Dec 30, 2016
This Podcast Is Episode Number 0197 And It Will Be About Contractors Last Minute Payroll Deadline For 2016
Happy New Year 2017!
It’s almost the end of the year and time to decide if your
employees deserve a Bonus. You may call it a
Generic Employee Bonus, Christmas Bonus, Holiday Bonus or Year End
Bonus
Giving An
Employee Bonus Comes Down To Cash Flow
Here Are Some Key Questions To Ask Yourself:
- Can I afford to give a bonus?
- Can I afford to give a Bonus to my employees?
- Do I want to give a Bonus to each of my employees?
- How do I decide how much Bonus should I give?
- Reality Check - Is Bonus Taxable?
Starting with the last question first. In most cases, it may be
taxable. All forms of Income including Bonus is income to your
employee. All income is subject to State, Federal Payroll Taxes and
is part of the employee’s W-2.
The most common are to give your employee a set amount known as a
‘Net Check”. It would not quite seem the same to say here is your
bonus for $200.00 but the actual check received is for $169.04.
Your employee is going to think you are tacky, cheap and you can
afford to give them a Big Bonus.
Instead, what you give the employee is a check for $200.00 and the
company pays all the payroll taxes.
The value of the bonus is a lot higher when a check is grossed up
(meaning you the employer pays all the taxes, company half,
employee half of Social Security, Medicare, Federal Withholding,
State, Local Taxes)
Review all the outstanding Employee Advances
When an Employee Advance is given, are the employees
automatically setup on a repayment plan?
Or, in your mind, the Money is a Payroll Advance with a loose
payment plan. You are expecting to sit down and work out something
more defined later.
Later is 5 Minutes before you give them the check.
- Did your employee think the money was a non-taxed bonus?
- Did your employee think Non-taxable reimbursement because (fill in the blank)?
- Did your employee think was a Gift because (fill in the blank)?
- Did your employee think it is a net payroll check?
If your employee leaves, quits or gets fired, they usually
expect their employee advance is paid in full. Either as a gift or
was actually, all unpaid Employee Advances were net payroll checks.
Usually, employees think all Payroll Advances as Net Payroll checks
if they are planning to collect Unemployment.
As payroll, the amount of the check will increase their projected
State Unemployment Benefits. Thinking of all my own clients over
the years and with my clients with payroll; it has been by
exception that the former employee will send money to cover an
outstanding payment plan.
Without a written payment plan signed by the employee, Washington
State does not allow the employer to withhold the remaining balance
out of the employee’s final payroll check.
Sometimes an employee starts out as a 1099 Contactor. It can be a
shock when converting a 1099 Contactor to a W-2 Employee for both
the employee and the employer. Everyone is used to no taxes being
taken out.
IRS Rule is anyone
receiving over $600 or more for the calendar year needs to receive
1099 form
1099 Contractor need to meet the rules of being an Independent
Contactor (Trade Contractor or General Contractor) otherwise they
can be classified as an employee with back payroll taxes due.
Some states it is more common for Contactors to have mostly 1099
Contractors over formal W-2 Employees. All 1099 Contactors
including your Trade Contractors and General Contractors need to be
providing you with a W-9. https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw9.pdf
In 2016 IRS expanded list of those who receive 1099’s to include
Attorneys.
Quick Note: Merchant Service Providers, Online Merchant Service
Providers are required to provide 1099’s to their
clients.
IRS intends to levy increased penalties
in 2017 for 1099 Non-File or Late Filers
IRS requires that 1099 be sent to the Independent Contractor and to
the IRS. IRS has shorted the deadlines for 1099’s; they are
now due on January 31, 2017, same as the employee’s
W-2.
Reminder About Your Payroll – You have been putting it off and
putting it off. It’s now time to make a decision. It is
easy as a Sole Prop or a Member of an LLC treated as a Sole
Proprietor No Payroll or W2 required. The rule is that all your Net
Profit and Draws are subject to Payroll Tax.
Do not forget that as S-Corp Officers you must have a payroll
with a W-2. You are an employee of the corporation and therefore
required to have payroll. It does not have to be dollar for dollar
on the amount in your Loan To Shareholder account, but it must be a
reasonable wage. Your Tax Accountant can help determine “What Is
Reasonable.”
Starting Off The New Year
If you contracting company is a Sole Proprietor you may want to consider changing your legal status to S-Corp starting January 1, 2017
If your contracting company is an LLC, you may want to consider
filing the IRS Form 2553 to be taxed as an S-Corp or change to an
S-Corp.
Year End
Review – Time flies when everyone is busy
Start Now - Review your records for the following items:
- Missing Federal Tax ID’s and request the W-9.
- Have all your employees verify their pay stub for the correct address.
