Payroll is a crucial aspect of running any business, no matter if you have one employee or 100. Proper handling of payroll ensures that you get and keep quality personnel. It can also save you from unnecessary, hefty expenses and fines. After all, it costs much more to hire new employees than to keep existing ones – even with bonuses, raises, and other perks. There are also stiff penalties for improper collection, handling, and filing of payroll taxes. The IRS is continually exerting every effort to collect their due, with particular focus on collecting the proper employment taxes. The Employment Tax Research Project (ETRP) launched in 2010 is reviewing a sample of 6,000 businesses, with identified areas that will be subject to focused audits.

Set Up Your Payroll System Properly

To avoid headaches later on, it is crucial to plan and execute a solid payroll system at the get go. Decide on a pay schedule, keeping in mind that different states can have different requirements on this. In Michigan, employees must be paid at least once a month. This can be done more frequently, such as twice a month or every week. If your employees will be paid twice a month, wages for the first half of the month must be paid by the first day of the following month. Wages for the second half of the month must be paid by the 15^th of the following month. For more frequent pay schedules, wages must be paid within two weeks after the end of the work period.

The amount paid to each employee should, of course, be up to fair labor standards. You can use a paycheck calculator to determine the gross, net, and all deductions. The type of payment should also be considered. In Michigan, this should be either in cash, check (without fees or deductions upon cashing), direct deposit to employees’ account (with written consent from employee), debit card, payrolls card, or paycard.

Separation pay must be paid according to the same schedule mentioned above regardless of the manner of separation, except for workers engaged in hand harvesting whom must be paid within one working day.

Do the Paperwork

There is also, of course, the paperwork. You need to get an Employer Identification Number (EIN) even before hiring any employees. Once you do, have them fill up and submit to you their Federal Income Tax Withholding Form (W-4). In Michigan, W-4 forms need to be reported within 20 days of hiring, rehiring, or return to work to the New Hire Operations Center in Lansing, MI. W-2 forms and previously filed tax forms need to be kept in order. Michigan business owners are also required to furnish each employee with a pay stub listing the hours worked (unless executive, administrative or professional), gross wages, pay period, and itemized deductions. These records need to be kept for at least three years after the employee leaves your business.

 
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The difference between employees and contractors may seem trivial, but this affects your taxes a lot. This difference can therefore lead to even more stiff fines and legal liabilities.

Mind the Taxes

You are legally responsible for determining, withholding, reporting, and paying for the withholding tax of all your employees. This applies even if you hire someone else to handle payroll, so be careful whom you choose. Late payments or incorrect amounts will lead to interest and penalties. To illustrate this point, about 40% of small businesses pay an average of $845 a year in penalties. Official expenses, allowances, use of company assets and others may also be subject to tax. There are certain IRS forms that need to be filled up, submitted and filed on a regular basis.

The Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) also requires you to withhold a certain rate from your employees’ pay for Social Security and Medicare. State Unemployment Insurance (SUI) also needs to be reported by the 25^th day of the month following the end of each quarter. For Michigan, the wage base is $9500, with rates ranging from 0.06% to 10.3%. There are payroll tax calculators that you can use to compute how much to withhold for each required deduction.

 How Hazzouri Accounting and Tax Services Can Help

As you can see, handling your business’s payroll properly is very important. Yet, it is not surprising that many aspiring entrepreneurs simply don’t realize what this entails. It often seems like yet another role a small business owner needs to fill, among many others. We at Hazzouri Accounting offer you our professional help. We believe that our relationship with the local communities of Canton, MI and the surrounding areas take top priority, and easing their burdens in making a living is our calling. Contact us today at 734-844-1614  for any questions or fill out our contact form and one of our friendly staff will call you.

We are also available through our social media accounts:  Facebook fan page / Twitter Feed / Google+ Account

The yearly filing of federal income tax is already one of the most bothersome aspects of life in today’s world. The government is already taking a chunk of your hard earned money, but on top of that, they seem intent on making the process so complex and confusing. As if that wasn’t enough, making a mistake could lead to stiff fines and even imprisonment. But fear not. If you missed the April 15 deadline (June 16 if you happen to be out of the country), you are definitely not alone. The IRS estimated that as many as 12 million individuals are late this year.

