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Small Business Tax Calendar for January 2009
The following list of January tax dates is intended to be useful for accountants, bookkeepers and small business owners:
Year-End Payroll To Do's
Year-end is a busy time from a payroll perspective. Following is a list of payroll-related things to remember to do:
Download a Free Small Business Tax Calendar from the IRS
The IRS 2009 tax calendar for small businesses and self-employed people is filled with useful information on general business tax issues, IRS and SSA customer assistance, electronic filing and paying options, retirement plans, business publications and forms, common tax filing dates, and more. Download it from the IRS's website.
Are Office Holiday Parties Deductible?
Occasional parties for the purpose of employee welfare are fully deductible to the business. They are not subject to the 50% limit on meals and entertainment. In addition, they are considered to be de minimis fringe benefits and, therefore, are nontaxable to employees. Therefore, have an office holiday party in December, an office golf outing in the summer, or an office cocktail party to celebrate spring. Better yet, have all three. The odds are that if you can justify the expense as being good for the business, then you can probably justify the deduction as well.
IRS Sets First Quarter 2009 Interest Rates
The IRS recently announced that they are lowering interest rates by 1% effective January 1, 2009. Therefore, beginning January 1st, 2009, the interest rates will be:
Handling Independent Contractors in QuickBooks
When setting up independent contractors in QuickBooks, set them up as vendors, not as employees. This is an important distinction. If you aren't certain whether the individual is an employee or independent contractor (and hence a vendor), see my prior blog titled "Independent Contractor or Employee?".
Are Christmas Gifts to Employees Taxable?
Many companies give small gifts to their employees at Christmas time. Gifts such as fruit baskets, entertainment tickets, and other small items are generally considered de minimis fringe benefits and are nontaxable. Cash gifts, on the other hand, are considered wages and are subject to all taxes and withholdings. In addition, gift certificates are treated as cash. Therefore, if you want to give your employees turkeys at Christmas time, give them the actual turkeys (or a certificate to pick up a turkey). Do not give them a $15 gift certificate to the grocery store.
Creating Statements in QuickBooks for All Open Transactions
One of the best ways to increase the amount of cash you have in the bank is to increase the speed at which you collect your receivables. One of the best ways to collect your receivables faster is to remind customers with overdue invoices that they owe you money. Fortunately, QuickBooks makes this very easy. I recommend creating statements in QuickBooks on a regular basis (weekly, bi-weekly, monthly - depends on your business) for all customers that have overdue invoices. Then quickly scan through the statements and decide which ones to send out. Why create statements for all customers if you will only send some of them out? Because it's so easy to do so and doing so prevents you from forgetting to send statements to some customers that should get them.
