Starting July 1, 2010, many businesses offering tanning services must collect a 10 percent excise tax on the tanning services they provide. This excise tax requirement is part of the Affordable Care Act that was enacted in March 2010.
Here are nine tips on the tanning excise tax that providers must collect.
1. Businesses providing ultraviolet tanning services must collect the 10 percent excise tax at the time the customer pays for the tanning services.
2. If the customer fails to pay the excise tax, the tanning service provider is liable for the tax.
3. The tax does not apply to phototherapy services performed by a licensed medical professional on his or her premises.
4. The tax does not apply to spray-on tanning services.
5. If a payment covers charges for tanning services along with other goods and services, the other goods and services may be excluded from the tax if they are separately stated and the charges do not exceed the fair market value for those other goods and services.
6. If the customer purchases bundled services and the charges are not separately stated, the tax applies to the portion of the payment that can be reasonably attributed to the indoor tanning services.
7. The tax does not have to be paid on membership fees for certain qualified physical fitness facilities that offer indoor tanning services as an incidental service to members without a separately identifiable fee.
8. Tanning service providers must report and pay the excise tax on a quarterly basis.
9. To pay the tax, businesses must file IRS Form 720, Quarterly Federal Excise Tax Return using an Employer Identification Number assigned by the IRS. Businesses that don’t already have one can apply for an EIN online at IRS.gov.
Find more information about the excise tax on tanning services, IRS Form 720 and other tax provisions of the Affordable Care Act at IRS.gov.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Affordable Care Act Provides Expanded Benefits to Health Professionals in Underserved Areas
The Internal Revenue Service announced that health care professionals who received student loan relief under state programs that reward those who work in underserved communities may qualify for refunds on their 2009 federal income tax returns as well as an annual tax cut going forward under a new provision in the Affordable Care Act. Employers, including tax-exempt employers, in underserved areas can help eligible health professionals take advantage of this new benefit.
Employers of eligible medical professionals who withheld and paid taxes under the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) on payments covered under the new exclusion may seek a refund of withheld FICA on the employee’s behalf. Also, because employers also pay a portion of the FICA tax, the employer also may be entitled to a refund as well.
For more information on the Affordable Care Act provisions as well as news releases and other legal guidance, go to IRS.gov.
Employers of eligible medical professionals who withheld and paid taxes under the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) on payments covered under the new exclusion may seek a refund of withheld FICA on the employee’s behalf. Also, because employers also pay a portion of the FICA tax, the employer also may be entitled to a refund as well.
For more information on the Affordable Care Act provisions as well as news releases and other legal guidance, go to IRS.gov.
Applications for Therapeutic Discovery Project Tax Credit Now Being Accepted
The Internal Revenue Service recently announced that small firms, including qualifying tax-exempt entities, may now begin applying for certification for tax credits available under the Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Project Program, created by the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Applications must be postmarked no later than July 21, 2010.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will evaluate each project for its potential to produce new therapies, reduce long-term health care costs or cure cancer within 30 years. Only projects that show a reasonable potential to meet these goals will be certified as eligible. While some applicants may elect to receive a grant in lieu of a credit, 501(c) organizations are not eligible for grants under the ACA provisions. For more information and guidance see IRS.gov.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will evaluate each project for its potential to produce new therapies, reduce long-term health care costs or cure cancer within 30 years. Only projects that show a reasonable potential to meet these goals will be certified as eligible. While some applicants may elect to receive a grant in lieu of a credit, 501(c) organizations are not eligible for grants under the ACA provisions. For more information and guidance see IRS.gov.
FAQs on Excise Tax on Indoor Tanning Services
Beginning July 1, 2010 indoor tanning services will be subject to a new 10 percent excise tax. Exempt organizations that provide tanning services are encouraged to review the new FAQs on the administration of the new tax on IRS.gov.
StayExempt.irs.gov
Want to brush up on your knowledge of exempt organization compliance requirements and ensure that your organization maintains its tax-exempt status? The IRS provides on-line training for tax-exempt organizations at www.StayExempt.irs.gov. The site includes a virtual workshop - web-based version of the popular Exempt Organization workshops - and a number of mini-courses on topics of interest to tax-exempt organizations.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Affordable Care Act Provides Expanded Tax Benefit to Health Professionals Working in Underserved Areas
WASHINGTON — As part of a larger Administration announcement on efforts to strengthen the health care workforce, the Internal Revenue Service today announced that under the Affordable Care Act health care professionals who received student loan relief under state programs that reward those who work in underserved communities may qualify for refunds on their 2009 federal income tax returns as well as an annual tax cut going forward.
