The Employee Retention Credit (ERC) is a refundable tax credit for certain eligible business and tax-exempt organizations that had employees and were affected during the COVID-19 pandemic. The ERC Voluntary Disclosure Program is meant to help employers pay back the money they received after incorrectly filing for ERC claims. Businesses who incorrectly claimed the ERC [...]
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has had a long backlog that, due in part to funding received in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, it only began to catch up on in mid-2023. In the meantime, the IRS’s backlogs and delays might have lulled taxpayers into a false sense of security. [...]
There are many reasons businesses fall behind on paying their federal tax liabilities. Falling behind on certain kinds of taxes, sometimes called “trust fund” taxes, may result in the IRS assessing those taxes against the business owners, officers, or other individuals the IRS considers to be “responsible” for ensuring the payment of those taxes. Federal [...]
Starting January 1, 2018, through December 31, 2025, job-related moving expenses are no longer tax-free. The newly enacted Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) makes many significant changes to employee benefits, including changes to the treatment of job-related moving expenses. Prior to the enactment of TCJA, the cost of moving an employee, their family, and [...]
Are Sexual Harassment Settlement Payments and Attorney Fees Tax Deductible? It depends on whether the business requires a nondisclosure agreement as part of the settlement. Previously, under IRC §162, businesses were allowed a deduction for amounts paid in connection with a legal settlement pursuant to employee complaints such as discrimination and sexual harassment. However, Section [...]
The IRS appears to be more serious about pursuing and prosecuting companies that do not pay their employment taxes. The IRS’s first step to address this problem with unpaid employment taxes is to contact these companies as early as possible, hoping this early intervention will prevent the misuse of withheld taxes from ever occurring. Sixty-nine [...]
Settlements in legal disputes between employers and employees can vary significantly depending on whether the amounts to be received are taxable. For example, two parties in separate lawsuits can each agree to a settlement of $500,000. But, because one settlement is taxable and the other is not taxable, one party may receive $500,000 and the [...]
This is the fourth article in a series dedicated to using Section 530 of the Revenue Act of 1978 as protection for businesses that have been using independent contractors, in good faith, but are now facing an IRS or State of Minnesota audit of that practice. Section 530 may be 34 years old, but it [...]
This is the second article in a series dedicated to using Section 530 of the Revenue Act of 1978 as protection for businesses that have been using independent contractors, in good faith, but are now facing an IRS or State of Minnesota audit of that practice. Section 530 may be 34 years old, but it [...]