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Van Elkins and Associates

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Service charge reporting deadline postponed

Tuesday, December 18th, 2012

The Internal Revenue Service has given businesses an extra year to comply with new rules on how to treat service charges, until January 1, 2014. The new rules had been scheduled to take effect January 1, 2013, but the deadline was extended in response to public comments to allow companies time to make their accounting […]

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Tags: deduction, income, payroll, small business, tax, tax credit, tax preparation, tax tips, tips, withholding



Employee or independent contractor stakes rise

Thursday, November 29th, 2012

Employee or independent contractor? Sure, we understand that treating workers as independent contractors is easier in so many ways. If you are struggling with the question of which classification your workers fall under, it is more important than ever to consider the consequences if the government disagrees with your stance. This article in Forbes magazine […]

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Tags: business consulting, deduction, hiring, payroll, small business, tax, tax tips, withholding



Court allows employer tax refunds on layoffs

Tuesday, October 30th, 2012

The Sixth District Court of Appeals, which includes Tennessee, has upheld lower court rulings that severance pay is not subject to FICA tax. Companies that had mass layoffs and offered severance pay packages should consider filing claims to refund those taxes before the statute of limitations runs and limits the opportunity. In March 2008, the […]

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Tags: asset protection, business consulting, court decisions, payroll, tax tips, withholding



Employees paid as independent contractors

Friday, January 13th, 2012

A Knoxville company was paying its workers as independent contractors. It was forced to pay back wages to its workers by the Department of Labor, who determined that they were actually employees subject to minimum wage and overtime laws. The news hit the local paper, no doubt as a warning to other businesses who may […]

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Tags: asset protection, payroll, small business, tax, withholding



Payroll tax cut extension with a lump of coal

Thursday, January 5th, 2012

Congress extended the payroll tax cut for sixty days after weeks of posturing. The 2% reduction in Social Security tax withholding will continue to put a little extra money in employees’ pockets through the end of February 2012, but Congress threw in a lump of coal with its Christmas gift. If you earn too much […]

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Tags: income, Linda Dyer, payroll, tax, withholding



Worker classification crackdown coming

Wednesday, October 26th, 2011

The IRS recently announced a voluntary worker classification program that provides amnesty from back payroll taxes and penalties for companies who reclassify their independent contractors into employees. While there may be advantages on the federal tax side of this issue, you must consider other factors before deciding on a course of action. Worker classification has […]

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Tags: asset protection, business consulting, independent contractor, payroll, small business, tax, tax audit, withholding



IRS abates penalties

Monday, April 4th, 2011

In a payroll tax case we have been working on for over a year, the IRS has agreed to abate penalties, saving the taxpayer over $200,000. This is a very unusual decision for the IRS, which considers non-payment of payroll taxes to be an unauthorized loan of government funds. Employers are required to withhold income […]

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Tags: CPA Knoxville, internal controls, IRS, payroll, small business, tax, tax audit, withholding, workplace fraud



Most-overlooked tax deductions

Wednesday, March 23rd, 2011

Here is a list of some of the most-overlooked tax deductions each year. Overlooking these deductions may cost you money by raising your tax bill, and the IRS seldom complains when you overpay your taxes. Check this list, and then call us to see how you might claim these deductions. State sales taxes. If you […]

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Tags: deduction, IRS, job, mileage, moving, tax, tax preparation, tax return, tax tips, withholding



Payroll Tax Audits Target Businesses

Friday, September 3rd, 2010

Earlier this year, the IRS began its program of auditing businesses for compliance with payroll tax reporting and payment. As part of its National Research Program to gather statistics about payroll tax compliance, the IRS is examining 6,000 businesses large and small, 2,000 each year starting earlier this year. This study is part of their push to step […]

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Tags: IRS, payroll, small business, tax, tax audit, withholding



Payroll tax credit

Wednesday, July 7th, 2010

It is time to prepare your second quarter payroll tax returns, due August 2, 2010 (July 31 falls on Saturday). If your company or tax-exempt organization has hired employees this year, you may be eligible for the HIRE Act new hire tax credit. You should check before filing Form 941. We previously posted about this and other tax credits in the […]

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Tags: family, hiring, IRS, payroll, small business, tax, tax return, tax tips, withholding



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800 S. Gay Street, Suite 1919 Knoxville, TN 37929

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