“Doctors and nurses who choose to practice in underserved areas make a great contribution to their local communities,” Commissioner Doug Shulman said. “By expanding the tax exclusion for student loan forgiveness, the Affordable Care Act provides an even greater incentive to practice medicine in areas that need it most.”
The Affordable Care Act included a change in the law, effective in 2009, that expands a tax exclusion for amounts received by health professionals under loan repayment and forgiveness programs. Prior to the new law, only amounts received under the National Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Program or certain state loan repayment programs eligible for funding under the Public Health Service Act qualified for a tax exclusion.
The Affordable Care Act expands this tax exclusion to include any state loan repayment or loan forgiveness programs intended to increase the availability of health care services in underserved areas or health professional shortage areas and makes this exclusion retroactive to the 2009 tax year.
Health care professionals participating in these programs who have reported income from repaid or forgiven loan amounts on their 2009 returns, possibly after receiving a Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement, or Form 1099, may be due refunds. Those who believe they qualify for this relief may want to consult their state loan program offices to determine whether the program is covered by the new law.
Health care professionals who have not yet filed for 2009 need not report eligible loan repayment or forgiveness amounts when they file. Those who have already filed may exclude eligible amounts by filing Form 1040X, Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return. This form can be downloaded from this website or obtained by calling the IRS toll-free at 1-800-TAX-FORM (1-800-829-3676). Individuals filing Form 1040X to claim this exclusion should write “Excluded student loan amount under 2010 Health Care Act” in the Explanation of Changes box.
Health care professionals may request an employer or other issuer to provide a Form W-2c, Corrected Wage and Tax Statement, or 1099 and may attach the corrected form to the Form 1040X. However, the Form 1040X may also be filed without attaching a corrected form.
An individual whose employer withheld and paid taxes under the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) on payments covered under the new exclusion may request that the employer seek a refund of withheld FICA on the employee’s behalf. And because employers also pay a portion of the FICA tax, the employer also may also be entitled to a refund.
To obtain a refund, an employer should file a separate Form 941-X, Adjusted Employer's QUARTERLY Federal Tax Return or Claim for Refund, for each Form 941, Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return, which needs to be corrected. An employer filing a Form 941-X is also required to file a Form W-2c for each employee who benefits from the exclusion.
“Doctors and nurses who choose to practice in underserved areas make a great contribution to their local communities,” Commissioner Doug Shulman said. “By expanding the tax exclusion for student loan forgiveness, the Affordable Care Act provides an even greater incentive to practice medicine in areas that need it most.”
The Affordable Care Act included a change in the law, effective in 2009, that expands a tax exclusion for amounts received by health professionals under loan repayment and forgiveness programs. Prior to the new law, only amounts received under the National Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Program or certain state loan repayment programs eligible for funding under the Public Health Service Act qualified for a tax exclusion.
The Affordable Care Act expands this tax exclusion to include any state loan repayment or loan forgiveness programs intended to increase the availability of health care services in underserved areas or health professional shortage areas and makes this exclusion retroactive to the 2009 tax year.
Health care professionals participating in these programs who have reported income from repaid or forgiven loan amounts on their 2009 returns, possibly after receiving a Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement, or Form 1099, may be due refunds. Those who believe they qualify for this relief may want to consult their state loan program offices to determine whether the program is covered by the new law.
Health care professionals who have not yet filed for 2009 need not report eligible loan repayment or forgiveness amounts when they file. Those who have already filed may exclude eligible amounts by filing Form 1040X, Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return. This form can be downloaded from this website or obtained by calling the IRS toll-free at 1-800-TAX-FORM (1-800-829-3676). Individuals filing Form 1040X to claim this exclusion should write “Excluded student loan amount under 2010 Health Care Act” in the Explanation of Changes box.
Health care professionals may request an employer or other issuer to provide a Form W-2c, Corrected Wage and Tax Statement, or 1099 and may attach the corrected form to the Form 1040X. However, the Form 1040X may also be filed without attaching a corrected form.
An individual whose employer withheld and paid taxes under the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) on payments covered under the new exclusion may request that the employer seek a refund of withheld FICA on the employee’s behalf. And because employers also pay a portion of the FICA tax, the employer also may also be entitled to a refund.
To obtain a refund, an employer should file a separate Form 941-X, Adjusted Employer's QUARTERLY Federal Tax Return or Claim for Refund, for each Form 941, Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return, which needs to be corrected. An employer filing a Form 941-X is also required to file a Form W-2c for each employee who benefits from the exclusion.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
What is Paperless Overnight and Why should I use it?
