It's only 45 days until open enrollment for the Affordable Care Act begins. States, employers, employees, insured and uninsured are all waiting and wondering how this will work. I wish I could give some idea about what will happen but I feel I'm not alone in not knowing anything about it.
Here's what I do know. You can sign up now at www.healthcare.gov to set up an account so that you'll be ready to start shopping on October 1. You can also sign up to receive email notifications as new information becomes available.
What does this mean for small businesses? Most small businesses I know are exempt. Employers must have 50 or more employees to be required to provide health insurance. And that was recently moved back one year. Small employers, that is businesses with 49 and fewer employees, may provide health insurance if they wish or have their employees buy insurance through the Marketplace exchanges.
Tennessee has chosen not to set up a state exchange or to modify Medicaid to accept low income individuals and families. The Governor hasn't ruled out modifying Medicaid in the future, but as of right now, Medicaid in Tennessee won't be changing any rules to allow more low income people to apply for and receive insurance. We'll have to wait and see what happens there.
This means that some low income individuals and families still won't be able to obtain insurance in Tennessee. If an individual makes less than $11,500 ($23,840 for a family of 4) and is not eligible for Medicaid, then they can buy insurance on the Marketplace if they can afford it (I would assume that is doubtful) but they won't get any federal subsidies to pay for the premiums. They will have to pay the full premium to receive insurance. If you make too little to receive a subsidy for health insurance premiums but also don't quality for Medicaid, you won't have to pay a penalty for not having insurance. You will be exempt from this penalty. That's good news, I guess.
Another possibility for good news, I don't know if this will be true, is that people who were previously unable to obtain insurance because of preexisting conditions and had to pay very high premiums may now be able to buy insurance at a more affordable rate. It still might be high, but might be lower than before. We'll have to wait and see.
If an individual makes more than $11,500 ($23,840 for a family of 4) then they will receive a federal subsidy to buy health insurance and will have to pay a penalty if they don't buy any.
How much will this insurance actually cost? No one knows.
Everything is is in a state of flux. And just like Medicare, Social Security, Medicaid and all other Federal programs the state of flux is constant. Hold on to your hats and tighten those seat belts.
Saturday, August 17, 2013
New Information about Tennessee Unemployment
This information comes from an article I read in the Tennessee CPA Journal, the magazine published by the Tennessee Society of Certified Public Accountants. It was written by Stacie Caraway with Miller & Martin PLLC in Chattanooga.
Ms. Caraway brings Tennessee employers up to date about the definition of "disqualifying misconduct" which was included in amendments to the unemployment benefit law.
Every employer with payroll pays into the unemployment pool to provide benefits for those who lose employment. The fewer former employees who draw unemployment compensation on an employer's account, the lower the employer's percentage rate. To put it another way, if no employee ever draws unemployment on your account, then your rate is as low as it can be to pay unemployment taxes. If you have a lot of employees drawing unemployment on your account, then your rate will go as high as it can go. That way employers who have more employees drawing unemployment pay more and employers who have few or no employees drawing unemployment, pay less.
Obviously, as an employer, you want to keep those who draw unemployment on your account to a minimum. That means when you receive a letter informing you that a former employee wants to draw unemployment you have to fight the claim if you believe it is unreasonable. It seems this has been made a bit easier to do now.
To show "qualifying misconduct", that is the reason the employee is no longer employed and why that cause means the employee doesn't get to receive unemployment, the employer has some guidelines. These are as follows:
Good news. There are freelance employee handbook writers. That's right just as you can hire a CPA when you need one and ignore him the rest of the time, you can also hire a Human Resource or HR department when you need one. There are many small businesses that help other small businesses work better. I know who they are. If former employees who don't deserve to draw unemployment on your account are a problem, let me know by commenting on this blog entry and I will put you in touch with a small business HR department. They will be happy to work with you to create a written employee handbook that will outline what is correct and proper to your employees. And this will give you back up when trying to fight an unemployment claim.
