Reminder: Time to file Foreign Bank Account Reports (FBAR)
Those who have accounts in foreign banks must file their Foreign Bank Account Report, or FBAR, by June 30. Any person in the United States is required to file an FBAR if: You had a financial interest in or signature authority over at least one financial account located outside of the United States; and The […]
Fake IRS agent scam is on the rise
Cases of identity fraud usually spike around tax season, but some scams are taking a more sinister turn. A large number of people have reported to local law enforcement and federal agencies, including the IRS, that they have received calls from people posing as IRS agents who claim the taxpayer owes taxes and demand immediate […]
What to know when verifying your ID with the IRS
If the IRS needs to contact you regarding concerns about identity theft or if you have filed a report that your identity has been stolen, there are a few things you need to know. Most importantly, if the IRS needs to verify your identity, it will send you a 5071C letter. You’ll need to have your […]
Employees can now receive paychecks on debit cards
Payday in Georgia has just got a little more convenient for some lower wage workers. Gov. Nathan Deal recently signed into a law a bill that allows employers to give employees the option of receiving a traditional paycheck, having wages directly deposited into a bank account or receiving their payroll on a prepaid debit card. […]
Classified: Employees or independent contractor?
The number of employees a company has and the number of hours worked now take on more significance for business owners since federal healthcare coverage requirements are based on those variables. As a result, some employers are tempted to try to classify workers as independent contractors rather than employees. The Department of Labor and the […]
Are you EMV ready?
Credit card fraud costs nearly $9 million each year in the United States, so in an effort to reduce the level of loss, merchants must switch by October to a new, more secure way of processing credit card payments. The EuroPay, MasterCard and Visa, or EMV, chip technology is designed to reduce fraud and protect […]
New year is a good time review deposit rules
Now that the calendar has turned to 2015, this is a good time to remind employers of the 941 tax deposit rules. These employment taxes include (1) both the employee and employer share of FICA tax; (2) the additional 0.9 percent Medicare tax withheld from employees’ wages; and (3) federal income tax withheld from employees’ […]
Monstrously good time
Sparkmon & Associates, CPAs, team members had a frightfully good time when they joined together to participate in the Monster Dash run this past fall. Pictured here, from left, are Kasey Dean, Natassia Hoke, Lindsey Pierce, Krystle Keys, Dana Palmer, Christy Key, Cyndi Jackson and Alysha Pruitt.
Child support withholding forms change
If you have to withhold child support from an employee’s paycheck, make sure you receive an official and updated Income Withholding Order. Every three years, the federal Office of Child Support Enforcement revises the standard Income Withholding Order, or IWO. All child support withholding orders must be issued on IWOs and the OCSE recently updated […]
It’s worth some thought
Most parents would do just about anything to help out their children, to give them advantages perhaps not available when they were younger. But consider this anecdote provided to Money magazine recently from a person whose parents apparently had their own ideas about what cultivates success: “After I graduated from college, I asked my parents […]