Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Audits are Up

The IRS’s ongoing effort to close the tax gap are paying off it would appear. By stepping up their audit and compliance activities, the IRS has seen an increase in their revenues. Examinations of personal tax returns have increased from every 1 in 202 returns to every 1 in 97 tax returns. Returns for small businesses rose around 4percent. Good information to know and keep in mind as the next tax season is around the corner.

Keeping Your Business N Synergy

Friday, April 18, 2008

Windows XP rides into the Sunset

In a move that will more than likely affect the small business owners more so than anyone, Microsoft will end the sales of Windows XP products on June 30, 2008. The majority of small businesses have been quite reluctant to migrate to the newer Windows Vista operating systems due to glitches and problems running many of their older software titles.

What’s a Small Business Owner To Do?

If you still want an XP operating system in a new computer purchase, the computer makers will provide several options with downgrade rights to XP. What this means is that your system will be equipped with the newer operating system (Vista) and you can reload XP on to the system. Mainstream support for Windows XP will continue through April 14, 2009. Additionally, Microsoft Extended Support will be available until April 8, 2014.

Keeping You Business N Synergy

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Didn’t Pay Your Taxes? Know Your Options

The April 15th tax deadline has come and gone and there are some taxpayers out there that may have missed filing and extension. Interest and penalties add up for taxpayers that do not pay as much as they can along with filing their extension. For those that did not pay tax with their extension, the interest currently at the rate of 6 percent per year and late payment penalties, normally 0.5 percent (1/2 of 1 percent) per month, apply to any tax paid after the April 15 deadline.

What are the Options Now?

Many options for taxpayers are available including:

EFTPS – payments can be made via internet or phone
Credit or Debit card payments – 1-800-2PAY-TAX, or 1-888-PAY-1040
Online payment agreement – will provide a taxpayer with a short term extension or payment plan
Form 9465 – Installment agreement request

Of course the best approach is to file your tax return on time and make payments sooner.

Keeping Your Business N Synergy

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Proposed Changes for Small Businesses

There are some interesting developments in the small business arena right now. New laws that are aimed at cutting down on tax cheating by the self-employed will more than likely just be more paperwork for the self-employed. Two important small business changes include:

1. Detailed reporting of credit card transactions to the Internal Revenue Service.
2. Another would require most owners of small businesses to report any payments above $600 to corporations for things such as delivery services.

This increased reporting will make it quite burdensome form self-employed small business owners if the proposals are passed. We will keep you posted on any other proposals that are on the horizon to ensure that your small business’s reporting requirements are not increased.

Keeping Your Business N Synergy

Thursday, April 03, 2008

Small Business Woes Continue???

A recent study conducted by the Discover Small Business Watch for March indicated that economic conditions in the small business arena were getting worse according to over three quarters of the small businesses polled. This is definitely a sign that the economy for the small business owner is getting worse. Almost one half of the small business respondents indicated that their economic outlook for the next six months getting worse.

It is important as a small business owner to keep track of trends that occur in your particular industry and look for ways to run a “lean” operation when economic times look bad. A great way is to be sure to have a strong support staff around you at all times. Small business owners spend the majority of their time operating the business that there is little time for keeping track of planning for the future. According to Discover’s study small business owners are also more likely to partner with a financial consultant to keep track of trends and economic downturns.

Keeping Your Business N Synergy