If you are one of the 12 million, the question now is what can you do to minimize penalties and get your taxes in as soon as possible. Well, it depends on your individual situation.

If You Are Owed a Refund

Let’s start with the good news. If you are due a refund this year, you will not be charged a penalty for filing late. However, you should be absolutely certain your computations are correct. If you find out too late that you actually need to pay taxes, you could end up paying a lot more than you otherwise would have.

In any case, there should be no reason not to claim your refund in the first place. In fact, there’s one very good reason not to let it stay with the government – if unclaimed after 3 years, they keep it.

If You Filed for an Extension

Perhaps you realized you would not make the deadline and filed for an extension. You will know that filing for an extension still has to be done by the April 15 deadline. Getting an extension gives you until October 15 to file your return. However, you still have to pay the taxes you owe by the April 15 deadline, or the closest possible estimation you can make. The extension is only to avoid late filing penalties. If you got an extension but failed to pay by April 15, you will still be subject to late payment penalties. Overall, the late payment penalty is a mere one-tenth of the late filing penalty. So if for any reason you are unable to pay on time, getting an extension can still help you avoid paying more than you need to.

If You Couldn’t Pay on Time or in Full

 
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Even if you could not pay the full amount you owe by the April deadline, you should still have filed your return (or filed an extension) AND paid as much as you could at the time. Also, if you don’t have the exact figures yet, try to estimate as best you can or use a tax calculator and make sure not to leave anything out. That way, your interest is computed only on the remaining unpaid amount. Overpaying is not a problem as this can be adjusted when you finally file your return.

You may also be allowed to pay in instalments, depending on how much you owe in taxes. If you owe less than $50,000 and can prove you can pay within a reasonable amount of time, say 5 years, you will probably be allowed an installment plan upon completing the necessary IRS forms. If you owe more than $50,000, the IRS will probably require more paperwork to prove that you will be able to pay within the requested timeframe.

If You Failed to File Your Taxes

Now, this is the worst case scenario. If you were somehow completely unable to file your return or file for an extension, you could end up paying as much as 25% more than the original amount owed. If you end up paying more than 60 days after the deadline, the penalty becomes a minimum of $135 or 100% of your owed amount, whichever is smaller.

As mentioned previously, you should always still file your return (or extension) by the April 15 deadline and pay as much of the amount owed by the same date. This is because the late filing penalty could be ten times as high as the late payment penalty.

Don’t Leave Money on The Table – Get The Help of a Professional

Khaled Hazzouri has built strong ties with the local community of Canton, MI and the surrounding areas. We have been helping individuals with their tax and accounting needs for more than 16 years. Call us at 734-844-1614 or use our online contact form, and we would be happy to answer all your questions.

You can also come find us on the web:  Facebook fan page / Twitter Feed / Google+ Account

Medicare/Medicaid cost reports (MCR) is probably the biggest challenge home health agencies face each year. The reports are complicated. The laws and procedures keep changing, and time is yet another constraint. Those who run home health agencies often do not have a solid medical background. It is usually effort enough to try and understand what Medicaid is and the nuances of Medicaid eligibility. Coupled with the MCR paperwork, one would think you’d have to be a doctor, a lawyer, and an accountant all in one.

In addition, the CMS is determined not to make things any easier. According to their website:

1. Cost reports are due on or before the last day of the fifth month following the close of the cost reporting period. For cost reports ending on a day other than the last day of the month, cost reports are due 150 days after the last day of the cost reporting period.

Very specific. And also very “zero tolerance,” as can be seen in the next stipulation:

2. No extensions will be granted except when provider’s operations are significantly adversely affected due to extraordinary circumstances over which the provider has no control. An example would be a flood or fire that forces a provider to cease operations and to transfer its patients temporarily to other providers outside of the impacted area. The contractor would still be required to obtain CMS approval.

