Affordable bookkeeping firm Florida: A full-charge bookkeeper can also manage payroll, handle deposits, create and maintain monthly financial reports, manage the ever-changing world of sales taxes as well as quarterly taxes and withholding. Bookkeepers also reconcile bank statements to internal accounts and even help out during an internal or IRS audit.

File Early: There are three good reasons to complete your filing as early as possible: Information Is Readily Available. Employers, vendors, and financial institutions are legally obligated to mail the required W-2s and 1099-Rs by Jan. 31. Complete your taxes as soon as you have all the necessary information to prevent confusion, tension, and misplacing documents. Filing Is Inevitable. Filing your taxes is something you must do every year, so why procrastinate? Getting it behind you gives you time to focus on other things. You Can Invest Your Refund as Soon as Possible. Your money won’t earn interest in the government’s till. File your return now and invest the refund to get the most out of your money. The one reason to delay filing until April 15 is because you owe taxes. If you have tax liabilities, the best approach is to complete the calculations and fill out all of the required forms but delay the actual filing until April 15. You won’t be charged any penalty or interest if you file and remit any unpaid balance at that time.

Pick Up Capital Gains if You’re in a Low Tax Bracket: The end of the year is also a good time for some people to sell stocks that have appreciated significantly in value. This can be a particularly good strategy for those who are in the 10% and 12% tax brackets since their capital gains tax may be zero. The stocks can then be repurchased, which resets the basis and minimizes the amount of tax to be paid on future gains. Even if you’re not in the lowest tax brackets, you may want to sell winning stocks to reset the basis if you’re also harvesting losses. “What you want to do is balance (gains) with stocks that have losses,” Barlin says.

Decide how much tax you want withheld: If you received a big refund on your tax return last year, it may mean your employer is withholding too much tax from your paychecks. Decreasing those withholdings might “[give] you access to more of your money throughout the year to invest or pay down debt,” says Fraim, “assuming you have the discipline to actually save the funds.” If you’d rather have a bigger paycheck to work toward your financial goals, instead of that potentially big refund next year, meet with your payroll manager to review your withholding allowances on your W-4 form. Just be careful not to reduce your withholding by too much. Overly reducing your withholding may result in having too little tax withheld throughout the year, and could mean a big tax bill in April and potentially a penalty for failing to properly estimate your taxes as well. See even more info on North Lauderdale bookkeepers.

What are my obligations as an employer? Upon being notified of a wage garnishment court order, an employer should immediately alert the employee to the situation in writing. Depending on the garnishment, there may be a form provided for this (i.e., Form 668 for a federal levy). An employer can also draft a letter detailing the specifics of the wage garnishment order, the amount to be taken from each payment, and the length of time the wages will be garnished. Concurrently, an employer should notify their HR and/or payroll departments so they can start the wage garnishment process and ensure that payments are sent to the appropriate agency or creditor (whether the employee wishes to comply or not). Taking these actions protects the business from any legal repercussions for failing to respond to the order.

Out-of-pocket charitable contributions: It’s hard to overlook the big charitable gifts you made during the year by check or payroll deduction. But the little things add up, too, and you can write off out-of-pocket costs you incur while doing good deeds. Ingredients for casseroles you regularly prepare for a qualified nonprofit organization’s soup kitchen, for example, or the cost of stamps you buy for your school’s fundraiser count as a charitable contribution. If you drove your car for charity in 2019, remember to deduct 14 cents per mile. Jury pay paid to employer: Some employers continue to pay employees’ full salary while they are doing their civic duty, but ask that they turn over their jury fees to the company. The only problem is that the IRS demands that you report those fees as taxable income. If you give the money to your employer you have a right to deduct the amount so you aren’t taxed on money that simply passes through your hands.

Business Bookkeeping Help, a Coral Springs bookkeeping and accounting firm, has a team of bookkeepers, accountants and small business experts who specialize in bookkeeping and a full range of accounting services for corporations and small businesses. Our bookkeepers are also accountants. Our accountants are here to help you understand and help educate you about the tax laws and help you find tax deductions to lower your taxes. Just give our accountants a call and we will try to answer your tax questions for free. This will help you be aware of the tax deductions to save you money on your taxes. Find extra details on Bookkeeping Help.