stay alive. With the unemployment rate being so low, the difficulties of getting unemployment, and the need of making it through financially has put pressure on retirement plans. Many are making the decision of taking out their funds because it is necessary. There are now options that can help you get economic relief that won't require you to decimate your retirement plans. Thanks to the CARES act, new changes have been put into place to help support those with retirement and IRA plans who are dealing with the effects of a very flimsy stock market that continues to fluctuate. With these new adjustments under the cares act, retirees are allowed to pull out as much as they would like from their retirement plans, but you don't have to if you don't want to. If you do leave your account alone for the next year or so, it will give you the benefit to recover from this flimsy market. There is a benefit to leaving your benefits alone. These changes and opportunities are groundbreaking and will help you save your retirement and IRA while still supporting you financially now. Before the CARES act, withdrawing from your IRA and your retirement plan came with some serious repercussions. But now, that has all changed.
Allowing people to tap into their retirement accounts and giving them a few years to pay it all back is huge! These changes are providing financial assistance now from the money that is already yours, while still helping you protect and pay back into your retirement. It will still guarantee that you have retirement funds when the time comes to actually retire. Make sure to chat with us about your next steps when it comes to making these choices, even as great as they are. Make sure to include your financial advisor when making these decisions, too. They will be able to walk you through the best benefits available to you and what is going to be the most cost-effective way if you'll need to pay back these loans. They can also walk you through how to keep your retirement plan intact. Don't forget, friends! If you're looking for the best tax accountant in Summerville, the best tax services in Summerville, the best Quickbooks services in Summerville, the best IT services in Summerville, and the best payroll services in Summerville, we are still here for you. Tax season may be over for some and just starting for others, and we will be here for you no matter what!  With the world as we know it changing every day, we have been trying to stay on top of what's happening to help our clients and ourselves. We want to use this changing knowledge to protect our finances, our employees, to know if are eligible for assistance, and how to help our clients navigate through these strange times. Today we are going to be talking about Employee Retention Credit.
Hello, Summerville! We are so excited to see our beautiful town get back to some sense of normal. Everything about our daily and professional lives continues to change, but we are relieved to see that individuals and businesses continue to move forward. One of our main focuses these past two months has been how the current pandemic is affecting our finances. There has been a lot of help thanks to tax day being pushed back, the stimulus relief fund, and the CARES act. Each has seen its ups and downs for individuals and small businesses, bringing a mixture of relief and frustration. Most of the financial help that we hear about day to day is that for personal finances, but businesses of all sizes have needed just as much help through these difficult times. Many have been required to operate at 50% capacity due to safety protocol during the pandemic while others have been completely shut down after they were deemed nonessential. With the signing of the stimulus relief package and the CARES act, businesses of all sizes were put into consideration. Small business loans and other forms of relief were immediately put into action, although their first big wave was not received well nor handled well. Just like you as an individual, businesses have been on top of filing and working towards a way to help their companies survive so their employees have a place to come back to when this is all over. Most employers who were able to apply for any kind of assistance did so in March, but there are still opportunities and things to apply for if your company hasn't already. In this blog, we are going to be talking about one of these forms of assistance that is still available to businesses, and that is employee retention credit. WHAT IS IT? You may or may not be familiar with this term or what kind of help it provides. This is a business relief provision that encourages employers to keep employees on the payroll, even if they're not working. It helps provide relief to unemployment offices to limit the number of people applying for unemployment. It was also created to help guarantee that employers will have returning employees once they can open up again. Thanks to the creation of the employee retention credit, the government will reward your company for keeping your employees on your payroll and for deciding to choose this assistance. It is refundable tax credit taken against certain employment taxes that can equal up to fifty percent of an employee's wages that you, as an employer, are still providing. The tax credit is fifty percent of up to $10,000 in wages per employee that has continued to be paid by the employer. This means that your company can be awarded a $5000 tax credit per qualifying employee. This was created as a business relief provision. The money your company will be receiving is a refundable payroll tax credit for