If you want to read the entire article you can find the March/April edition of the Tennessee CPA Journal on the TSCPA web page.
Ms. Caraway brings Tennessee employers up to date about the definition of "disqualifying misconduct" which was included in amendments to the unemployment benefit law.
Every employer with payroll pays into the unemployment pool to provide benefits for those who lose employment. The fewer former employees who draw unemployment compensation on an employer's account, the lower the employer's percentage rate. To put it another way, if no employee ever draws unemployment on your account, then your rate is as low as it can be to pay unemployment taxes. If you have a lot of employees drawing unemployment on your account, then your rate will go as high as it can go. That way employers who have more employees drawing unemployment pay more and employers who have few or no employees drawing unemployment, pay less.
Obviously, as an employer, you want to keep those who draw unemployment on your account to a minimum. That means when you receive a letter informing you that a former employee wants to draw unemployment you have to fight the claim if you believe it is unreasonable. It seems this has been made a bit easier to do now.
To show "qualifying misconduct", that is the reason the employee is no longer employed and why that cause means the employee doesn't get to receive unemployment, the employer has some guidelines. These are as follows:
- Conscious disregard of the rights or interests of the employer (example: starting competing business on employer's time);
- Deliberate violations or disregard of reasonable standards of behavior that the employer expects of its employees ("deliberate" will require proof of notice via handbook);
- Carelessness or neglect of such a degree or recurrence as to show an intentional or substantial disregard of the employer's interests;
- Deliberate disregard of a written attendance policy and the discharge is in compliance with such policy;
- A knowing violation of a regulation of this state by an employee of an employer licensed by this state, which violation would cause the employer to be sanctioned or have the employer's license revoked or suspended by this state; or
- A violation of an employer's rule, unless the employee can demonstrate that he/she did not know, and couldn't not reasonably know, of the rule's requirements, or the rule is unlawful or not reasonably related to the job environment and performance.
Good news. There are freelance employee handbook writers. That's right just as you can hire a CPA when you need one and ignore him the rest of the time, you can also hire a Human Resource or HR department when you need one. There are many small businesses that help other small businesses work better. I know who they are. If former employees who don't deserve to draw unemployment on your account are a problem, let me know by commenting on this blog entry and I will put you in touch with a small business HR department. They will be happy to work with you to create a written employee handbook that will outline what is correct and proper to your employees. And this will give you back up when trying to fight an unemployment claim.
If you want to read the entire article you can find the March/April edition of the Tennessee CPA Journal on the TSCPA web page.
Saturday, August 10, 2013
BEST for Small Businesses - Get Started & Keep Going
You'll notice that I've added a new page to the right. On this page you'll find all the information you need about my first small business seminar - Get Started & Keep Going. If you don't find everything you need to know, post something to this blog entry and I'll answer your question.
You'll also notice some buttons for pay pal through which you can pay to attend the seminar.
You don't need to pay for a manual unless you want one printed out on paper. You will receive a free PDF manual via email when you sign up for the seminar. You can print your own pages from that. But if you really want me to print one for you, I will do that for $20.
I hope you plan to come. Sign up early, it's cheaper and there's a limit to how many can come.
You'll also notice some buttons for pay pal through which you can pay to attend the seminar.
You don't need to pay for a manual unless you want one printed out on paper. You will receive a free PDF manual via email when you sign up for the seminar. You can print your own pages from that. But if you really want me to print one for you, I will do that for $20.
I hope you plan to come. Sign up early, it's cheaper and there's a limit to how many can come.
Introducing BEST for Small Businesses - or Best Education Seminars Today
I'm about ready to launch my first seminar for small businesses. It's quite a daunting task. Starting something new is never easy but it is often exciting. I'm finding this new venture to be both.
These seminars are focused directly at small businesses. Not the small businesses of the IRS Tax Code definition that gross $5,000,000 (yes that's FIVE MILLION DOLLARS), or $15,000,000 in some places in the Code, but the small, perhaps microscopic businesses operated in every town and city all over the country.
