Advanced Payroll Solutions

Advanced Payroll Solutions

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Payroll

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Has Your Information Been Compromised? Are You at Risk of Falling Victim to Identity Theft

If you think your information has been compromised, you are not alone! Identity theft and fraud continue to be major problems. Prevalent categories of fraud are employment or tax-related fraud, and phone or utility fraud. Credit card fraud remains the highest reported (86% of global consumers fall victim to identity theft), followed by employment or tax-related fraud. If you think your identity has been compromised, the first place you should visit is https://www.irs.gov/identity-theft-central.

Identity theft has been on the rise for years, and 2020 was no different. In fact, because of the Covid-19 restrictions, many of us found ourselves relying on the internet for all kinds of shopping. We were online more than ever, creating a significant up-tick in identity theft claims. Thanks to Covid, hackers found another opportunity to wreak havoc on people’s lives. Because of the stimulus checks, thieves began conspiring ways to direct those payments to themselves. “Economic Impact Payments were designed to reach the neediest, not to line the pockets of criminals.  The Eastern District of Texas is committed to fighting fraud and criminal activity related to the COVID-19 pandemic,” read more here: https://www.justice.gov/. Some states, such as Pennsylvania, have recommended filing your taxes early to avoid identity theft.

If you are a taxpayer and want to protect your identity when filing your federal tax return, you can request an identity protection PIN from the IRS.  An Identity Protection PIN is a six-digit number that prevents someone else from filing a tax return using a taxpayer’s Social Security number. The IP PIN is known only to the taxpayer and the IRS, and this step helps the IRS verify the taxpayer’s identity when they file their electronic or paper tax return.

Don’t know if your information has been hacked? Find out how to check. If you find out it has been hacked, here are your next steps.

Follow our FB page for weekly tips & updates: https://www.facebook.com/APSBILLINGS

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Manage Your Business, Not The Paperwork

According to SCORE, the majority of small business owners spend more than 41 hours on tax preparation each year. And this is on top of the nearly 40 hours per month that you spend handling payroll and HR-related tasks.

Running a business is hard work. Having a great bookkeeper or accountant can help. So how is Advanced Payroll Solutions different than another service you may have used in the past or are using now?

Some accountants have hidden fees. We do not. For example, our customers will never see a charge for stationary, W2 filings, state and federal filings, or an extra charge for adding another employee to the payroll. Our prices are inclusive, so it makes it simpler for you to manage your cash flow.

Some agencies will help assist with unemployment insurance filings and workers’ compensation filings. But we can do you one better. As a licensed Professional Employer Organization, we not only automatically take care of all the filings, but we manage all unemployment and workers’ compensation claims.

When you use our services, we are taking full responsibility for onboarding your employees. For example, if you have an employee who is paying into child support, not only do we make sure the garnishment is taken out correctly, but we also facilitate any necessary paperwork and handle all the correspondence.

Aside from all the paperwork, you no longer need to be glued to your phone. Because we are a licensed Professional Employer Organization, we handle all the tax agency calls, garnishment inquires, and even hospital billing calls (if an employee filed a workers’ comp claim).

We are truly your one-stop-shop. And we didn’t even get to the risk management, benefits, and IRS tax consultations!

Call us today! 406-894-2626. Follow us on Facebook to stay up-to-date with us https://www.facebook.com/APSBILLINGS

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Attention New Businesses! Common Payroll Mistakes That You Should Avoid at all Cost

With user-friendly payroll programs, such as QuickBooks, it can be easy to feel confident in your payroll accuracy. Although the software has come a long way, it is vital as a business owner to remember that the program is only as good as the information you put into it. You probably won’t be getting a reminder call from the QuickBooks headquarters to let you know it’s time to send those 1099 forms, which is unfortunate because those fines range from $50-$280 per 1099. Those who do utilize QuickBooks, or other similar programs, will find a plethora of videos & articles online to help keep your business on the right track. For example, a quick google search landed me this nifty article: https://www.inc.com

But that’s not why you’re here. Let’s go over the most common (in our opinion) costly payroll mishaps.