qualified wages that will be paid or have been paid to your employees between March 13th of this year until December 31st of 2020. ELIGIBILITY You and your company are eligible if you have been directly affected by COVID-19. If you have been forced to work at half capacity due to safety precautions, or you have been forced to shut down entirely because you are a nonessential business, you are eligible. No matter the size of your company, you are still eligible. Your company is eligible for this tax credit if your gross receipts for this current quarter are less than what they were in the same quarter this time last year. You are NOT eligible for this tax credit if you are a governmental employer, or if you are self-employed or a small business that has taken small business loans or other small business loans created to help with issues caused by the pandemic. WHAT TO KNOW Once you have decided to pick this type of relief, you can begin claiming it right away by reducing your payroll taxes sent to the IRS. If it ends up that your tax credits exceed your payroll taxes, you can ask for a refund directly from the IRS. If your company has over 100 employees, the only wages that can be obtained are of those who were full time and are not working right now. If you have under 100 employees, you can claim all of your employee's wages regardless if they are working or not. Wages up to $10,000 can be claimed, and this does include how much your company pays towards health insurance for each employee. Since you can claim 50% of this $10,000, the max credit you can receive is $5,000 per employee. The tax credit will be repaid to you after subtracting your share of your employee's social security taxes, and it will be treated like you overpaid your taxes, and it will be returned to you. THE FUTURE In comparison, the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) was also created to offer similar benefits to businesses. You can't apply for both or receive benefits from both, you have to pick one or the other. When deciding which is best for you and your employees, always pick the aid that will help you and your employees the most, not one or the other. Since the applications for the PPP were suspended on April 17th of this year, this will now dictate your choice of what is available to you and your company. As the country slowly begins to reopen, pay close attention to how this will affect your business. You may be able to go back to work at full capacity, and you may not. There could potentially be more aid coming, we will just have to wait and see what the coming weeks will bring. If you and your company have been unable to receive any kind of benefits, keep your eyes open for this opportunity. These have been difficult and confusing times. You aren't wrong in feeling overwhelmed and confused. We where are here to support you, Summerville. You are not alone in your fight. Also don't forget, if you're looking for the best tax accountant in Summerville, the best tax services in Summerville, the best Quickbooks services in Summerville, the best IT services in Summerville, and the best payroll services in Summerville, we are still here for you. Tax season may be over for some and just starting for others, and we will be here for you no matter what!  Even though the curve hasn't flattened as much as we'd like, and we've spent a lot of time focusing on staying safe at the moment, it's time to start thinking about the future. Your company is going to overcome all of this, and we are going to talk about how!
April was gone in a flash wasn't it, Summerville? Time has a very strange and unique way of passing. It's been hard keeping the days in order. Thankfully, working from home or with a small staff in our offices has helped us keep track. Can you believe that tax day came and went with so little attention this year? That's right! Tax day has officially been moved to July 15th! If you haven't paid and filed your taxes yet, that's ok! You still have time to do so. But, we do recommend filing your taxes sooner rather than later. This will help with refunds, getting your stimulus checks, and possibly speeding your small business loan applications up. Do what you can for your small business now to help your company in the coming months. Although things are still unknown in the current market and our personal lives, it's time to start thinking ahead. We've spent our last few blogs sharing tips and suggestions on how to keep your employees safe, how the pandemic might affect your small business, the realities of your stimulus checks, but now it's time to start preparing for the beyond. It's a heavy truth that life as we've known it could be very different after all of this settles. But, we still want your company and the future of your company to be strong and prosperous. So, let's be hopeful and work towards that, together. As the best tax accountant in Summerville, we hope these tips and suggestions help you as we move forward in this very strange and uncharted time. All of the financial help and small business loans that have been created and promises may or may not come through for your company. Some companies have received these benefits, while some might never see a cent of help. It's constantly changing, and we aren't sure what these new changes could or couldn't mean. We are following the news just as closely for these updates. Hang in there. This pandemic has affected every industry, and the best way to get through this is to stand strong and to support one another. We are here for you, Summerville. Take these tips to heart, they could help you in the long run.