 
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It makes no difference how long you’ve been at the home health agency business – Medicare/Medicaid Cost Reports (MCR) are a complex and ever-changing thing. If you missed the deadline last May, you are just one of many. Unfortunately, this almost always means a 100% rate of claims suspension. However, you do have an extra 60 days to still get the MCR in. Given the estimate by the CMS, you may be fast running out of time. Even if you still had a full 60 days (which you don’t), working 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, you would still only have 70 hours left to do it.

If you already missed the deadline last May, don’t make the same mistake again. Hazzouri Accounting has over 16 years expertise in taxes and other accounting services, including MCR preparation and processes. We are a proud and active member of the local Michigan community and are happy to serve the surrounding areas. We meet for your accounting needs but build a lasting relationship as friends.

Khaled Hazzouri is a certified public accountant with a Master’s degree from Wayne State University. We provide complete and hassle-free tax preparation services, whether individual or business. We take the paperwork and second guessing out of all your start-up tax and accounting, income tax returns, payroll, bookkeeping, and all other tax and accounting needs.

We are located at 2200 N Canton Center Rd. #170, Canton, MI 48187. Our service hours are weekdays, 9:00 – 5:00 p.m. After hours and Saturdays by appointment only, Sundays closed. We will be happy to answer any and all questions. Please call us at 734-844-1614 or use the contact form on our website.

You can also come find us on the web:  Facebook fan page / Twitter Feed / Google+ Account

A vast majority of successful business owners start with just an idea. It’s usually an idea to provide people with something they would need or want, usually because he or she needed that same product or service at some point, but could not get it. However, as the saying goes, success is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.

Having a great business idea and actually executing it are two very different things. Small businesses are popping up in record numbers across the state and the entire country, but are failing in record numbers as well. According to Bloomberg, a staggering 80% of these fail within the first 18 months. Why? Research compiled from Entrepreneur Weekly, the Small Business Development Center (SBDC), Bradley University, and the University of Tennessee named “incompetence” as the top reason for failure. Specific items under “incompetence” include “lack of planning”, “no knowledge of financing,” and “no reason in record-keeping.”

Lack of Planning

This includes mistakes in how the business is set up in the first place. Say, some guy gets a great business idea of setting up a burger joint at a location that has many burger lovers. However, it was somehow missed by all the major fast food chains and is two hours away from the nearest one. He sets his business up in the simplest manner – single proprietorship. Somehow though, a particularly sensitive customer gets food poisoning from some fry cook who mishandles the food. The said customer could sue the owner for all he’s worth – which means everything he put in the business, plus his house, his car, his lawnmower, his cat, etc. If he had set up a corporation instead, it would be treated as a separate entity from the actual person, and liabilities would be limited to only what the corporation actually owns, such as a couple of fryers and a cash register. His house and other personal possessions would have been protected from the lawsuit.

No Knowledge of Financing

Here’s another well-known saying: “Nothing is certain but death and taxes.” In the utter quagmire that is tax law, getting professional advice from a CPA can end up saving you thousands of dollars per year. Skip this part and try to do everything yourself, and you could get your business needlessly taxed to death. Even worse, you could be found guilty of tax fraud (whether intentional or not) and get sent to prison.

No Reason in Record-Keeping

It can be amazing how much money you can bleed out without knowing it when you keep incomplete records. The capital meant to last you five years could easily be wiped out in the first six months. Plus, without keeping track of every single movement of numbers in your business, you could find yourself unknowingly paying much more in taxes than you are actually required to, or underpaying and faced with a stiff fine.
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How Can a CPA Help Me Start My Business?

Even if you only have that one great business idea, we can help you execute it properly to give you the best chance at financial success.

Our business services include helping you figure out how much capital you need. Many small business owners think all the capital they need is just enough to open for the first day, and then sales will cover the rest based on some fancy computation of projected sales per day. Little do they know that this ideal projection of sales almost always won’t come until at least two years down the road, more likely five years. In the meantime, you need that capital to keep you going until enough people find out about your business to get you to breakeven.

