Emergency Update October 6th, 2014<

Due to severe weather conditions impacting Sarasota, our offices are currently closed. We are anticipating extreme damage to the area and disruptions in services. With the traditional October 15th tax deadline fast approaching, we understand the urgency of your filings, however the deadline has already been adjusted for taxpayers due to Hurricane Helene.

We expect the IRS to issue continued deadline relief for affected areas, and we will update you as soon as more information becomes available. Please stay safe.

As the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) ramps up its outreach efforts, it's crucial for small business owners and self-employed individuals to stay informed about the Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) reporting requirements. With the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) now in full effect, over 32 million businesses are required to report detailed information about their beneficial owners. Here’s what you need to know to ensure compliance and avoid costly penalties.

Business and individual taxpayers that acquire nonresidential real property or residential rental property have an opportunity to reduce the depreciable lives on assets which are building components. Certain assets may qualify for shorter lives and recovery periods under MACRS depreciation. The reduction of the asset lives provides accelerated deductions to offset income.

As of October 1, 2021, Florida businesses are required to inform the state of all new or rehired employees, and independent contractors paid more than $600.00. While previously small businesses were exempt from reporting their employees, the law was expanded under Florida Statute § 409.2576.

Now, small businesses need to report such hires and contractors to State Directory of New Hires within 20 days. The law’s intention is to enhance enforcement of child support payments; however, the law establishes that the State may share information with the following state programs:

The US House of Representatives approved Families First Coronavirus Response Bill could provide $15 million to worth of tax credits for paid sick, family, and medical leave. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin stated that "this bill will provide significant relief to small businesses that cannot afford the employee costs associated with coronavirus.... The bill provides a dollar for dollar reimbursement for coronavirus related sick leave costs. To protect businesses concerned about cash flow, the Treasury will use its regulatory authority to advance funds to employers in a number of ways," Furthermore he added. "Employers will be able to use cash deposited with the IRS to pay sick leave wages. Additionally, for businesses that would not have sufficient taxes to draw from, Treasury will use its regulatory authority to make advances to small businesses to cover such costs."

Note, as of March 17, 2020 this bill has not passed the US Senate.

In summary the bill provides the following tax credits:

Taxpayers who use their home for business may be eligible to claim a home office deduction. It allows qualifying taxpayers to deduct certain home expenses on their tax return. This can reduce the amount of the taxpayer’s taxable income. Here are some things to help taxpayers understand the home office deduction and whether they can claim it:

For existing clients who wish to request an extension, please fill out the following document:

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was signed by President Trump on December 22. The Act makes sweeping changes to the U.S. tax code and impacts virtually every taxpayer. For businesses, tax benefits include a reduction in the corporate tax rate, increase in the bonus depreciation allowance, an enhancement to the Code Sec. 179 expense and repeal of the alternative minimum tax. Owners of partnerships, S corporations, and sole proprietorships are allowed a temporary deduction as a percentage of qualified income of pass-through entities, subject to a number of limitations and qualifications. On the other hand, numerous business tax preferences are eliminated.

In 2014, consumers were subjected to security breach after security breach as major retailers and service providers disclosed that they had involuntarily shared your personal data. While this is an extremely dangerous trend, the majority affected could move on with only being inconvenienced. However, over the past few years, a new form of digital extortion has arisen that has damaged unprepared small businesses—Ransomware.

Ransomware is state of the art extortion that combines: Your Data, Bitcoin, Software Insecurity, Cryptography, Phishing Attacks, and Organized Crime. Ask yourself, would your business survive if you lost 100% of your data and backups? Could you afford a $1,000.00 to $100,000.00 ransom? Likely law enforcement will not be able to help.