We understand your concerns and worries. We hope this list inspires you to keep working and to keep your hopes up. We will get through this and will continue to work hard together. Also don't forget, if you're looking for the best tax accountant in Summerville, the best tax services in Summerville, the best Quickbooks services in Summerville, the best IT services in Summerville, and the best payroll services in Summerville, we are still here for you. Tax season may be over for some and just starting for others, and we will be here for you no matter what!  During one of the worst times in recent history, scams should be the last thing we should be worrying about. But, the truth of the matter is that new scams surrounding the stimulus checks and government bailout programs for small businesses are starting to come to life daily, and are more powerful than ever before.
Almost all of us have been anxiously awaiting the financial relief checks since the approval of the COVID-19 Relief Bill was passed. When will they get here? Who will receive them? How much will you get? On top of all these questions its a sad fact to share that during this terrifying time when we should all be standing together, stronger parties are trying to take advantage of those who have been the most affected by this devastating pandemic. Following in the footsteps of our recent blog about social security scams, we wanted to do a followup blog on the very real reality and the possibility of scams and frauds appearing right now. They could look like the relief checks, the key to getting your check quicker, small business loans, loans to help out larger companies, and even promising the cure for the pandemic all in exchange for your personal information. Waking up every day to the news right now is difficult. The unknowns are overwhelming and the lines to get toilet paper are still ridiculous. In this time that has brought so many of us together, it is almost impossible to think that yet another attack could be upon us. While many are still working or now working from home, the hauntingly large numbers of those who are now facing unemployment due to the coronavirus are staggering. This is leaving thousands upon thousands of people without a paycheck, unable to provide for their families or even pay their simple bills. Businesses, even if they are still operating on a very small level or have been forced to close or made the conscious decision to close, are also losing money by the day. When the news came that the stimulus package had been approved and relief checks would soon be on their way, a collective sigh of relief was felt among all of us. New small business loans and other relief options for companies are now in place as well. We all will slowly be getting back on our feet, in very small steps one way or another. But, while we wait for these checks, scammers could be and are now rearing their very ugly heads saying that they have your funds and to receive them you must supply them with very personal and private information. Let us stop you right now, and say that is NOT how the stimulus checks will be handled. You, the American citizen, don't have to do anything or file any kind of paperwork or to receive your stimulus check. The economic impact payment will automatically be deposited into your bank account that was connected to your 2018 and 2019 tax returns. Even if you have received your tax returns in the past as a paper check, the IRS will still deposit the funds into the account they have on file for you automatically. They will also calculate the amount you need based on your income over your 2018 and 2019 tax returns and your personal need. You won't have to do any calculations or send in any kind of paperwork. The IRS will not be contacting you in any way. The IRS did just announce that they will be releasing a brand new website that will allow you to see the status of your stimulus check when it will arrive, and it will also allow you to check the bank account or it is headed to. If there is a problem with the bank account number, you will need to change that right away on the IRS website. The IRS is making updates to their website almost daily, so if you have any questions make sure you visit their website.
We hate that these scams and schemes are very real right now. Since they are, we wanted to make sure that you are on high alert. All of these warnings also apply to small businesses and companies receiving financial support during this time. Please take comfort in the fact that the Department of Justice is forming a legal and integrative response to deal with these frauds. The US Attorney General's office has also developed a special task force along with appointed COVID-19 fraud coordinators to help deal with this situation. Here in the Lowcountry and throughout the state of South Carolina, our District US Attorney Peter M. McCoy Jr has also stated that his office and the department of justice are making this type of fraud a priority. Scary times can become scarier. But, we are here to help all of you through it. Stay alert, stay safe, and stay home. We will get through this Summerville, we know it!  The coronavirus has changed the way we live our lives. It has changed our daily schedules, where and how we work, and has changed the face of education for our children. For parents working from home for the very first time while their children in school are also working from home, the landscape of living and working together has been altered. What does this mean for parents and their children and how can they be the most successful in these times of change?
