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5 Common (and Costly) Payroll Errors and How to Avoid Making Them

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Payroll is one of the most important aspects of any business, but it’s one that, when running smoothly, business owners don’t tend to think about; however, when there’s a payroll glitch, it jumps to the forefront of an owner’s mind. Here are several payroll mistakes that can cost you a bundle and how to avoid them in your business.

1. Misclassifying Employees

How you classify employees when you hire them impacts how you and your employees are taxed. If you hire an office staffer to answer phones and file paperwork for an hourly wage, that is a non-exempt employee. Alternatively, if you employ an individual as a salaried Head of Operations, they are exempt. The main difference is that non-exempt employees are eligible to receive overtime pay; exempt employees are not.

There is also a distinction between employee, freelancer, and contractor. An employee receives a regular wage, while freelancers and contractors are typically paid per project. Misclassifying employees may not seem like a big deal at first, but in time, the IRS will find out, and your business will end up paying the taxes due, the associated fines, and of course, the interest on the past-due taxes.

To avoid this issue, understand the classifications and the capacity in which you hire your employees. To classify employees, be sure to use IRS definitions. For example, the IRS defines independent contractors this way: “the general rule is that an individual is an independent contractor if the payer has the right to control or direct only the result of the work and not what will be done and how it will be done.”

2. Miscalculating Pay

There are many payroll aspects to consider, such as overtime, commissions, deductions, paid time off (PTO), and more. When it comes to calculating pay, payroll admins should keep in mind that different policies apply to each state, and that must also be considered. For example, the federal overtime law dictates that overtime wages (pay for hours worked over 40 hours in a workweek) are paid at 1.5 times the employee’s regular hourly rate. However, some states have different policies regarding overtime. For example, in Alaska, California, Colorado, and Nevada, overtime is also based on hours worked in a day. As a general rule, a business should comply with the more generous law for the employee.

In addition to overtime pay miscalculations, poor time tracking capabilities also contribute to miscalculated pay. To avoid an issue miscalculating pay, be sure to know your state’s guidelines on overtime pay. Further, be sure that your company has a reliable tracking system for keeping up with employee hours so that pay, overtime, and other payroll aspects like PTO are correctly recorded and calculated. This process will significantly reduce the chance of payroll overpayment or underpayment mistakes that could become costly payroll corrections.

3. Missing Deadlines

One of the most damaging payroll mistakes for a business is missing payroll tax deadlines. Missed deadlines can cost thousands of dollars in penalties, and in extreme cases, a company’s business license can be suspended.

To avoid this critical error, use the IRS Calendar Connector to help you remember your tax deadlines. However, if you miss a tax deadline, contact the tax agency immediately because late payment penalties pile up quickly. The quicker you get in touch with the IRS, the lesser penalty you will have to pay.

4. Messy Recordkeeping

What is the word a small business owner least likes to hear? There are likely a few, but “audit” has to be right at the top of the list. The anxiety that term induces should be reason enough to keep accurate, complete payroll records that are well-organized. The price you pay for not doing that could be fines, penalties, and a plethora of costly payroll-related tax issues. For example, if you accidentally file W-2 forms late, you will pay between $50 and $260 in fines depending upon how late the W-2s are filed.

The same goes for late-filed 1099 forms or any other tax-related documentation. The fines vary. For example, if you do not provide a contract employee with a 1099 form, that’s a $250 fine.

To avoid this issue, keep accurate, complete, up-to-date payroll records for all employees. Mind your paperwork like W-2 forms, timesheets, 1099 forms, and pay records. Also, be sure to retain employee records for the four-year minimum that the IRS requires after an employee leaves your company. FYI: The SBA recommends retaining payroll records for six years.

5. Missed Tax Forms

An extension of point four above targets the end-of-year task that some payroll admins dread – preparing and sending all the necessary tax forms to all employees, whether they are full-time (W-2), part-time (W-2), or independent contractors (1099). Remember, form 1099 is required to be sent to an independent contractor who earned $600 or more during a tax year.

To avoid this issue, make sure tax rates are in order, payroll is correctly calculated, and all forms are correctly filled out and sent to employees promptly.

Payroll-related tax issues are avoidable. Take time to speak to your trusted tax preparer or CPA today so that you avoid these mistakes and keep your business running as it should.

Who Owes You? 5 QuickBooks Online Reports That Can Tell You Fast

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Keep a constant watch on your accounts receivable to improve cash flow.

