Accounting News and Notes

Payroll tax returns and their attendant issues are the bane of many business owners both big and small.  Tax law at federal, state and local levels often leaves an entrepreneur feeling both dazed and confused.  There is no greater area of need for tax simplification than in the area of payroll tax issues.  Payroll tax returns and payments are due to the varying regulatory agencies at differing times, unique and special forms and often what appears to be conflicting reporting styles and forms.  Unfortunately, this is just the tip of the confusion to which you will help find clarification below.

Withholdings
Federal and state withholding (depending upon and varying by state)
Employers are required to submit to their employees a withholding form/certificate, on which the employee documents and confirms their filing status and their number of exemptions.  Employers then are required to use this information to determine the statutorily withholding based upon withholding tables required by the IRS and varying states.  The withholding certificate for the IRS and Georgia are a W-4 and G-4 form respectively.  It is the employees responsibility to complete these forms and then for the employer to withhold these amounts as directed.  All withholding taxes are taken out of an employees check and then remitted over to the respective taking authority.  In this capacity, an employer is required to act in a fiduciary capacity in the withholding and payment of these monies.
Unemployment Insurance/Department of Labor
Both the IRS and the state of Georgia assess against employers an unemployment tax.  This tax is paid exclusively by the company, and there are no required withholding or additional taxes being paid by the employee.  Both the IRS and Georgia limit the amount of taxes a company will pay on any given employee to a maximum salary amount per year.  These monies/taxes are due on the first wages paid a particular employee in any given calendar year.  While the IRS assessment rate/percentage is statutory the rate to Georgia fluctuates based upon an individual companies claims experience.

FICA
FICA insurance is taken out of an employee’s paycheck and then is matched by the employer.  Like withholdings, FICA taxes taken out of an employees paycheck are treated as fiduciary monies and are required to be submitted over to the IRS with rigidly defined dates, dorms and reporting format and method of payment.  FICA insurance withholdings are calculated based on a prescribed statutory rate and the maximum amount of salary this is based upon is annually indexed for inflation.  These monies are given over to the Social Security Administration for monthly periodic payments to those who qualify when they retire or become disabled.

Medicaid
Medicaid Insurance also is an amount an employee is required to be withheld out of their salary and is in turn matched by their employer.  Medicaid taxes, FICA and federal withholding are all reported and paid concurrently.  However, unlike FICA taxes, which are only assessed up to a specified annual amount, Medicaid taxes are assessed on all of one’s earned income (W-2 wages) regardless of the amount.  Medicaid monies are then used to pay for medical expenses for those who qualify.

Electronic Filing EFTPS
EFTPS is the procedure and process that the IRS specifies employers to use to report and pay all payroll taxes.  EFTPS is where employers report and pay IRS monies electronically and via magnetic media.

Because of the many varying reporting formats, forms, methods and electronic reporting requirements, it is most advisable that all employers (regardless of size) utilize and retain a payroll service to handle all of its payroll needs.  Payroll companies will not only process the actual paychecks themselves, but also prepare the required payroll reports and make the needed tax payments.  This process is relatively seamless as most all payroll companies debit your account for the required payroll taxes at the time of payroll check processing.  Payroll companies also have the ability to make electronic payments directly to an employee’s account thereby saving time and money.
Contact HIS CPA PC (A Christian CPA Firm) today.
John Dillard is an Christian Speaker/Author and Certified Public Accountant. To See how he takes Christ along with him to work visit http://www.hiscpa.com/ and for his latest book Overcoming Life’s 9/11’s: Job’s Journey and a Voice of One: Nehemiah’s Prayer visit http://www.john-dillard.com/ or call John Dillard CPA today at 770.814.9304 (All Rights Reserved) Dare to Attempt Something so Great for the Kingdom of God that it is doomed to failure, lest Christ be in it!  