This one is often overlooked and yet, potentially the most expensive mistake. Not properly handling garnishments, levies, or child support. Your employees depend on you to maintain these transactions. If you fail to do so, your employee may find a new employer that they can depend on.  As any seasoned business owner knows, employee turnover is more than just a headache, it’s a high-priced reality of owning a business. Although not heard of often, if you’re not withholding child support as required, you may find yourself in contempt of court. We won’t get into the tax liability you will incur for not responding to employee levies, but let’s just say, it’s not something you want to miss.

Don’t be late! Penalties are 15% of taxes due for deposits still unpaid more than 10 days after the date of the first notice Depositing employment taxes late. For the State of Montana you’re looking at a $50 minimum, or. 5% of the outstanding tax per month. Up to a maximum of 25% of the tax due (might want to keep this bookmarked: https://mtrevenue.gov/taxes/penalty-and-interest).

As a business owner, you can expect to be audited at some point. Having disorganized, inaccurate, or inadequate records may result in significant penalties. Both federal and state agencies can charge interest on those penalties, which is a major cause of businesses going under. If you ignore the IRS, they won’t forget about the audit. It’s worth reading up on:
https://www.hrblock.com/tax-center/irs/ignore-audit-will-go-away-right/
https://k2radio.com/irs-delays

Time is of the essence! Miscalculating or failing to pay overtime is easy to do, and a pain to fix. Guidelines must be followed when managing overtime pay. Basic miscalculations can be costly…100% of overtime pay owed, civil penalties of up to $1,000 per violation, and any additional state penalties. Over recent years, litigation has been increasing claiming that employees who were treated as “exempt” employees and therefore not entitled to overtime were misclassified. A simple tip, make sure you are calculating overtime weekly, instead of every 2 weeks. The Montana Department of Labor and Industry has a great reference guide available here: https://erd.dli.mt.gov/labor

Does your contractor have a time-card? Does he/she wear your company logo? If they do, they are not a contractor, they are your employee! Mis-classifying employees and contractors is a major blunder to make. Here’s why: The penalty for classifying an employee as an independent contractor: 1.5% of all wages paid to the employee, $50 fine for failure to file Form W-2, 40% of employee FICA taxes, and 100% of employer FICA taxes. Penalty if the misclassification is determined to be intentional: Up to 20% of all wages paid to the employee, 100% of employee and employer FICA taxes, and criminal penalties of up to $1,000 and/or one year in PRISON.
The penalty for classifying a non-exempt employee as exempt: 100% of unpaid overtime owed to the employee dating back three years from the employee claim. I’ll leave you with this: https://www.irs.gov/newsroom

Payroll doesn’t need to be stressful. Stay informed, and when in doubt, call https://aps-peo.com/

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941 Federal Tax Deposit Deadline Approaching

941 Federal Tax Deposits are due quarterly, to avoid penalties, make sure yours is filed by Monday, March 15th!

What are they?

Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return, or for short, IRS Form 941. The 941 consists of income taxes, Social Security tax, or Medicare tax withheld from employee’s paychecks. Every employer uses this form to report federal income tax withheld from employees (including withholding on sick pay and supplemental unemployment benefits). Although the 941 Form is not incredibly complex, it does require a lot of care and precision to do it correctly. 

What happens if you forget to pay?

Don’t forget! The penalties are high. 

Penalty Charged for…

2% Deposits made 1 to 5 days late.

5% Deposits made 6 to 15 days late.

10% Deposits made 16 or more days late, but before 10 days from the date of the first notice the IRS sent asking for the tax due.

10% Amounts that should have been deposited, but instead were paid directly to the IRS, or paid with your tax return. But see Payment with return, earlier in this section, for exceptions.

15% Amounts still unpaid more than 10 days after the date of the first notice the IRS sent asking for the tax due or the day on which you received notice and demand for immediate payment, whichever is earlier.

 

Do you know when to deposit your payroll taxes?

IF the total taxes you reported in the lookback period were…

$50,000 or less, THEN you are a monthly schedule depositor.

more than $50,000 THEN you are a semiweekly schedule depositor.

 

What is the lookback period?

If you’re a Form 941 filer, your deposit schedule for a calendar year is determined from the total taxes reported on Forms 941, line 12 (Total taxes after adjustments and nonrefundable credits), in a 4-quarter lookback period.

 

(Information source IRS Publication 15)

We’re here to help you find a more efficient way! Call 406-894-2526 or request a quote online!