In a society increasingly conscious of well-being, with the costs of health care benefits remaining high, many businesses have established or are considering employee wellness programs. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has defined these programs as “a health promotion activity or organization-wide policy designed to support healthy behaviors and improve health outcomes … Read More
The extended deadline for filing 2020 tax returns, May 17, is almost here. Even with the delayed deadline granted due to COVID-19, some people will still need more time to file. Anyone may request an automatic tax-filing extension, but the IRS allows some people to have extra time without asking. Among them are certain disaster … Read More
The U.S. Labor Department has withdrawn its employee-independent contractor classification rule. The rule would have generally found “gig economy” and certain other workers to be independent contractors under federal labor law. The Trump era rule, intended to take effect on March 8, 2021, would have reaffirmed an “economic reality” test to determine whether an individual … Read More
With so many employees working remotely these days, engaging in competitive intelligence has never been easier. The Internet as a whole, and social media specifically, create a data-rich environment in which you can uncover a wide variety of information on what your competitors are up to. All you or an employee need do is open … Read More
A new IRS webpage provides guidance to taxpayers on advance child tax credit (CTC) payments in 2021. The credit was temporarily expanded and made refundable for 2021 by the American Rescue Plan Act. Eligible taxpayers are allowed a CTC for each qualifying child, defined as: 1) a child under age 18, 2) someone the taxpayer … Read More
A large number of people, including some who haven’t filed tax returns before, or haven’t filed recently, will be receiving Economic Impact Payments (EIPs) soon. The IRS announced it is disbursing nearly 2 million payments in the sixth batch of EIPs, which are available through the American Rescue Plan Act. Also receiving payments this time … Read More
Do you owe taxes but haven’t yet filed your 2020 return? There’s still time to file your return by the May 17, 2021 due date and avoid a late filing penalty. But what if you can’t pay what you owe? To limit penalties and interest, you should pay as much as you can by the … Read More
In a Revenue Procedure, the IRS has updated certain inflation-adjusted amounts in light of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). The 2021 inflation amounts were announced in late 2020, however the ARPA changed some of these amounts. Among other changes, solely for tax years beginning in 2021, the ARPA increased the refundable portion of the … Read More
A recent study found that the top 1% of taxpayers failed to report 20% of their income. The National Bureau of Economic Research found that these taxpayers failed to pay more than $175 billion in taxes owed. However, due to budget cuts, the IRS doesn’t have the resources to fully investigate this tax evasion. Audit … Read More
President Biden outlined some of his tax proposals in his address to Congress on April 28. The White House also released a fact sheet on The American Families Plan, which contains tax breaks for low-and-middle-income taxpayers and tax increases on those making over $400,000 per year. The proposals include: extending the increased 2021 Child Tax … Read More