So much has changed within the last few weeks since our last blog post about how small businesses and corporations need to operate during this time of crisis. It continues to change the work world so much, that we wanted to follow that blog up by discussing just how much COVID-19 is changing and affecting the lives of everyone in the working world down to the youngest of your family. One of the biggest reliefs and changes during this time is the 90-day deferment on taxes for everyone, allowing both individuals and corporations to pay and file their taxes on July 15th instead of April 15th. But, with that relief, comes a bit of a struggle. Many of us are working from home for the very first time and with children our children that are school-aged or younger. Going from the office to our home offices, kitchen tables, or couches has been a huge shift, especially if you're working alongside your son or daughter as they are virtually taking classes and sending in assignments in brand new ways themselves. Thankfully, you don't have to worry about your small business or corporation meeting tax deadlines for a few more months while you're getting adjusted. The biggest adjustment is working from home, being productive, and trying not to drive one another crazy! As COVID-19 changes the guidelines on how to work, we wanted to break it down to the individuals affected by these huge changes and to share some tips and suggestions on how to successfully make this transition productive both to your company and to your well being. Without the latter, your work and productivity could suffer. So, let's get to work! Every family, personal work space, and your job at hand is unique and different. Through this unknown time, you'll have to find what works best for you. These suggestions might be the perfect solution to your learning curve, or they might be the complete opposite. Take these as stepping stones, and continue to see what works for you and your family. In the end, whatever works for your family is the right way. There is no right or wrong way, there will just need to be a lot of trial and error until you reach a comfortable level of living. Hopefully, by then, life will be back to normal, or as close to it as possible! TRACKING TIME One of the most consistent things we have seen to be successful for working parents and their children is to stay on schedule. The key is to create a schedule for this new way of living and to stick to it. This applies to both parent and child. All of this will depend on how old your child is and what their needs are, but living as consistently to your life before moving home is very important. Begin by waking up at the same time, get ready and dressed for the day, and eat breakfast at the same time. The temptation to sleep in, stay in the same PJs for days and eat whatever whenever is going to be a huge temptation. Don't fall into that trap! We aren't saying you need to get dressed to the nines or dress your children for picture day. The key is to change out of your PJs every morning and into another outfit that makes both you and your kids feel productive and normal as possible. Then, we recommend creating a schedule for your students for the whole day, not just during school hours. This will help them stay adjusted to their normal school day, stay on top of their expectations of getting homework done and studying completed, and allocate their free time. This way their grades don't drop while they are spending all of their time watching TV, playing video games, or on their phones. Keep them on a schedule that will create your workday too, one that allows you to stay close to your schedule too. For our parents with young children, keep them on a schedule as much as possible and one that is as close to what they have been living with. Take advantage of nap time, quiet playtime, and lunchtime as your work hours. You might need to get a little creative, and that's ok! NEW RULES It will be very important to sit your family down and talk about what's happening in the world and what these changes mean for everyone. The situation will change expectations, free time, and it will also mean spending all of your time together during work and play hours. You will also need to communicate with your boss, employees, and colleagues that they might need to be more flexible because of your new work situation with your children. Express that your children could walk into a work call or video meeting at any time, and you might need to get up and leave to answer an emergency or a baby crying at any time. If anything, mention this often so it is never a surprise and not something that is forgotten by anyone. This is also the time to set boundaries with your kids. This might mean allowing them more TV, video game, and screen time to give you more space and time to get work done. If that is the case, explain to them that this extra free time is a treat and that everything will return to normal once work and school go back to their normal schedule. Set boundaries, especially for your school-aged children, and let them know when they can come into your work space, and when they can only come in when it is an absolute emergency. SAVING TIME During this crazy time, create a system that allows you to work and allows you to still be a family. Take breaks together from work and school to exercise together, take a car ride, or walk the dog together while still practicing social distancing. When work and school are over for the day, make sure they are over for the day. Separate work