My seminars are directed at the "mom and pop" operations or just the "mom" or "pop" who is going it alone, with maybe a friend or relative strong-armed in now and then to help out. These seminars are for the business that is so small it doesn't have time to stop and consult with a CPA, or any other professional, and certainly no money to hire one.
These seminars will be short - no one has the time to leave their business to learn about business even if the knowledge is desperately needed.
The seminars will be inexpensive - small businesses are confronted weekly, if not daily, by someone with their hand out. Donate to this, buy that (it will be helpful), use this, advertise here. There's no extra cash in a small business.
The seminars will be informative for small businesses. No speaking in tax code and no belaboring information that's only important when there are 30 employees and $2 or $3 million in the bottom line.
When I began the research for these seminars I found myself digging though volumes of information that didn't matter to the small business because they were so small. But the authors of these research papers were trying to be all things to all businesses and I realized the majority of the information didn't apply to my audience. I realized if I was bogged down with unnecessary information, and I knew what I was looking for and I knew what applied, then a stressed out small business owner would be completely lost in the overload of technical jargon.
So, I decided to fill a need. I grew up in a small business as did both my parents and for the most part so did their parents (farming is a small business, too). So much is second nature to me because I heard about deductions and taxes all my life that I think everyone in business knows what I know.
When a client of twenty years asked me if she could deduct toilet paper and paper towels that she and her employees used in the shop, I was floored. Yes, certainly, that is a completely deductible business expense. But to her it wasn't. These items had nothing to do with her business and she hadn't been deducting them. Not a big deal. But every deduction helps against the bottom line.
BEST for Small Businesses was born.
The first seminar is called Get Started and Keep Going. This will cover a great many general issues facing small business owners such as the different types of operating entities - corporation (both C and S), partnerships, LLCs and sole proprietorships; how to be considered a for profit business and not a hobby and why that's important. I'll discuss the home office and how to deduct it as well as other business expenses. Taxes - local, state, federal, sales, payroll, personal property, the list is long - will be covered as well as records retention, hiring family members and what to expect during an audit. This seems to be a lot of information but the seminar is designed to sift out all the information that pertains to the larger business and focus on only what is meaningful to the smaller.
From this general seminar I will create others based upon the feedback I receive from the participants at this one. I have to start somewhere and this seminar was born out of all the questions I've received from small business owners during the past two decades that I've been a small business owner. For more information on this first BEST for Small Businesses see my face book page - LuAnnCurleeCPA - and Eventbrite, but I recommend paying here since it's the cheapest way to go and everyone needs to save money.
Keep an eye open for my next post on the seminar.
These seminars are focused directly at small businesses. Not the small businesses of the IRS Tax Code definition that gross $5,000,000 (yes that's FIVE MILLION DOLLARS), or $15,000,000 in some places in the Code, but the small, perhaps microscopic businesses operated in every town and city all over the country.
My seminars are directed at the "mom and pop" operations or just the "mom" or "pop" who is going it alone, with maybe a friend or relative strong-armed in now and then to help out. These seminars are for the business that is so small it doesn't have time to stop and consult with a CPA, or any other professional, and certainly no money to hire one.
These seminars will be short - no one has the time to leave their business to learn about business even if the knowledge is desperately needed.
The seminars will be inexpensive - small businesses are confronted weekly, if not daily, by someone with their hand out. Donate to this, buy that (it will be helpful), use this, advertise here. There's no extra cash in a small business.
The seminars will be informative for small businesses. No speaking in tax code and no belaboring information that's only important when there are 30 employees and $2 or $3 million in the bottom line.
When I began the research for these seminars I found myself digging though volumes of information that didn't matter to the small business because they were so small. But the authors of these research papers were trying to be all things to all businesses and I realized the majority of the information didn't apply to my audience. I realized if I was bogged down with unnecessary information, and I knew what I was looking for and I knew what applied, then a stressed out small business owner would be completely lost in the overload of technical jargon.
