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If you’re an employer with a business where tipping is customary for providing food and beverages, you may qualify for a federal tax credit involving the Social Security and Medicare (FICA) taxes that you pay on your employees’ tip income. Basics of the credit The FICA credit applies with respect to tips that your employees receive from customers in connection with the provision of food or beverages, regardless of whether the food or beverages are for consumption on or off the premises.

Many employees — from retail workers to sales staffers involved in complex business-to-business transactions — receive part of their compensation from sales-related commissions. To attract and retain top talent, some companies even allow employees to earn unlimited commissions. Unfortunately, some commission-compensated employees may be tempted to abuse this system by falsifying sales or rates. Fraud methods vary depending on an unethical salesperson’s employer and role. But

The number of people engaged in the “gig” or sharing economy has grown in recent years. In an August 2021 survey, the Pew Research Center found that 16% of Americans have earned money at some time through online gig platforms. This includes providing car rides, shopping for groceries, walking dogs, performing household tasks, running errands and making deliveries from a restaurant or store. There are tax consequences for the people who perform these jobs. Basically, if you receive

After two years of no increases, the optional standard mileage rate used to calculate the deductible cost of operating an automobile for business will be going up in 2022 by 2.5 cents per mile. The IRS recently announced that the cents-per-mile rate for the business use of a car, van, pickup or panel truck will be 58.5 cents (up from 56 cents for 2021). The increased tax deduction partly reflects the price of gasoline. On December 21, 2021, the national average price of a gallon of regular

Hogan - Hansen is pleased to announce that the Marion public accounting firm of Fox & Buchheim, P.C. have joined the firm and will be serving clients from our Cedar Rapids office located  at 2750 First Avenue, Suite 150. Rick Buchheim and Nancy Fox commented "We are so pleased that our accounting practice is joining the Hogan - Hansen team and their expanded service offerings. Our loyal clients in and around Marion will be very happy with the team at Hogan - Hansen.  With the

Year-end is a good time to plan to save taxes by carefully structuring your capital gains and losses. Consider some possibilities if you have losses on certain investments to date. For example, suppose you lost money this year on some stock and have other stock that has appreciated. Consider selling appreciated assets before December 31 (if you think their value has peaked) and offsetting gains with losses. Long-term capital losses offset long-term capital gains before they offset short-term

Awards and settlements are routinely provided for a variety of reasons. For example, a person could receive compensatory and punitive damage payments for personal injury, discrimination or harassment. Some of this money is taxed by the federal government, and perhaps state governments. Hopefully, you’ll never need to know how payments for personal injuries are taxed. But here are the basic rules — just in case you or a loved one does need to understand them. Under tax law, individuals

In recent weeks, some Americans have been victimized by hurricanes, severe storms, flooding, wildfires and other disasters. No matter where you live, unexpected disasters may cause damage to your home or personal property. Before the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), eligible casualty loss victims could claim a deduction on their tax returns. But there are now restrictions that make these deductions harder to take. What’s considered a casualty for tax purposes? It’s a sudden, unexpected

Many businesses use independent contractors to help keep their costs down. If you’re among them, make sure that these workers are properly classified for federal tax purposes. If the IRS reclassifies them as employees, it can be a costly error. It can be complex to determine whether a worker is an independent contractor or an employee for federal income and employment tax purposes. If a worker is an employee, your company must withhold federal income and payroll taxes, pay the employer’s