We also offer tax preparation services. It is often a nasty surprise for business owners and regular employees alike when they’ve been spending their “excess” money per month – that is, anything left over after paying the monthly expenses – and then finding out at tax season that they need to pay 35% of everything they made the past year.

Get an Expert You Can Trust

Khaled Hazzouri has over 16 years expertise in helping small businesses get their company vision realized with the minimum fuss, confusion, and risk. Hazzouri Accounting is based in Canton, MI and is committed to being a proactive member of the local community and forming lasting relationships with clients. Contact us today and we will guide you through everything you need in starting a business in Michigan.

Stop by our website to learn more or come visit us on-line: Facebook fan page / Twitter Feed / Google+ Account

Taxes are a complicated matter for a vast majority of people. Mentioning mathematics or accounting alone will have most people fleeing – add taxes to the mix and things can get ugly. Unfortunately, as the saying goes, “nothing is certain but death and taxes”. There is no escaping the long arms of the IRS, but there is also some good news – with a little help, you could take advantage of significant tax breaks, minimizing the taxes you have to pay. These include provisions in tax laws, allowing for education benefits to help pay for the college education of your children, your spouse, or even yourself.

Tax Credits

Tax credits generally reduce the income taxes you have to pay. According to the IRS, “if the credit reduces your tax to less than zero, you may get a refund.” The American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC) can lower your taxes by a maximum of $2,500 per eligible student every year for the first four years of education. The Lifetime Learning Credit (LLC) is worth $2,000 per year for an unlimited number of years, and can be used even for graduate and professional degrees and “courses to acquire or improve job skills.” For the AOTC, your modified adjusted gross income or MAGI must be $80,000 or less ($160,000 or less for married couples filing jointly). For the LLC, your MAGI must be less than $62,000 ($124,000 for married couples filing jointly) for a partial credit and $52,000 ($104,000 for married couples filing jointly) or less for the full credit. Note, however, that you can only avail of either the AOTC or the LLC, but not both.

Tax Deductions

Tax deductions reduce the amount of your income that is subject to tax. You can deduct tuition and other qualified higher education expenses up to $4,000 per year. The MAGI ceiling for this is $80,000 ($160,000 for married couples).

Interest Deductions for Student Loans

If your MAGI is less than $75,000, you may be eligible for a deduction for the interest you pay on a student loan (up to $2,500). A student loan is a loan you took out solely to pay for education expenses, such as tuition, accommodations, books and other supplies, equipment, and important expenses such as transportation.

Tax-Free Savings Accounts

529 plans and Coverdell Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) allow your earnings and withdrawals to be tax-free when used to pay for qualified higher education expenses.
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529 plans, in particular, have no MAGI or age restrictions, and can allow you to contribute as much as $300,000 over the life of the account. It can also cover computer technology and equipment, internet access, and related services.

ESA’s, on the other hand, can be used to pay for eligible K-12 expenses, as well as post-secondary expenses. However, it is subject to an income ceiling of $110,000 ($220,000) and an annual contribution of $2,000 per child. The beneficiary must also be under 30 years old.

Government Bonds

Series EE Bonds and I Bonds, when redeemed to pay for a child’s tuition, are also exempt from taxes on the interest earned. Said bonds must be in your name or the name of you and your spouse, not in the name of your child. As of 2012, your MAGI should be smaller than $87,850 ($139,250).

Bottom Line

As you can see, you may be able to take advantage of several tax breaks for educational expenses or certain combinations thereof. In choosing which one/s to avail of, considerations include eligibility and determining which one/s can give you the highest returns overall. To make sure you don’t miss out on the maximum education tax breaks you are entitled to when saving for the future, get the help of an expert.

Khaled Hazzouri has over 16 years of expertise in helping people reduce their taxes to the minimum allowable under tax law. Hazzouri Accounting is based in Canton, MI and is committed to serving the local community and forming lasting relationships with our clients. Call us today at (734) 844-1614 or use our contact form and we will be happy to help you with all your taxation needs.

Stop by our social media accounts to join the conversation: Facebook / Twitter / Google+