Employers: Get Your Ducks In A Row!
Just received this in my inbox from the Texas Society of CPA's:IRS and Employers Gear Up for Employment Tax AuditsOctober 9, 2009 – The Internal Revenue Service has announced plans to launch employment tax audits this fall in conjunction with its National Research Program (NRP). NRP audits are intensive audits followed by analysis. While it is expected that the audits will result in tax assessments, the underlying purpose of the audits is to collect data that will be used in designing profiles for future audits.A random selection of approximately 6,000 employers will result in the audit class for this project.

S Corporation Shareholder/Employees and Social Security
One of the benefits of an S corporation is the flow through aspect of the income for tax purposes. S corporations do not have their own tax liability; the income simply flows through to the shareholder's individual income tax return. Even though the IRS says that S corporation shareholders who provide services to the company should pay themselves a "reasonable" salary, the shareholder/employees will often keep that salary to a minimum in order to avoid incurring Social Security and Medicare taxes, and take the rest of the funds they need as dividends/distributions of previously taxed income. Young S corporation shareholders are particularly against paying into the Social Secur

QuickBooks 2010 Has Arrived!
Just received my copy of QuickBooks 2010 today. It is now available for ordering or download. Can't wait to check it out and see what new features are available. Stay tuned...

Houston Unemployment
Well it appears that the recession has finally made its way to Houston. It has just been reported that unemployment is at 8.4%. I believe it because I can see it and clients are definitely feeling it. Texas employers, get ready for your unemployment tax rates to go up at the first of the year.Seems like one of the few industries unaffected right now is health care. Anyone affiliated in any way to the health industry seems to be doing okay. This may change however if Congress is irresponsible and passes sweeping health care legislation. Doctors really don't need another excuse to quit and young brilliant minds don't need another reason to avoid medicine as a profe