Quick: How many of your invoices are unpaid? Have any of your customers gone over 30 days past due? Did you bill all of the time and expenses for that project you just completed for a customer?

If you’re doing your accounting manually, there’s simply no way to get that information quickly. Depending on your bookkeeping system, you may not be able to get it at all.

QuickBooks Online has more than one solution for this problem. You see the first one every time you log in. The Dashboard contains a graphic in the upper left corner that tells you how many invoices are overdue and unpaid. Click on the colored bar labeled OVERDUE, and you’ll see a list of invoices with the unpaid ones right at the top.

You can tell at a glance how much of your money is tied up in unpaid invoices.

While this is important information for you to have as you start your workday, it doesn’t tell the whole story. To get that, you’ll need to access some of QuickBooks Online’s reports – five of them in particular. Click Reports in the left vertical pane, and then scroll down to the heading labeled Who owes you.

These reports are listed in two columns. Each has the outline of a star next to it. Click on the star, and the report will be added to the Favorites list at the top of the page. Click on the three vertical dots next to it, and you’ll be able to Customize the report. And as you hover over the title, you’ll see a small, circled question mark. Click on this to get a brief description of the report.

There are several reports in this list that can provide insight into where your outstanding revenue is. We recommend you run five of them at least once a week – more frequently if your business sells large quantities of products and/or services. The suggested are:

Accounts receivable aging detail

This report provides a list of invoices that are overdue, along with aging information. There are several columns in the report, but you’ll want to pay special attention to the last one: OPEN BALANCE.

Tip: If you have many customers or simply a high volume of unpaid invoices, you might consider running the Accounts receivable aging summary instead.

Changing the Content

Before you run the report, you should explore the customization tools provided for it. They won’t be the same for every report, but you can start to get an idea of what can be done. Hover over the report title and click Customize. A panel like the one pictured below will slide out of the right side of the screen.

QuickBooks Online provides deep customization tools for reports.

You can see some of your customization options in the image above. Beyond these, you can also work with filters and headers/footers. When you’re satisfied with your changes, click Run report.

If you want to run a report with its default settings, just click on the report title in the list to display it. You’ll have access to limited customization from there.

Four other reports you should be generating regularly are:

  • Customer Balance Summary: Shows you how much each customer owes your business
  • Open Invoices: Lists invoices for which there has been no payment
  • Unbilled Charges: Just what it sounds like: tells you who hasn’t been invoiced yet for billable charges
  • Unbilled Time: Lists all billable time not yet invoiced

We don’t expect you’ll have any trouble understanding reports like these; they’re fairly self-explanatory. QuickBooks Online offers many other reports, the standard financial reports that need to be generated monthly or quarterly, like Balance Sheet, Profit and Loss, and Statement of Cash Flows. You’ll absolutely need these should you apply for a loan or need to supply in-depth financials for any other reason. We can help you analyze them to get a comprehensive, detailed picture of your company’s fiscal health.

How To Deal With a Past-Due Tax Return

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“Better late than never” applies when it comes to filing income tax returns. Here’s what you should know.

Maybe you didn‘t get your 1040 done in time in a previous year and you figured you couldn’t still file your income taxes. Or maybe you thought you’d owe money that you didn’t have. Or perhaps you simply forgot. The IRS knows that people file late sometimes, and it has systems in place to deal with that.

It’s absolutely critical that you file every year, for a variety of very good reasons. Failure to file means that you might:

  • Accrue interest and penalties.
  • Miss out on a refund (you can claim a refund for up to three years after the return due date).
  • Jeopardize your Social Security benefits. If you’re self-employed and don’t file, you will not be credited for income that year.
  • Have an issue if you can’t supply a tax return to a potential lender.

File It ASAP

As soon as you realize you have a past-due tax return, you should prepare and file it. You can find forms and instructions from prior years here.

If you can’t pay what you owe when you file, you can ask for an additional 60-120 days to fulfill your financial obligation. If that’s not enough time and/or you’re going to need to pay in installments, you can apply for an IRS Payment Plan.

What If You Don’t File?

The short answer is this: The IRS may file a substitute return for you. If this happens, you may not get all of the deductions and credits that you should. So we advise you to still file a tax return that includes everything, even if the IRS already prepared a substitute return. The agency usually adjusts the return they created to reflect credits, deductions, and exemptions when they’re made aware of them.

