Returning Value Blog

Are you a business owner thinking about hiring? Be aware that a recent law extended a credit for hiring individuals from one or more targeted groups. Employers can qualify for a tax credit known as the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) that’s worth as much as $2,400 for each eligible employee ($4,800, $5,600, and $9,600 for certain veterans and $9,000 for “long-term family assistance recipients”). The credit is generally limited to eligible employees who began work for the employer before January 1, 2026.

Beginning on January 1, 2021, the standard mileage rates for the use of a car (also vans, pickups or panel trucks) are:

Small business owners are well aware of the increasing cost of employee health care benefits. As a result, your business may be interested in providing some of these benefits through an employer-sponsored Health Savings Account (HSA). Or perhaps you already have an HSA. It’s a good time to review how these accounts work since the IRS recently announced the relevant inflation-adjusted amounts for 2021.

Businesses that would typically provide a Form 1099-MISC to independent contractors (and certain others) and the IRS need to be aware of new IRS Form 1099-NEC. For non-employee compensation paid during 2020, payers must provide Form 1099-NEC (instead of Form 1099-MISC) to the recipients and to the IRS no later than January 31, 2021. In addition, the IRS has redesigned Form 1099-MISC, so businesses should expect that reporting may be somewhat different from past years.

On August 8, President Trump signed four executive actions, including a Presidential Memorandum, to defer the employee’s portion of Social Security taxes for some people. These actions were taken in an effort to offer more relief due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

There’s a new IRS form for business taxpayers that pay or receive nonemployee compensation.

Outsourcing may appeal to organizations that are currently struggling with mounting overhead costs during the COVID-19 crisis. By outsourcing, you convert certain fixed overhead costs associated with compensating and supporting employees into variable costs that can be scaled back in an economic downturn — or dialed up in times of growth and transition.

Many companies struggle to close the books at the end of the month. The month-end close requires accounting personnel to round up data from across the organization. Under normal conditions, this process can strain internal resources.

As a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis, your business may be using independent contractors to keep costs low. But you should be careful that these workers are properly classified for federal tax purposes. If the IRS reclassifies them as employees, it can be an expensive mistake.

The recently enacted Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act provides a refundable payroll tax credit for 50% of wages paid by eligible employers to certain employees during the COVID-19 pandemic. The employee retention credit is available to employers, including nonprofit organizations, with operations that have been fully or partially suspended as a result of a government order limiting commerce, travel or group meetings.