WBON New Chapter Announcement

WBON is announcing a new chapter in Morrisville!

Diana Sheltra is the coordinator of our newest chapter. The first meeting will be on February 18th from 11:30am to 1:30pm. We will have a networking meeting to discuss goals of the chapter and speaker topics.

The chapter will meet every third Friday from 11:30am-1:30pm. The chapter meetings will be held in the Tegu Building in the center of Morrisville. There will be a catered lunch. Price to be determined upon finalization of the caterer and the menu.

Diana is searching for a WBON member to co-coordinate the chapter. Please contact Diana at diana@doubleentrybookkeeping.net if you are interested.

You are invited to a home made authentic Italian dinner

The Vermont Italian Club presents a homemade authentic pasta dinner!

Make your own dish with your choice of four sauces, salad bar, antipasto plate, homemade cannoli and cookies, raffle, music. Fun for all ages!





Sunday, January 9th from 5-7pm
The Elks Club, 925 North Ave,Burlington

For reservations contact: vermontitalianclub@gmail.com or Audry 922-5005.

For information and tickets via paypal: http://www.vermontitalianclub.org/
$20 Adults
$12 Children ages 5-12
For children under age 5 admission is free
Club members $18 and $10

IRS to Hold Open House

The IRS will host a special nationwide open house from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. local time in 100 offices across the country on Saturday, September 25, to help taxpayers, especially veterans and people with disabilities, solve tax problems and respond to IRS notices.

IRS staff will be available on site or by telephone to help taxpayers work through issues and leave with solutions.

At the September 25 open house, anyone who has a tax question or has received a notice can speak with an IRS employee to get an answer to their question or a clear explanation of what is necessary to satisfy the request. A taxpayer who cannot pay a balance due can find out whether an installment agreement is appropriate and, if so, fill out the paperwork right there. Assistance with offers-in-compromise will also be available. Likewise, a taxpayer struggling to complete a certain IRS form or schedule can work directly with IRS staff.

A listing of the open house locations is available on the IRS website.

Mom fights for a cure to her sons' rare disease in Pepsi Refresh project competition

Mom fights for a cure to her sons' rare disease in Pepsi Refresh project competition

Six Facts about the American Opportunity Tax Credit

There is still time left to take advantage of the American Opportunity Tax Credit, a credit that will help many parents and college students offset the cost of college. This tax credit is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and is available through December 31, 2010. It can be claimed by eligible taxpayers for college expenses paid in 2009 and 2010.

Here are six important facts the IRS wants you to know about the American Opportunity Tax Credit:

1. This credit, which expands and renames the existing Hope Credit, can be claimed for qualified tuition and related expenses that you pay for higher education in 2009 and 2010. Qualified tuition and related expenses include tuition, related fees, books and other required course materials.



2. The credit is equal to 100 percent of the first $2,000 spent per student each year and 25 percent of the next $2,000. Therefore, the full $2,500 credit may be available to a taxpayer who pays $4,000 or more in qualifying expenses for an eligible student.



3. The full credit is generally available to eligible taxpayers who make less than $80,000 or $160,000 for married couples filing a joint return. The credit is gradually reduced, however, for taxpayers with incomes above these levels.



4. Forty percent of the credit is refundable, so even those who owe no tax can get up to $1,000 of the credit for each eligible student as cash back.



5. The credit can be claimed for qualified expenses paid for any of the first four years of post-secondary education.



6. You cannot claim the tuition and fees tax deduction in the same year that you claim the American Opportunity Tax Credit or the Lifetime Learning Credit. You must choose to either take the credit or the deduction and should consider which is more beneficial for you.

Employee vs.Independent Contractor Tips for Business Owners

As a small business owner you may hire people as independent contractors or as employees. There are rules that will help you determine how to classify the people you hire. This will affect how much you pay in taxes, whether you need to withhold from your workers paychecks and what tax documents you need to file.

Here are seven things every business owner should know about hiring people as independent contractors versus hiring them as employees.

1. The IRS uses three characteristics to determine the relationship between businesses and workers: Behavioral Control covers facts that show whether the business has a right to direct or control how the work is done through instructions, training or other means. Financial Control covers facts that show whether the business has a right to direct or control the financial and business aspects of the worker's job.


2. Type of Relationship factor relates to how the workers and the business owner perceive their relationship.



3. If you have the right to control or direct not only what is to be done, but also how it is to be done, then your workers are most likely employees.



4. If you can direct or control only the result of the work done -- and not the means and methods of accomplishing the result -- then your workers are probably independent contractors.



5. Employers who misclassify workers as independent contractors can end up with substantial tax bills. Additionally, they can face penalties for failing to pay employment taxes and for failing to file required tax forms.



6. Workers can avoid higher tax bills and lost benefits if they know their proper status.



7. Both employers and workers can ask the IRS to make a determination on whether a specific individual is an independent contractor or an employee by filing a Form SS-8, Determination of Worker Status for Purposes of Federal Employment Taxes and Income Tax Withholding, with the IRS.

Please contact us at Double Entry Bookkeeping, LLC. for further information.