The IRS will notify you if the agency files a substitute return. You’ll receive a Notice of Deficiency (CP3219N), otherwise known as a 90-day letter, which gives you 90 days to either file your return or submit a petition to Tax Court.

If you fail to do either of those things, the IRS will go ahead with its proposed assessment, which will, of course, trigger a tax bill. Failure to pay it will result in your account going into the collection process. This can include the filing of a federal tax lien or a levy on your bank account or wages. If you continue to ignore the bill, you may be subject to additional penalties and/or criminal prosecution.

Potential Problems

You may find as you’re preparing your return that you need additional information. For example, you might need information from a tax return filed in a prior year. If that happens, you can use the IRS’ Get Transcript service. Or maybe you’re missing wage and other income information from the year of the return you’re filing. You can always contact your employer or other source of income. Or you can complete an IRS Form 4506-T, Request for Transcript of Tax Return and check Box 8. The agency can provide data from Form W-2, Form 1099 and 1098 series, and Form 5498 series.

Where to Send Your Past-Due Return

If you realized on your own that you didn’t file a return and wish to file it, you should send it the same way and to the same address that was originally indicated. If you received a notice, though, submit it to the address provided on it. The IRS says it takes roughly six weeks to process a completed past-due return.

Any correspondence from the IRS can create a lot of anxiety, as can realizing you missed a tax deadline, perhaps by a lot. We encourage you to contact us if you’re at all concerned about a return you didn’t file. We can help you understand what your options are and how to proceed. We can also help with tax planning throughout the year, so you don’t have to deal with a past-due return again.

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Were you owed a refund on your income taxes but didn’t file a return for that year? You have up to three years to file and claim it.

There are many reasons why you should always file an income tax return, no matter what. Interest and penalties are one consequence.

Need to file an income tax return from a previous year? You can find the forms you need here.

Did you neglect to file an income tax return from a prior year? We can help you understand how to proceed.

7 Small Business Tax Credits You Should Know About for 2021

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Notebook with tax credit sign on a table. Business concept.Small businesses benefit from various tax credits that reduce the amount of tax they pay to the government. Here, we discuss tax credits, why they exist and provide a list of the top tax credits that small business owners should know.

Small Business Tax Credits

A small business tax credit is an amount of money subtracted from the taxes the business owes. Tax credits differ from tax deductions. For example, deductions cut a business’ total tax by a percentage of the deduction, depending on the tax bracket. Alternatively, tax credits reduce the tax due, not the amount of taxable income. In other words, a small business tax credit is a dollar for dollar deal – every dollar of credit cuts the business’ tax by a whole dollar. This credit is a significant benefit for small business owners because it helps recover some operating costs and retains the precious capital needed for growth.

As a practical example, if your business owes $20,000 in taxes, but you can claim a $5,000 tax credit, that amount is subtracted from your total tax bill making the new tax bill $15,000.

The Purpose of Small Business Tax Credits

The U.S. government grants tax credits to promote behaviors it finds favorable. For example, tax credits are offered to businesses as incentives for activities that benefit employees, promote specific industries, or aid or benefit society. One example is the government offering tax credits to businesses that purchase electric vehicles. The government encourages this to fight climate change and global warming. Because tax credits can have such a dramatic impact on a small business’s bottom line, it is crucial to stay apprised of tax credits for which your business is eligible.

7 Small Business Tax Credits for 2021

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, related tax credits for small businesses top the list.

1. Employee Retention Credit

Under the American Rescue Plan, the Employee Retention Credit (ERC) is extended for small businesses through December 2021 and is available for all four quarters of the year. This tax credit allows small businesses to offset payroll tax liabilities by up to $7,000 per employee per quarter. That means a credit of up to $28,000 per employee is available for small businesses whose revenue declined due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A 20 percent decline in gross receipts during a single quarter makes a business eligible for this tax credit.

2. Paid Leave Credit

Another tax credit that falls under the American Rescue Plan is the Paid Leave Credit. This credit is extended through September 30, 2021, and offers credits for small and midsize businesses that offer paid leave to employees for COVID-related illness, quarantine, or family caregiving. The allowable credit is equal to wages up to $5,000 of paid leave for sick or quarantining employees.

Note: Small businesses are no longer required by law to offer paid leave related to COVID; however, if they do, the credit still applies.