from play with the whole family, unless you have to finish a job or a project. Keeping regular dinner hours, family game or movie nights, and beyond are very important. Spending time together as a family is very needed. But, allotting yourself adult time is very important as well. It is also important to parent as a team and juggle these new schedule changes and learning curves together. Share the normal household tasks like you never have before. Switch places creating the daily schedule, serving as a teacher for the day, and even switch giving your partner the night off. Allow your partner to not have to worry about household chores or the necessary grocery trip if they're slammed with work, and let them repay the favor to you when you're swamped with work. You can even switch shifts throughout the day, whatever works for you! This is an unknown time full of uncharted territory. Maintaining a sense of balance, normality, and regularity is the key to staying productive as a business owner and the head of a successful family. It may seem impossible at first, but keep working. You will figure out what works best for you. Remember to stay smart, keep following the WHO guidelines, and to wash your hands!  There are warnings on how to prepare for the coronavirus in your personal life, for your family, in your home. But what about how to prepare for your company and guiding your employees? How will the virus impact your company and what is the best way to deal with it as a business owner? What is the best way to work with your employees to help them through the current state of affairs?
The coronavirus - or COVID-19 - has been no stranger from any news platform, social media platform, or any conversation you have. With cases hitting the United States at a growing rate, it's common for big-box stores like Sams Club and Costco to start selling out of paper towels, toilet paper, water, and canned goods. We have seen the virus starting to shut down universities, grade schools, nursing homes, and local businesses. It is also starting to impact our imports, changing how people are traveling, and all the while there is a rising fear of what this could mean for our country and as us as individuals. Business owners and companies are going to have to deal with new things and issues they've never had before. Managers, human resources, bosses, and project managers will be dealing with anxiety, panic, fear, worry, and doubt from employees. What then? It's time to create a focus of keeping them calm, pushing business to keep operating as normal, and being an understanding leader. All the while you'll need to keep the possibility of shutting down out of necessity, safety, or practicality in the back of your mind. This could mean the loss of income, production, employees, and employee's wages and benefits. Outside the worry of catching the virus, quality of life-based on monetary needs will start weighing on you and your employees. What's going to happen next and what is the best way to handle it? Legal, emotional, and practical worries are making their way to the forefront for many managers. The CDC and a handful of other government organizations have released all kinds of material on how to prepare, clean, and deal with daily business operations. Take advantage of these resources, they are there to help and calm you through this unknown period. When it comes to working with your employees and steering your company through this unknown period, there will be many things to consider. Read carefully through this list and see how it can help or continue to help your company.
One of the hardest parts of this situation is to separating fear from fact. If your employee is nervous to travel because someone "might" be sick next to them at some point in their travels, this might be fear put on by the media - not because it is an actuality. Also, please be aware that acting differently towards someone in your company, or anywhere, who you feel might be more likely to pass on the virus because of race or where they come from is a nasty form of discrimination and can be grounds for a lawsuit. Overreaction from anyone because of how someone looks and where they come from, will lead to some very sticky issues and situations. We do suggest that before you do make any of these choices to keep your company running smoothly, that you receive counsel from medical professionals, the CDC or proper law advisers. Panic and fear can destroy a healthy situation, a strong company, and the employees within it. As a leader of your company, set a good example. Be prepared, but don't be afraid. Stay educated on the topic, follow the CDC procedure, and keep up with the statistics of the situation. The media can quickly take something and blow it out of proportion. In this situation, keep your employees calm, and have a plan for what might be ahead. Respect their wishes, and work together to keep healthy and safe. If you have any questions, are looking for more guidance, or just need a little bit of comfort follow the links below to learn more. https://www.cdc.gov/ https://www.who.int/  Every year tax law changes ever so slightly. This can affect big payments, what you can and cannot pay on, and goes all the way down to determining how much you can and cannot write off down to the half-cent. As you are preparing for this year's tax season and tax write-offs, you still have to keep 2020 in the back of your mind. The moment you drop off your taxes for 2019, 2020 will be right there ready to become the center of attention.