We advise clients on: IRS representation, Offer in Compromise, Tax Problems, Incorporation in Georgia, Corporate and Personal Income Tax Returns, Part-time CFO, Virtual Controller, Business Planning, Offer in Compromise, Back Taxes, Bookkeeping.
Serving Atlanta, Duluth, Gwinnett, Barrow, Bartow, Carroll, Cherokee, Clayton, Coweta,  Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry, Newton, Paulding, Pickens, Rockdale, Walton, Barrow, Bartow, Carroll, Henry, Newton, Bartow, Walton, Rockdale, Barrow, Spalding, Coweta, Dawson, Douglas, Fayette, Newton, Paulding, Spalding, Walton, Henry, Paulding, Douglas, Coweta, Canton, Covington, Douglasville, Druid Hills, East Point, Forest Park, Griffin, Lithonia, Mableton, McDonough, Milton, Mountain Park, Newnan, Powder Springs, Stockbridge, Union City, Villa Rica, Winder, Woodstock,  Smyrna, Sandy Springs, Marietta, East Point, Gainesville, Snellville, Buckhead, Buford, Peachtree City, Dunwoody, Kennesaw, Decatur, Conyers, Stone Mountain, North Fulton County, DeKalb County, Hall County, Clayton County, Cobb County, Forsyth County, Hart County, Jefferson County, Duluth, Atlanta, Alpharetta, Johns Creek, Lawrenceville, Milton, Norcross, Snellville, Roswell, Buford, Cumming, Grayson, Lake Hartwell, Suwanee, Sugar Hill, Loganville, Lilburn, Dunwoody, Gainesville, Decatur, Atlanta GA, Gwinnett County, North Fulton County, Cherokee County, DeKalb County, Hall County, Clayton County, Cobb County, Forsyth County, Hart County, Jefferson County, Duluth, Atlanta, Alpharetta, Johns Creek, Lawrenceville, Marietta, Milton, Norcross, Snellville, Roswell, Buford, Smyrna, Marietta, Cumming, Grayson, Hartwell, Suwanee, Sugar Hill, Loganville, Lilburn, East Point, Gainesville, Snellville, Buckhead, Buford, Peachtree City, Dunwoody, Kennesaw, Decatur, Conyers, Stone Mountain, Decatur. Sandy Springs, Peachtree City, Douglasville, Newnan, Griffin, Woodstock, Carrollton, Forest Park, Canton, College Park, Cartersville, McDonough, Riverdale, Fayetteville, Covington, Stockbridge, Conyers, Clarkston, Barrow, Bartow, Butts, Carroll, Cherokee, Clayton, Coweta, Dawson, and Douglas.

Atlanta CPA on How Best to Utilize an Atlanta Payroll Service

For the new business owner getting your new business started; it is essential to get it going in the right direction; utilizing an Atlanta Payroll Service is your best bet to get your Atlanta business started off on the right foot. A payroll service has the advantage, whether you have one employee or thousands, of quickly and efficiently handling all of your payroll needs. Payroll services will handle all of your payroll issues including:

-Payroll Check Preparation.

-Payments to federal, state and local authorities.

-Payroll reports to federal, state and local authorities.

-Printed or Electronic Checks.

-On-line or next day delivery.

-On-line, verbal for fax reporting.

-Active customer support.

-Management ready payroll reports.

-New Hire Reporting Assistance & Compliance.

-Garnishment Assistance.

-Assistance with Payroll Reports.

-Handling of any IRS or state tax notices received.

-Automatic drafting of payroll taxes and fees.

-Automatic crediting of payroll proceeds to an employee’s personal account.

Having served as a CPA in Atlanta for now 30 years, I remain committed now more than ever that a CPA firm, who has your best interests at heart, will not perform payroll services. Though a CPA firm is eminently qualified to handle and perform payroll tasks and all of their reporting issues, a CPA firm by definition will either charge you CPA rates for predominantly clerical services or they will package or bundle the services putting their name on a payroll company’s work adding there mark up for doing so. Desiring first to serve is a motto we all should aspire to. If where you live is at all similar to the Atlanta marketplace, there are many fine payroll companies, many of them national companies, who are more than capable of providing excellent service at a fair price. To read more about payroll tax issues visit:

Information on Payroll and Independent Contractors Reporting

Identifying if a Worker Is an Employee or Independent Contractor
Classification of your workers is often one of the most confusing sections of tax law. This recap will begin to enable you to properly classify your workers.

Becoming a new Employer in Georgia Checklist
An easy to review source of many of the forms, applications, and procedures you will need to be apprised of to ensure compliance with a variety of taxing authorities.

Payroll Tax Withholding
Employers are required to withhold portions of each employee’s salary and pay additional taxes to local, state and federal governments. This article discusses the types of taxes that must be withheld or paid.

Managing Payroll Forms
Easily the most administrative burden of owning your own business, payroll is the bane of many who try to go it alone.  

John Dillard is a Christian Speaker/Author and Certified Public Accountant (All Rights Reserved). To See how he takes Christ along with him to work visit http://www.hiscpa.com/ (An Atlanta CPA firm) and for his latest book Overcoming Life’s 9/11’s: Job’s Journey and to learn about his ministry visit http://www.john-dillard.com/ To contact John Dillard CPA (Atlanta Christian Author/Speaker) today call 770. 814.9304 proudly serving Duluth, GA, Gwinnett County and Beyond.

“Dare to Attempt Something so Great for the Kingdom of God that it is doomed to failure, lest Christ be in it!” What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? Romans 8:31 Why are these verses here? Learn how His CPA became a Christian Accounting firm visit http://www.hiscpa.com/christian-CPA.html

We advise clients on: IRS representation, Offer in Compromise, Tax Problems, Incorporation in Georgia, Corporate and Personal Income Tax Returns, Part-time CFO, Virtual Controller, Business Planning, Offer in Compromise, Back Taxes, Business Acquisitions/Sales, Forensic Accounting, Business Valuations and Bookkeeping.