We will be closing our offices in celebration of the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. Our holiday schedule will be:
From our family to yours, we wish you a very Merry Christmas and prosperous New Year!
Congratulations to all our employees that were promoted to Supervisor at our recent State of the Firm!
From left to right, A&A Department: Jessica Gesselman, Drew Zuckerman, Laura Boden, Mitchell Meurer. Tax Department: Adam Caldwell, Esme Allen, Diane Claybon, Seth Ferguson, Susan Theising. Outsourcing Department, Client Accounting Implementation Expert: Jeremy Wann. Marketing Department: Senior Marketing Coordinator: Leslie Wight.
We are so grateful to our hard working team! Congratulations to all!
Some common retirement plan questions and concerns that we are receiving:
Michael S. Miller, CEBS
Apex Pension Strategies, Inc.
Atlanta, GA 30356
Gov. Andy Beshear issued an Executive Order that all in-person retailers that are not life sustaining should be closed as of Monday, March 23rd at 8:00 p.m.
Life-sustaining retail businesses that will stay open include grocery stores, pharmacies, banks, hardware stores, gas stations and other businesses that provide staple goods. A full list of categories of life-sustaining, in-person retail businesses is attached to the order.
Click here to read the Executive Order.
Kentucky has opened a COVID-19 hotline lines are open from 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
1-833-597-2337.
Updated March 24, 2020
The IRS issued Notice 2020-18 on March 20th, extending the due date and payment date for all federal income taxes and income tax returns to July 15th. The notice specifies that this includes self-employment taxes, but does not apply to excise taxes, estate tax, etc. Notice 2020-18.
Various states are adopting this extension of time to file and pay, but with varying details. The AICPA is continuously updating a chart showing each state’s conformity to the federal law along with extensions of other state and local taxes. Click here to read the chart.
Please contact Kathy Ettensohn at kettensohn@hsccpa.com or Mike Vogel at mvogel@hsccpa.com if you have questions about how these evolving provisions apply to you.
Original March 20, 2020
At least for your federal balance due. The Treasury department announced today that the filing deadline for federal taxes has been moved to 7/15. Previously, only the due date for payments was moved to 7/15, as opposed to the actual filing of returns. We are waiting for official guidance from Treasury that will provide more details around this new announcement. There are still open questions regarding state filing requirements as well as quarterly estimates that are due June 15th. We will send an update as information becomes available.
Updated March 23, 2020
All US States are now eligible for SBA disaster loans.
Updated March 20, 2020:
States currently eligible for SBA disaster loans
Arizona, California Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia
In Addition, the Following Kentucky Counties are also listed as eligible:
KENTUCKY Contiguous Counties due to Illinois
Ballard, Crittenden, Livingston, Mccracken, Union
KENTUCKY Contiguous Counties due to Indiana
Boone, Breckinridge, Carroll, Daviess, Gallatin, Hancock, Hardin, Henderson, Jefferson, Meade, Oldham, Trimble, Union
KENTUCKY Contiguous Counties due to Ohio
Boone, Boyd, Bracken, Campbell, Greenup, Kenton, Lewis, Mason, Pendleton
KENTUCKY Contiguous Counties due to Virginia
Boyd, Lawrence, Martin, Pike
KENTUCKY Contiguous Counties due to West Virginia
Boyd, Lawrence, Martin, Pike
Original post:
On March 12th the U.S. Small Business Administration announced that it will provide disaster assistance loans for small businesses affected by the coronavirus outbreak in designated states and territories. Jovita Carranza, SBA Administrator, stated in a press release that the SBA “will work directly with state governors to provide targeted, low-interest disaster recovery loans to small businesses that have been severely impacted by the situation.” The SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loans would offer up to $2 million in assistance through low-interest loans for working capital to small businesses suffering substantial economic injury as a result of the Coronavirus (COVID-19).
According to the SBA statement: “These loans may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable and other bills that can’t be paid because of the disaster’s impact. The interest rate is 3.75% for small businesses without credit available elsewhere; businesses with credit available elsewhere are not eligible. The interest rate for non-profits is 2.75%.”
If your rental real estate is being treated as a trade or business, in order to receive the QBI deduction, be sure that Forms 1099 are filed for all required recipients.
The recent Tax Cuts and Jobs Act introduced the new Qualified Business Income (QBI) deduction. This allows certain trades or businesses, subject to limitations, to deduct 20% of business income.
The final regulations offer unclear rules as to determining whether a rental real estate activity qualifies as a trade or business for QBI purposes. The regulations state that one factor in treating a rental activity as a trade or business for QBI purposes is whether the taxpayer complies with the requirements of information reporting. This requires the taxpayer to file Forms 1099 for all required recipients.
Form 1099-MISC would be required to be sent to any non-corporate service provider (lawn service, maintenance, repairs, etc.) that was paid at least $600 in 2019. 2019 Form 1099-MISC returns are due to the recipient AND IRS by January 31, 2020. Penalties apply for each failure to file a timely return and each failure to furnish the recipient’s taxpayer identification number. The penalties that can be levied for unreported or incorrectly reported information returns may exceed the benefit received from the QBI deduction.
We are currently seeking Sophomore and Freshman college students for Tax Clerical Internships in our Evansville Office. This internship is the perfect way to get your foot in the door and could potentially lead to a Tax Internship, and even full-time employment! The U.S. Department of Labor announced a final rule to make 1.3 million American workers eligible for overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
“For the first time in over 15 years, America’s workers will have an update to overtime regulations that will put overtime pay into the pockets of more than a million working Americans,” Acting U.S. Secretary of Labor Patrick Pizzella said. “This rule brings a commonsense approach that offers consistency and certainty for employers as well as clarity and prosperity for American workers.”
“Today’s rule is a thoughtful product informed by public comment, listening sessions, and long-standing calculations,” Wage and Hour Division Administrator Cheryl Stanton remarked. “The Wage and Hour Division now turns to help employers comply and ensure that workers will be receiving their overtime pay.”
The final rule updates the earnings thresholds necessary to exempt executive, administrative, or professional employees from the FLSA’s minimum wage and overtime pay requirements, and allows employers to count a portion of certain bonuses (and commissions) towards meeting the salary level. The new thresholds account for growth in employee earnings since the currently enforced thresholds were set in 2004. In the final rule, the Department is:
The final rule will be effective on January 1, 2020.
For more information about the final rule, click here.
HSC is proud to announce the promotion of the following individuals.
From left: Mitchell Meurer, Senior Associate, Accounting and Auditing Department.
Madeline Smith, CPA, Senior Associate, Tax Department.
Mallory Schmitt, CPA, Senior Associate, Tax Department.
David Mills, Senior Associate, Advisory Services Department.
Jeff Marx, Benefits Specialist, Outsourcing Department.
Eden Flockhart, CPA, CIA, CGMA, Senior Associate, Advisory Services Department.
Sarah Wittenbraker, CPA, Client Accounting Consultant, Outsourcing Department.
Erin Stewart, Payroll Expert, Outsourcing Department.
Brandon Medcalf, Senior Associate, Accounting & Auditing Department.