TIPS FOR BUSINESSES THAT OUTSOURCE PAYROLL DUTIES Many employers outsource their payroll and related tax duties to third-party payers such as payroll service providers and reporting agents (often referred to as service bureaus). Reputable payable service bureaus can help employers streamline their business operations by collecting and timely depositing payroll taxes on the employer’s behalf [...]
TAXING SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS Some taxpayers must include up to 85% of their social security benefits in taxable income, while others find that their benefits are not taxable at all. If social security is your only source of income, your benefits probably won’t be taxable. In fact, you may not even need to file a [...]
AVOIDING PENALTIES ON IRA WITHDRAWALS BEFORE AGE 59 ½ IRA owners can withdraw money from their account at any time and for any reason because the owner is in total control of this account. Most withdrawals from traditional IRAs will be at least partially taxable. To add insult to injury the taxable portion of a [...]
IRS PHONE SCAM WARNING The IRS has issued a warning about a pervasive phone scam. The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) called it the largest scam of its kind. It has received reports of over $20,000 contacts related to this scam, and thousands of victims have paid over $1 million to fraudsters claiming [...]
DON’T BE A CHARITY SCAM VICTIM When a natural disaster strikes, thieves often play on the goodwill of people by posing as representative of real charities to steal money or get information to commit identity theft. Bogus charities use several different tactics to get money and information from unsuspecting individual. They may claim to be [...]
TAXING A CHILD’S INVESTMENT INCOME Some children who receive investment income are required to file a tax return and pay tax on at least a portion of that income (and possibly at the parents’ marginal tax rate). This is often referred to as the kiddie tax. The kiddie tax cannot be computed accurately until the [...]