Vermont Department of Labor - UI Reform - 2010

Vermont's 2010 legislative session passed several changes:

• Increased taxable wage base to $13,000 effective January 1, 2011.
• The taxable wage base will increase again January 1, 2012 to $16,000.
• Increased penalties for late reports effective July 1, 2010 such as separation and wage requests; quarterly reports.
• New penalties for misclassification of workers: up to $5,000 per unreported worker, per report.
• Effective July 1st, employers will be required to report all new hires within 10 days of the worker's start date. The start date is the first day services are performed for compensation.

Please contact us at Double Entry Bookkeeping, LLC. for further information.

Wonderful Wedding Day!

Thomas Sheltra of County Plumbing and Heating in Morrisville and Diana Jones of Double Entry Bookkeeping, LLC in Essex Junction Vermont tied the knot on June 12, 2010. They had a beautiful ceremony at Inn Victoria in Chester Vermont.

Health Insurance Credit

New for 2010: Tax Credit Helps Small Employers Provide Health Insurance Coverage

Many small businesses and tax-exempt organizations that provide health insurance coverage to their employees now qualify for a special tax credit, according to the Internal Revenue Service.

Included in the health care reform legislation, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, approved by Congress and signed by President Obama on March 23, the credit is designed to encourage small employers to offer health insurance coverage for the first time or maintain coverage they already have. In general, the credit is available to small employers that pay at least half the cost of single coverage for their employees.

“This credit provides a real boost to eligible small businesses by helping them afford health coverage for their employees,” said IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman. “We urge small businesses and tax-exempt employers to look closely at this important tax break — which is already effective — to see if they qualify.”

The maximum credit is 35 percent of premiums paid in 2010 by eligible small business employers and 25 percent of premiums paid by eligible employers that are tax-exempt organizations. In 2014, this maximum credit increases to 50 percent of premiums paid by eligible small business employers and 35 percent of premiums paid by eligible employers that are tax-exempt organizations.

The credit is specifically targeted to help small businesses and tax-exempt organizations that primarily employ low and moderate income workers. It is generally available to employers that have fewer than 25 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees paying wages averaging less than $50,000 per employee per year. Because the eligibility formula is based in part on the number of FTEs, not the number of employees, many businesses will qualify even if they employ more than 25 individual workers.

The maximum credit goes to smaller employers — those with 10 or fewer FTEs — paying annual average wages of $25,000 or less.

Eligible small businesses can claim the credit as part of the general business credit starting with the 2010 income tax return they file in 2011. For tax-exempt employers, the IRS will provide further information on how to claim the credit.

The IRS will use postcards to reach out to millions of small businesses that may qualify for the credit. The postcards will encourage small business owners to take advantage of the credit if they qualify.

HIRE ACT

On March 18, 2010, the President signed the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act. This new jobs bill is intended to encourage employers to hire the unemployed. The HIRE Act creates two new incentives for hiring and retaining unemployed workers:

1. The employer gets a holiday from paying the business’s share of the OASDI (Social Security) tax on the new employee for the rest of 2010, and

2. The employer gets up to a $1,000 tax credit for keeping the new hire on the payroll for at least one year.

Some additional details about the incentives in the new hiring act include:

The 6.2% payroll tax holiday is immediate and increases your business cash flow. While the business is not required to pay its ½ of the OASDI on the new hire’s wages, it must still pay the Medicare tax on the wages paid to the new employees and all FICA taxes for old employees.

The relief from OASDI matching for the first quarter of 2010 is only available for qualified employee wages paid between March 19 and March 31, 2010. In addition, this relief provision
will only reduce payroll deposits beginning in April, 2010.

To encourage businesses to retain the new hires for at least 52 consecutive weeks, the HIRE Act also provides a credit up to the lesser of $1,000 or 6.2% of the first $16,129.03 of wages paid.
This credit will be claimed on the 2011 return.

There is no minimum weekly number of hours of work required of the new employee.

The maximum payroll tax credit that may be forgiven per employee is $6,622. The business saves 6.2% on both a $40,000 worker and a $90,000 worker. There is no maximum dollar amount of forgiveness per business; if you hire 5 qualified employees, your credit could be over $33,000!

If a worker is eligible for both the HIRE credit and the “Work Opportunity Tax Credit,” the business can choose one benefit or the other for 2010—no double dipping.

There are no HIRE tax breaks if the business hires family members (except spouses).

The business can’t simply replace another employee and qualify for the credit unless the replaced employee separated from employment voluntarily or for cause.

The new qualified employee must sign an affidavit stating “Under penalty of perjury, I certify I have not been employed for more than 40 hours in the 60-day period prior to beginning
employment on ______________, 2010."

I hope you find this information helpful. If you would like more details about these provisions, please call us at your convenience.

QuickBooks Seminars

Master the Fundamentals with our Mastering QuickBooks® Hands-On Training Course
Valuable Seminar on QuickBooks® Financial Software
What Every Business Owner Should Know
Double Entry Bookkeeping, LLC.
137 Iroquois Avenue
Essex Junction, VT 05452
Call 802-878-0990 to register
Cost: $175, including materials