So, I decided to fill a need. I grew up in a small business as did both my parents and for the most part so did their parents (farming is a small business, too). So much is second nature to me because I heard about deductions and taxes all my life that I think everyone in business knows what I know.
When a client of twenty years asked me if she could deduct toilet paper and paper towels that she and her employees used in the shop, I was floored. Yes, certainly, that is a completely deductible business expense. But to her it wasn't. These items had nothing to do with her business and she hadn't been deducting them. Not a big deal. But every deduction helps against the bottom line.
BEST for Small Businesses was born.
The first seminar is called Get Started and Keep Going. This will cover a great many general issues facing small business owners such as the different types of operating entities - corporation (both C and S), partnerships, LLCs and sole proprietorships; how to be considered a for profit business and not a hobby and why that's important. I'll discuss the home office and how to deduct it as well as other business expenses. Taxes - local, state, federal, sales, payroll, personal property, the list is long - will be covered as well as records retention, hiring family members and what to expect during an audit. This seems to be a lot of information but the seminar is designed to sift out all the information that pertains to the larger business and focus on only what is meaningful to the smaller.
From this general seminar I will create others based upon the feedback I receive from the participants at this one. I have to start somewhere and this seminar was born out of all the questions I've received from small business owners during the past two decades that I've been a small business owner. For more information on this first BEST for Small Businesses see my face book page - LuAnnCurleeCPA - and Eventbrite, but I recommend paying here since it's the cheapest way to go and everyone needs to save money.
Keep an eye open for my next post on the seminar.
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Good News about Business Taxes.
From the blog - Tennessee Tax Law - a very succinct review of the new business tax law which will start changing business taxes in the year 2014.
The most important piece of information was that small businesses grossing less that $10,000 no longer need to worry about this tax. These businesses grossing more than $3,000 and less than $10,000 will still have to pay a minimal business tax fee, but no more reporting and paying the tax. If you want to read the full blog click on the link from my blog to get all the scoop.
The most important piece of information was that small businesses grossing less that $10,000 no longer need to worry about this tax. These businesses grossing more than $3,000 and less than $10,000 will still have to pay a minimal business tax fee, but no more reporting and paying the tax. If you want to read the full blog click on the link from my blog to get all the scoop.
Keep your guard up!
Small business owners get told a lot of things. They get told things by their customers. They get told things by their suppliers. They get told things by their families. They get told things by their friends. They get told things by their competitors. They get told lots of things.
It's difficult during the course of the day to figure out what it true and what is false and what to act upon and what to ignore. The best advise I can give is to think a little bit before acting or reacting.
Here are some examples. I had a client who called all bothered because she'd received a letter from an organization stating that she was required by law to post in her shop certain information for her employees and this company would, for a fee, provide her with the proper information to post that would make her compliant with the law. The letter made it sound like this was a new law and that inspectors would be coming around soon to verify that she had this information posted for her employees to read. If the information wasn't posted, she would be fined.
There's always some truth in a good lie. There is information required to be posted for employees to read and be aware of their rights. This information can be printed for free from the tax authority's web site. The State of Tennessee has this information. Laminated pages can be purchased but it's not necessary. If something is required to be posted, it is usually provided for free. Not all the time, but I'd check into that before I paid any money for a display.
Recently I was told by a small businessman that foreigners, he didn't specify which group of foreigners, but I got the impression he wasn't talking about people from the North which used to be the main type of foreigner here in the South, but people from and born in another country. These "foreigners" don't have to pay sales taxes because the state wants them to open businesses here. I told him I'd never heard of this and was certain it wasn't true.
It's not true. First I looked on Snopes.com and found it was an urban legend that had been making the rounds for years. Next I called the state to make sure. But maybe as a small business owner you don't have that kind of time. Let's apply some logic to then.
Would the state legislature pass a law to help out people who can't vote them back into office and hurt people who can? I can't see that happening at all. If such a law was passed, wouldn't the press let us all know? I never heard anything about it. Believe me, if the Republicans advanced this, the Democrats would let everyone know and the reverse if the Democrats brought this to the floor. It pays to keep an ear open for current events.