Other tax credits of which small businesses should be aware are:

3. Health Care Tax Credit

With the Health Care Tax Credit, the smaller the business, the bigger the credit. The credit is highest for businesses with fewer than ten employees. Generally, the way to qualify for the credit is by enrolling in a Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP).

A business must meet the following requirements to qualify:

  • (a) have fewer than 25 full-time employees,
  • (b) have an average employee salary of approximately $50,000 per year or less,
  • (c) pay at least 50 percent of full-time employees’ healthcare premiums, and
  • (d) offer SHOP coverage to all full-time employees.

This credit can be claimed for two consecutive years, applicable from 2017 forward.

4. Work Opportunity Credit

This credit is available to employers who hire from specific groups that face barriers to employment. For example:

  • Qualified IV-A Recipient – receiving TANF assistance
  • Qualified Veteran – the IRS provides details of what “qualified” entails on their site under Tax Credits
  • Ex-Felon
  • Designated Community Resident (DCR) – between 18 and 40 years old and living in an empowerment zone, an enterprise community, or a renewal community
  • Vocational Rehabilitation Referral – a person who has a physical or mental disability and has been referred to the employer while receiving or upon completion of rehabilitative services
  • Summer Youth Employee
  • Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Recipient
  • Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Recipient
  • Long-Term Family Assistance Recipient
  • Qualified Long-Term Unemployment Recipient

Under the Consolidated Appropriation Act, 2021, this credit was extended until December 31, 2025.

5. Disabled Access Credit

Eligible small businesses that earn $1 million or less and have a maximum of 30 full-time employees in a year can claim this credit each year in which expenditures are incurred to make their business accessible to persons with disabilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Expenditures include, but are not limited to, installing wheelchair ramps, upgrading restrooms, and providing Braille text materials.

6. Employer-Provided Childcare Facilities and Services

While few businesses these days seem to provide in-house child care for their employees’ children, a tax credit can make this an attractive option. This credit is a general business tax credit for 25 percent of qualified employer-provided child care expenditures plus 10 percent of qualified child care resources and referral expenditures. The credit is capped at $150,000 per tax year.

Qualifying expenditures:

  • Include operating costs of a qualified child care facility
  • Include costs for acquisition, construction, rehabilitation, or expansion of a property used as a care facility (but not land or any part of the principal residence of the taxpayer)
  • May not exceed the fair market value of care provided

The employer-run facility must open enrollment to employees and must not discriminate in favor of highly compensated employees. At least 30 percent of the facility’s enrollment must consist of dependents of taxpayer employees.

7. Research and Development (R&D) Tax Credits

Several R&D tax credits exist for small businesses. These credits typically apply to science, medical and technology-based businesses; however, many businesses engage in qualified R&D activity.

The following activities qualify for an R&D tax credit:

  • New prototype or model development
  • Proprietary product on which you seek a patent
  • Developing a new manufacturing process or business process
  • Improving product efficiency or existing business processes
  • Improving quality control processes
  • Environmental or certification testing

Businesses that qualify for this credit can subtract up to 10 percent of R&D costs from their tax bill.

Ask your tax professional about small business tax credits that apply to your business. There are additional federal small-business tax credits from state and local governments. Tax credits often expire after a few years, so act quickly to take advantage of those that apply to you.

Employee or Independent Contractor? The Differences

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Businesswoman working at the officeThe distinction may be challenging to make sometimes, but the IRS has very strict rules about it.

Depending on the size of your business, onboarding a new hire can involve a lot of reading and writing for both of you. You may want the new worker to fill out a personal profile. There could be a company handbook for the individual to read and detailed job specifications and a contract to absorb. And tax forms.

But which tax forms? That depends entirely on whether your new staff member is an independent contractor or an employee. The distinction involves more complex issues than their actual physical work location (your office or elsewhere) and their schedule (full-time 9-5 or an odd assortment of part-time hours).

The IRS takes this distinction very seriously. So seriously, in fact, that it’s been known to do lengthy investigations of large companies to determine whether staff members are being classified correctly.

Tax plan tips

You’ll need to determine whether workers are employees or independent contractors, so you know which tax form to send in January, a 1099-NEC or a W-2.