We are a little over two months into 2020, and inching closer and closer to tax day. How are you feeling? Have you already submitted electronically? Are you still trying to tie up loose ends and gather all of your paperwork? No matter where you are in your tax journey at this moment, it's not hard to admit that tax season can be difficult. It takes time for any size company to gather paperwork and get everything in order, to make sure you have everything to prove your write-offs, and that you're writing off everything you can to hopefully get a good chunk back in return. Just like any tax law, how and what you can write off every year can and does change. It might not be a significant change, but it does indeed change every year. Just like any large or small part of changing tax law, this small dollar and cent change can add up at the end of a fiscal year. You need to stay educated be aware of these changes as best you can. If this is something you can't stay on top of, then please leave it in the hands of a professional. All of us at Pathways Consulting are here to help you with your tax needs in Summerville. Please don't hesitate to contact us! In this busy and stressful time of tax season, we like to stay as positive as possible, and remind our clients about the incentives taxes can bring to them and their companies. One of these positive factors is reminding our clients of what they can write off every year, and how that can help their company in the long run. One particular and popular write off that has seen some small, but serious, changes is how much in mileage you can write off per mile driven for business use, charitable use, and for medical or moving purposes. In this particular blog, we are going to be discussing the most recent changes in the mileage rate that began on January 1st of this year (2020), as something to look forward to. The mileage rate for the taxes you are currently working on or have already submitted will be a little different from these numbers. But remember, if you haven't already done your taxes, or your tax preparer is still working on them, the 2019 rates are still available and are known by all tax professionals. The importance of this blog is to give all of our clients and future clients something to look forward to and to make sure they are informed of the 2020 tax changes. For some these new milage rates will be a welcome change, for others it might be a little disappointing. These are the mileage rates for the use of a car, pickup truck, and panel trucks for 2020.
Business use, moving, and medical use saw the biggest changes for 2020. Driving for business went down one half-cent, and driving for medical and moving went down three cents. This might not seem a lot, but if your company has employees driving for hundreds or thousands of miles per year, those half cents or three cents per mile that you can no longer write off can make a difference. But, at least it is still something. The amount that can be written off per mile for charitable reasons did not change between 2019 and 2020. Keep in mind that for 2019 taxes, you still have those whole half cent and three cent differences, so use those to your advantage and don't forget to write them off! What created and set these new tax rates you might ask? For mileage driven for business reasons, it is determined on the yearly fixed rate of the operation of vehicles. For medical and moving purposes it is based on the variable cost o that tax year. Business owners, please be warned. You can only write off the mileage for five or fewer cars used at one time. If you have more than that, only five of the car's mileage can be written off. Also, if the car has already been claimed under another deduction, then the mileage cannot be claimed as well. It has to be one write off or the other. While preparing for next year's taxes and planning your write-offs, there are still a few important things that you need to keep in mind. Due to changes from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Acts, taxpayers will not be able to claim a miscellaneous deduction for unreimbursed employee travel expenses any longer. When it comes to the expenses of moving beyond the gas mileage, the only time you can claim moving expenses on your taxes is if you're a member of the military and you are under orders to move. Unless you fit that description, no other write-offs about moving can be included in your taxes. If it's for your 2019 taxes or your upcoming 2020 taxes, please be very careful and cautious about how and what you're writing off. If this is a grey area for you personally, again, please hire a professional tax preparer to handle this for you. These small changes that happen every year in write-offs are known to them because it's their job to know all of this information. Using a professional tax preparer for any size company could save you more money and get you more in your tax return in the long run. Tax season can be a difficult time, but it doesn't have to be. We are here to give you the best tax service and help in Summerville, and our doors are always open! Keep working hard, and make sure to get your taxes in by April 15th! |
AuthorThe Pathways Team Archives
September 2020
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