- Check Apartment numbers and zip codes. Have any of the neighborhoods been annexed into the city?
Other changes is the IRS Form I-9 was revised November 14, 2016,
for new employees.
The new form will be mandatory to use in January 2017.
Year End Accounting Clean Up
- Your Tax Accountant will be sending your booklet with what they want for records.
- As you are looking to the New Year?
- What are the loose odds and ends missing for this year?
- Do you have a formal Accounting System?
- Does it need to be cleanup up the Accounting beyond the last couple of months?
- Do you have bank statements?
- Can you find all your receipts?
Tax Accountants do “work
arounds” to be able to file your annual taxes. At some point,
the Tax Accountant may refuse to clean up and deal with the Lack of
Good Records or Messy Records.
As the economy improves; tax accountants will have more clients who
want their taxes done.
It all gets down to Time | Scope | Money
A good tax accountant can do Many Simple or Less Complicated
Returns in the same amount of time it takes to do a Messy Complex
Business Return. More Tax Returns become more Complex than is
really necessary because the documents or lack of documents make it
Messy and Hard To Deal With.
Your Reason To Turn It All
Over To The Tax Accountant
It’s cheaper to have the Tax Accountant do it than hire a
Bookkeeping Service and I don’t want to do it myself because it’s
Hard.
Yes - The Tax Accountant can and maybe will do a workaround that is
just enough to do the taxes. If you are missing 5%, 10%, 15% or
even more; the tax accountant is going to use what you provided,
and it will be by exception, your tax accountant will
ask for missing documents or even notice they are missing.
Tax accountant will assume you gave them everything you had. When
in reality you gave The Tax Accountant only what You thought The
Tax Accountant needed versus all of the records that might save you
additional money in taxes.
Only you can decide if the lack of good records was worth the low
price. A good accounting system will help you make Better Decisions
on what to buy when to buy and which type of jobs to accept?
When you afford to accept payment plans from your clients?
When is the need or ability to raise your prices!
Happy New Year – 2017 is just around the corner - Are you
Ready?
Click Here For A Timeless Article About Year- End Closing Tips For QuickBooks
I trust this podcast helps you understand that outsourcing your contractors bookkeeping services to us is about more than just “doing the bookkeeping”; it is about taking holistic approach to your entire construction company and helping support you as a contractor and as a person.
We Remove Contractor's Unique Paperwork Frustrations
We understand the good, bad and the ugly about owning and operating construction companies because we have had several of them and we sincerely care about you and your construction company!
That is all I have for now and if you have listened this far please do me the honor of commenting and rating podcast www.FastEasyAccounting.com/podcast Tell me what you liked, did not like, tell it as you see it because your feedback is crucial and I thank you in advance.
You Deserve To Be Wealthy, Because You Bring Value To Other People's Lives!
I trust this will be of value to you and your feedback is always welcome at www.FastEasyAccounting.com/podcast
This is one more example of how Fast Easy Accounting is helping construction company owners across the USA including Alaska and Hawaii put more money in the bank to operate and grow your construction company. Construction accounting is not rocket science; it is a lot harder than that and a lot more valuable to construction contractors like you so stop missing out and call Sharie 206-361-3950 or email sharie@fasteasyaccounting.com
Contractor Bookkeeping Done For You!
Thinking About Outsourcing Your Contractors Bookkeeping Services?
Click On The Link Below:
This guide will help you learn what to look for in outsourced construction accounting.
Need Help Now?
Call Sharie 206-361-3950
Thank you very much and I hope you understand we really do care
about you and all contractors regardless of whether or not you ever
hire our services.
Bye for now until our next episode here on the Contractors Success
MAP Podcast.
Warm Regards,
Randal DeHart | Contractors Accountant
Our Workflow Removes Your Paperwork Frustrations
For Contractors Who Prefer
To Do Your Own Bookkeeping...
Fast Easy Accounting
Do-It-Yourself
Construction
Accounting Store Is Open
Most Contractors Setup QuickBooks Desktop Version In One Of Three Ways:
#1 EZ Step Interview inside QuickBooks Setup
#2 Asked Their Tax Accountant To Setup QuickBooks
#3 They Attended A How To Setup QuickBooks Class Or Seminar
And QuickBooks Does Not Work The Way They Want It Too!
The Answer:
#1 Click Here To Buy An Entire QuickBooks Setup For Your Specific Contracting Company
#2 Click Here To Buy Just The Chart Of Accounts For Your Specific Contracting Company
Contractors_Success_MAP, Contractors_Success_Marketing_Accounting_Production, Contractor_Bookkeeping_Services, QuickBooks_For_Contractors, QuickBooks_For_Contractors,Contractors_Success_Map_Contractors_Last_Minute_Payroll_Deadline_For_2016