Paperless Overnight is the most efficient method available for gathering source documents in a virtual office. After many years of researching everything available and not finding what we needed, KC Truby finally designed his own system that would accomplish every goal we have for an efficient process. Paperless Overnight is not only a document management system; it is complete work flow software.
Bottom Up Delegation Concept
The Paperless Overnight System is designed around the "bottom up" work flow delegation concept. Work comes in at the lowest denominator, is named and assigned to a staff member, then works its way up the chain if the employee does not know how to complete the work. Once the task is elevated, the upper level staff member completes the task, BUT, as he/she is doing so, records everything taking place on the desktop, while talking through an explanation of how and why the task is completed in this manner. The recording is saved, attached to that type of task, and next time the question arises, the employee with the question will simply pull up the help file and get their questions answered.
Bottom up delegation will free up considerable time for every person in the firm and allow them to focus on higher value work. This will result in a more rewarding and profitable work experience for all, whether it is your outsourced bookkeeping staff, marketing department, sales, etc.
Why should I embrace this idea?
There is no software or hardware to buy, no servers to lease or maintain, no consultants to hire, no training to pay for and no more lost papers. Most systems of this type cost upwards of $10,000 dollars just to get started. You can now go completely paperless for only .15 per page, that’s it, and have a work flow system that is far more efficient and less costly than anything on the market. (For the average business client, the service costs around $20.00 to $30.00 per month, PERIOD.) Once you have seen a demo, you will undoubtedly be interested in embracing the concept of running a far more efficient business, with the flexibility of working from anywhere on the planet with an Internet connection.
How does it work?
As each document is faxed or emailed to the site, as we will detail for you, it is opened individually by an employee of Paperless Overnight, named, dated, and assigned to the staff member in your firm that handles that client, that type of task, etc. (YOU establish how work is delegated) The document is the task and all notes, who worked on it, any questions asked, etc. follow the document forever. A date stamp is recorded each time the document is opened and by which employee.
Communication is another key feature built into Paperless Overnight. For example, if we have a question for you about a document you have sent, we simply open the document, type the question in the comments box attached to it, and select your name from the drop down box. It is automatically assigned to you and you receive an email that we have a question for you. The email contains a link to the document, which is accompanied with a dialogue box containing the question. You handle questions to us in the same way, and we are not stuck playing phone tag. You can use this system for every department in your business, not just the bookkeeping department.
Whether your firm uses home/virtual workers or not, you can see exactly what is assigned to each staff member at all times, where they are in the process of completing that task, etc. Several of our clients have reported staff members walking out in the middle of tax season, before corporate deadlines, etc. and their fellow staff members did not miss a beat, trying to figure out what that person left "hanging".
The system is based on the same type of search engine as Google, so any document can be retrieved in seconds, much faster than walking to a file cabinet. Also, it is a simple and inexpensive way to GO GREEN!
What kind of learning curve will I have?
The best part of what KC has designed is the training on how to use the system. We have posted short video clips on each aspect of using Paperless Overnight, so you do not have to spend time training new fellow employees or clients on how to use it. KC verbally explains the “how to and why’s” of the process, as you are watching the video of how to complete each task. SO, no matter what your learning style, all the bases are covered.
Bottom Up Delegation Concept
The Paperless Overnight System is designed around the "bottom up" work flow delegation concept. Work comes in at the lowest denominator, is named and assigned to a staff member, then works its way up the chain if the employee does not know how to complete the work. Once the task is elevated, the upper level staff member completes the task, BUT, as he/she is doing so, records everything taking place on the desktop, while talking through an explanation of how and why the task is completed in this manner. The recording is saved, attached to that type of task, and next time the question arises, the employee with the question will simply pull up the help file and get their questions answered.
Bottom up delegation will free up considerable time for every person in the firm and allow them to focus on higher value work. This will result in a more rewarding and profitable work experience for all, whether it is your outsourced bookkeeping staff, marketing department, sales, etc.
Why should I embrace this idea?
There is no software or hardware to buy, no servers to lease or maintain, no consultants to hire, no training to pay for and no more lost papers. Most systems of this type cost upwards of $10,000 dollars just to get started. You can now go completely paperless for only .15 per page, that’s it, and have a work flow system that is far more efficient and less costly than anything on the market. (For the average business client, the service costs around $20.00 to $30.00 per month, PERIOD.) Once you have seen a demo, you will undoubtedly be interested in embracing the concept of running a far more efficient business, with the flexibility of working from anywhere on the planet with an Internet connection.