I've also been told that one Tennessee county paid a different liquor tax than another. Bring logic into it again. A state tax is a state tax. Counties don't have the ability to change it. State taxes are the same throughout the state.
Another individual was upset that health insurance premiums were going to be added to gross pay on the W-2 and taxed. Gross pay is gross pay. Nothing can be added to gross pay.
As a small business owner, you need the best information you can obtain to make a decision. Sometimes the information you need is right there in your head. Does it make sense? Even if you don't have the time to check everything out, logic and knowledge of the way things work will take you far. People don't mean to pass on false information, but sometimes they don't think before they speak. The old adage is still true: Don't believe anything you hear and only half of what you read. Except my blog, of course, you can believe 75% of it, maybe even 80%.
It's difficult during the course of the day to figure out what it true and what is false and what to act upon and what to ignore. The best advise I can give is to think a little bit before acting or reacting.
Here are some examples. I had a client who called all bothered because she'd received a letter from an organization stating that she was required by law to post in her shop certain information for her employees and this company would, for a fee, provide her with the proper information to post that would make her compliant with the law. The letter made it sound like this was a new law and that inspectors would be coming around soon to verify that she had this information posted for her employees to read. If the information wasn't posted, she would be fined.
There's always some truth in a good lie. There is information required to be posted for employees to read and be aware of their rights. This information can be printed for free from the tax authority's web site. The State of Tennessee has this information. Laminated pages can be purchased but it's not necessary. If something is required to be posted, it is usually provided for free. Not all the time, but I'd check into that before I paid any money for a display.
Recently I was told by a small businessman that foreigners, he didn't specify which group of foreigners, but I got the impression he wasn't talking about people from the North which used to be the main type of foreigner here in the South, but people from and born in another country. These "foreigners" don't have to pay sales taxes because the state wants them to open businesses here. I told him I'd never heard of this and was certain it wasn't true.
It's not true. First I looked on Snopes.com and found it was an urban legend that had been making the rounds for years. Next I called the state to make sure. But maybe as a small business owner you don't have that kind of time. Let's apply some logic to then.
Would the state legislature pass a law to help out people who can't vote them back into office and hurt people who can? I can't see that happening at all. If such a law was passed, wouldn't the press let us all know? I never heard anything about it. Believe me, if the Republicans advanced this, the Democrats would let everyone know and the reverse if the Democrats brought this to the floor. It pays to keep an ear open for current events.
I've also been told that one Tennessee county paid a different liquor tax than another. Bring logic into it again. A state tax is a state tax. Counties don't have the ability to change it. State taxes are the same throughout the state.
Another individual was upset that health insurance premiums were going to be added to gross pay on the W-2 and taxed. Gross pay is gross pay. Nothing can be added to gross pay.
As a small business owner, you need the best information you can obtain to make a decision. Sometimes the information you need is right there in your head. Does it make sense? Even if you don't have the time to check everything out, logic and knowledge of the way things work will take you far. People don't mean to pass on false information, but sometimes they don't think before they speak. The old adage is still true: Don't believe anything you hear and only half of what you read. Except my blog, of course, you can believe 75% of it, maybe even 80%.
Friday, February 15, 2013
When can you file certain forms?
The IRS can only act a quickly as Congress. Since Congress worked literally until the 12th hour making changes to the tax structure, the IRS is still working on updating forms and instructions. If you want to know which forms will be ready and at which dates, click on the link to the right on this blog page that says IRS General Information Home Page. That link will take you directly to the IRS. Then click on the orange/red section that says Forms and Pubs. At the top of the next page is a link to all the forms still under programming. Most will be ready by the first of March and most people don't use them. So it's very possible you can file right now, if you haven't already done so.
As always, if there is something specific you want to know, leave a comment and let me know.
As always, if there is something specific you want to know, leave a comment and let me know.
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