Feds to Increase Audits

According to a recent article publised in the AICPA Corporate Taxation Insider you can see what the government is doing to close the Tax Gap.

Tax Alert from Daines Goodwin & Co - HIRE Act - Payroll Tax Forgiveness

If you have recently hired new employees, you may qualify for a 6.2% payroll tax incentive (forgiveness), in effect exempting you from the employer’s share of Social Security tax on wages paid to these new employees after March 18. As an employer you may qualify if the new employee meets the following:

• Employee begins employment after February 3, 2010, and before January 1, 2011
• Employee was unemployed or employed for less than 40 hours during that 60 day period ending on the date that employment begins, and
• Employee is not a family member related to the employer or owns more than 50% of the business

You must obtain certification from the employee that he or she was unemployed or employed for less than forty hours during the 60 days prior to the hire date using Form W-11 (pdf form). This form must be retained by the employer with their payroll and tax records to substantiate their eligibility for the Social Security exemption.

To claim the payroll tax exemption, the employer uses the Form 941, Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return.

If you have any questions please give us a call to discuss.

I - 9 & E - Verification: Utah

Attention all Utah employers - New Utah law has been enacted requiring employers with 15 or more employees to electronically verify new employee’s eligibility to work goes into effect starting July 1, 2010.

A new Utah law requiring employers with 15 or more employees to electronically verify their new employee’s employment authorization was signed into law by Governor Herbert earlier this year in a bill created to respond to immigration reform. July 1, 2010 is the date the law will begin to be enforced. The law basically mandates that all Utah employers who have 15 or more employees during the year use an electronic verification process to check all new hires employment eligibility before work begins. It was designed to reduce the number of illegal aliens from entering the work force. This E-Verification process does not replace the current requirements for completing Form I-9 on all new hires, it only verifies the validity of the information provided on the form.

What is E-Verify?

E-Verify is a free, internet based system that is linked with the Social Security Administration and was designed to give employers immediate results as to the status of a newly hired employee. E-Verify is a federal program that has been available for several years and supports Form I-9 by providing instant feedback on the information provided by new employees. Since June 11, 2008 this program has been mandatory for all new hires of all Federal departments and agencies and after September 8, 2009 became mandatory for employers participating in all Federal Contracts. Other than for these government contracts and agencies, E-Verify has been a voluntary program that anyone can register for and participate in regardless of the number of employees or where they live. Currently only Arizona employers have been required to use E-Verify, but beginning July 1, 2010 Utah employers with 15 or more employees will also be required to use the system.

How do I register or get answers to questions?

Go to the E-Verify website or call 888-464-4218 for assistance or answers to questions.

With laws changing every day we felt that it was important to remind all of our clients who hire employees of this change so they can take the necessary steps to be in compliance with the law. If you need any assistance or have any questions please feel free to contact our office.

Welcome

We are excited to begin to post critical information concerning tax and accounting issues and hope you will find this information useful.

We are moving

On November 1, 2010 we will be moving into new office space located in the Ford Building at 414 South 300 West in Salt Lake City, Utah. Our new office is located just south of the Gateway Mall. Stay Tuned for more info as we get closer to our move.