How does it work?
As each document is faxed or emailed to the site, as we will detail for you, it is opened individually by an employee of Paperless Overnight, named, dated, and assigned to the staff member in your firm that handles that client, that type of task, etc. (YOU establish how work is delegated) The document is the task and all notes, who worked on it, any questions asked, etc. follow the document forever. A date stamp is recorded each time the document is opened and by which employee.
Communication is another key feature built into Paperless Overnight. For example, if we have a question for you about a document you have sent, we simply open the document, type the question in the comments box attached to it, and select your name from the drop down box. It is automatically assigned to you and you receive an email that we have a question for you. The email contains a link to the document, which is accompanied with a dialogue box containing the question. You handle questions to us in the same way, and we are not stuck playing phone tag. You can use this system for every department in your business, not just the bookkeeping department.
Whether your firm uses home/virtual workers or not, you can see exactly what is assigned to each staff member at all times, where they are in the process of completing that task, etc. Several of our clients have reported staff members walking out in the middle of tax season, before corporate deadlines, etc. and their fellow staff members did not miss a beat, trying to figure out what that person left "hanging".
The system is based on the same type of search engine as Google, so any document can be retrieved in seconds, much faster than walking to a file cabinet. Also, it is a simple and inexpensive way to GO GREEN!
What kind of learning curve will I have?
The best part of what KC has designed is the training on how to use the system. We have posted short video clips on each aspect of using Paperless Overnight, so you do not have to spend time training new fellow employees or clients on how to use it. KC verbally explains the “how to and why’s” of the process, as you are watching the video of how to complete each task. SO, no matter what your learning style, all the bases are covered.
2 easy ways to learn more about how you can stop bookkeeping
1. Call our office (773-792-1910) and ask for the FREE VIDEO on CD titled ‘How Outsourcing Works’
2. Call our office (at 773-792-1910) and we’ll be happy to show you how it works.
2. Call our office (at 773-792-1910) and we’ll be happy to show you how it works.
How does outsourced bookkeeping work?
Simply throw your daily invoices, deposit slips and bills on the fax machine,(or scan to email if you prefer). Once or twice a day hit the speed dial and your source documents are sent secure servers, far more secure than any set up you could have in your own office. We then link to your files on the secure server and enter your transactions, reconcile your accounts and set your bills up for payment, etc. You can watch the progress of your bookkeeping right from your computer in real time. It takes us about 3 to 5 days to get a handle on your business, but the entire process ramps up very quickly. You can actually be out of handling your own bookkeeping by this time tomorrow.
Our affiliate accountants, who have been extensively trained in our processes, take responsibility for getting your bookkeeping done faster, better and cheaper than you have ever experienced. They will help you build a great business by delivering on two promises:
* The promise to take away your bookkeeping headaches forever
* The promise to provide complete and up to date books each morning when you come into work, with a ‘score card’ report of sales, profits and cash on hand
Best of all, this can be done for about half of what a bookkeeper costs as an employee.
By providing accurate ‘real time’ and ‘on line’ bookkeeping, we will help you focus on what works in your company. In every small business 20% of what you do generates 80% of the net profit. We all know the 80/20 Pareto principle – but almost none of us have actually implemented it in our business. We will help you get it done as part of our outsourced bookkeeping service.
Our affiliate accountants, who have been extensively trained in our processes, take responsibility for getting your bookkeeping done faster, better and cheaper than you have ever experienced. They will help you build a great business by delivering on two promises:
* The promise to take away your bookkeeping headaches forever
* The promise to provide complete and up to date books each morning when you come into work, with a ‘score card’ report of sales, profits and cash on hand
Best of all, this can be done for about half of what a bookkeeper costs as an employee.
By providing accurate ‘real time’ and ‘on line’ bookkeeping, we will help you focus on what works in your company. In every small business 20% of what you do generates 80% of the net profit. We all know the 80/20 Pareto principle – but almost none of us have actually implemented it in our business. We will help you get it done as part of our outsourced bookkeeping service.
The 5 reasons you should stop doing bookkeeping in house:
* Cut cost in half compared to doing it in house
* Eliminate employee drama or management work
* Obtain quality numbers in real time on which to base decisions
* Benefit from an objective "guardian angel" watching over your business
* Spend your time and money on sales – not details
* Eliminate employee drama or management work
* Obtain quality numbers in real time on which to base decisions
* Benefit from an objective "guardian angel" watching over your business
* Spend your time and money on sales – not details
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