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!

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!

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. 

• Employers should offer work from home opportunities to those who have returned from or will be returning from a high-risk area or trip. 
• They may ask or be allowed to ask for this during the incubation time of the virus until the employee is safe and healthy to be around others. 
• If an employee cannot work from home, this should be treated as paid leave. These options need to be based on actual facts, and not out of fear or the possibility that something could happen. 
• Don't interfere with your employees' privacy by demanding them to explain travel plans during this time. Allow them to come forward naturally. Open the conversation and make it a comfortable environment to talk about these possibilities so your employee doesn't feel threaded or bullied by you, their fellow employees, or for wanting to travel during this time. 
• Be open to listening to your employee's concerns. Always be empathetic and don't get angry with them. Fear is something that is experienced in a different way by everyone. The amount of fear that already exists is palatable. The media can make it worse. Be respectful to how they're feeling, but also take the opportunity to educate them on what is happening and put it into perspective.
• As an employer make sure you are staying on top of the news, what is happening day to day, and communicate this with your employees. 
• Follow correct OSHA standards of safety, respect the wishes of the CDC, but do not interfere with your employees by demanding health tests and proof of health. 
• Be aware that if you travel a lot for business, that you need to make your employees feel safe when you return. Respect travel law and understand the virus could impede travel and business. 
• Be understanding and aware of your employees that have compromised immune systems and could catch the virus quicker than others. Avoid sending them on work trips unless they have to. 
• Be flexible in these situations, don't demand doctors' notes if they are showing symptoms of the coronavirus. Be flexible if they need to stay home to care for sick family and children. 
• Promote cleanliness in the office with a reminder to wash hands frequently, and provide the office with all the correct cleaning supplies you need.

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/