Showing posts with label Self Employed. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Self Employed. Show all posts

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Employer's Quarterly Tax Return, 941

I answer a lot of questions surrounding the IRS form 941. This is the employer's quarterly tax return.

The 941 needs to be filed each quarter. It is due on the last day of the month following the quarter end. The due dates are April 30, July 31, October 31 and January 31.



Deposits for most companies are made each month for employees withholding and matching FICA. The 941 reconciles all deposits made during the quarter to what is owed.



Most companies fall into trouble when they stop making their deposits thinking that they can "catch up" next month. Once you fail to make one deposit, it becomes a snowball effect and you end up owing the IRS a lot more than just your regular deposits.



One way to avoid this is to hire a payroll tax company which will figure your paychecks for you, process the checks for distribution to your employees, make your deposits and file your 941. It is a good idea. It may cast you some extra coin, but it keeps you out of trouble with the IRS. Besides having them do your payroll gives you more time to spend in your business doing more important things that can move your business forward, like being able to do more sales.

If you end up owing for more than 3 quarters will land you with a Revenue Officer of the IRS. And that is a bad deal.

If you need help with resolving an IRS issue please call a firm who knows how to take care of you.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Paying Your Fair Share

I work for a tax resolution firm. Every day I see the hard times people have that owe the IRS money. They owe for just a few reasons.



They fail to file their tax returns and the IRS prepares returns for them, called SFRs, and they end up with a liability with huge penalties and a lot of interest. This causes a lot of hardship for the taxpayer and puts them in a hole that is VERY hard to get out of.



They fail to withhold the correct amount of taxes from their paychecks. This makes them short on their withholdings at the end of the year. When they file their return , they have not had enough taxes withheld from their paychecks to pay their tax. Therefore they can not pay what they owe and end up in a deficit. You can figure how much you need to withhold from your checks by using this withholding calculator form the IRS website.



Another reason why people owe the IRS at the end of the year is self employed people fail to make their estimated tax payments each quarter during the year. A self employed person is paid by the job and is usually issued a 1099 misc. at the end of the year. No taxes are withheld during the year and the tax payer is not only resposible for the reagular tax amount he would owe for working but also the self employment tax. The self employment tax is what an employer would pay, matching FICA, if the taxpayer was employed earning a W-2. So as you can see, a self employed person will owe more tax that a regular employee.

A taxpayer really needs to set up a budget to live by and stick to it. Make your estimated tax payments if you are self employed and make sure your withholdings are correct if you are a W-2 employee. You do not want to owe the IRS. They can make life VERY miserable for a taxpayer.

If its to late for you and you owe the IRS now, please get in touch with a reputable tax resolution firm to resolve your tax debt issue.