Three Factors

If you’re hoping for a magic formula that will help you make this determination, you’re not going to get one from the IRS. The agency does lay out the factors it looks at, but they’re somewhat murky. You have to look at three different elements of the relationship between management and workers as you try to make this call. They are:

  • Behavioral. How do the workers do their jobs, and what do they actually do? Does the boss control this or the employee/contractor?
  • Financial. Do workers pay for their own computers and smartphones and the other supplies and tools required to do their jobs, or does management? How are individuals paid? Are their expenses reimbursed? You’ll need to look at various aspects of the business relationship.
  • Type of relationship. Will this be an ongoing relationship? Are there “extras” involved besides basic compensation, like employee benefits (health insurance, retirement plans, etc.) and written contracts? Will the new staff member be providing a work product that is a “key aspect of the business?”

What you’re looking closely at here is control. How much control does the boss have over employees or independent contractors?

You may get frustrated as you try to answer these questions. It may seem that some of your answers would indicate that the individual is an independent contractor, while others point to employee status. You might also discover that some of the individual’s work and workdays fit one definition while other work would indicate the other.

Like we said earlier, there’s no magic formula you can use to make this determination.

A Helpful IRS Form

Tax plan tips

If you absolutely can’t determine whether an individual is an employee or independent contractor, you can try to get help from the IRS by completing a Form SS-8.

You may find that you simply can’t make a determination based on how the IRS wants you to define your relationship with a specific worker. If that’s the case, you can complete and submit the multi-page IRS Form SS-8: Determination of Worker Status for Purposes of Federal Employment Taxes and Income Tax Withholding. This may help, but unfortunately, it takes roughly six months for the IRS to respond to your query. It may even take longer considering the slowdowns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

You’ll also have to contact your state’s labor office because each state has its own criteria for determining a worker’s status based on unemployment insurance and workers’ compensation laws. In addition to the questions the IRS poses, some states ask you to consider how economically dependent the person is on your business. Go to this page to find contact information for your own state’s labor offices.

Help With Onboarding?

If you’re in the process of hiring a new staff member or plan to during 2021, keep in mind that you’ll need to know immediately which IRS tax form you need to have them complete before you pay them for the first time. An independent contractor will get a W-9 (usually no taxes withheld) and an employee, a W-4 (taxes withheld).

Hiring an independent contractor is generally fairly easy. They usually send you invoices for their work. You pay them, and they’re responsible for their own income taxes. Onboarding an employee, however, is a more complex process, primarily because of the income tax piece. We encourage you to contact us if you’re having trouble distinguishing between employees and contractors and/or if you’d like help dealing with taxes for a new hire. We’ve worked with other small businesses in this area, and we’d be happy to assist you.

Why Business Structure Matters

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Business people talking in officeWhen you start a business, there are endless decisions to make. Among the most important is how to structure your business. Why is it so significant? Because the structure you choose will affect how your business is taxed and the degree to which you (and other owners) can be held personally liable. Here’s an overview of the various structures.

Sole Proprietorship

This is a popular structure for single-owner businesses. No separate business entity is formed, although the business may have a name (often referred to as a DBA, short for “doing business as”). A sole proprietorship does not limit liability, but insurance may be purchased.

You report your business income and expenses on Schedule C, an attachment to your personal income tax return (Form 1040). Net earnings the business generates are subject to both self-employment taxes and income taxes. Sole proprietors may have employees but don’t take paychecks themselves.

Limited Liability Company

If you want protection for your personal assets in the event your business is sued, you might prefer a limited liability company (LLC). An LLC is a separate legal entity that can have one or more owners (called “members”). Usually, income is taxed to the owners individually, and earnings are subject to self-employment taxes.

Note: It’s not unusual for lenders to require a small LLC’s owners to personally guarantee any business loans.

Corporation

A corporation is a separate legal entity that can transact business in its own name and files corporate income tax returns. Like an LLC, a corporation can have one or more owners (shareholders). Shareholders generally are protected from personal liability but can be held responsible for repaying any business debts they’ve personally guaranteed.

If you make a “Subchapter S” election, shareholders will be taxed individually on their share of corporate income. This structure generally avoids federal income taxes at the corporate level.

Partnership

In certain respects, a partnership is similar to an LLC or an S corporation. However, partnerships must have at least one general partner who is personally liable for the partnership’s debts and obligations. Profits and losses are divided among the partners and taxed to them individually.

Let’s talk about the future of your new business. Call us at (336) 354-4352 to schedule a free initial consultation and learn more about how our Winston-Salem CPA Firm can help you get your new business off the ground.