Greenleaf Accounting

Do You Use “Freelance Workers” In Your Biz? Watch Out!

admin — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 16:33:00 +0000

It never ceases to amaze me how many small business owners are unclear on the rules regarding independent contractors. Just this past month, I discovered two of my new clients are paying “assistants” as independent contractors and another client was planning on hiring one! Sure, freelancers are great because they save you the cost and [...]

Online Invoicing – Free & Not-So-Free

admin — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 18:10:21 +0000

Online invoicing can be a fantastic time saver for small business owners. I personally use several services and have come to rely heavily upon them to send out monthly invoices without any effort or intervention on my part. Most of the online invoicing services provide a free trial or even a limited version of the [...]

1099 Reporting Changes Up in the Air

admin — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 18:09:54 +0000

Recently passed legislation requiring a massive overhaul in the 1099 reporting system has met with passionate opposition from small business owners, the accounting community and even the IRS Taxpayer Advocate. In response, two efforts are underway in Washington to reduce the requirement or repeal it outright. The least likely effort was put forward by Senator [...]

1099 Outcry Increasing

admin — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 18:09:27 +0000

The new 1099 reporting requirements recently included in the new healthcare bill have caused quite an uproar in the business community. Even the IRS’s own Taxpayer Advocate, Nina Olsen, expressed concerns in her latest report to Congress about the IRS’s new 1099 information-reporting burdens. Already, the Department of the Treasury and the IRS have issued [...]

A New Try at the Home Office Deduction

admin — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 18:08:40 +0000

The Senate is now considering a new bill aimed at helping home-based businesses … finally! The State Small Business Credit Initiative Act (see more details at OpenCongress) has two major provisions aimed at micro-businesses and the self-employed. In the House version, it would allow sole proprietors to take a one-year business deduction for health care [...]

Can You Afford to Go Solo?

admin — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 18:07:01 +0000

So you’re ready to clock out of the corporate world and hang out your shingle as a solo-professional. You’ve figured out how much you can reasonably expect to earn and estimated your expenses for marketing, computer equipment, training and so on. You’re ready to go, right? Don’t forget to include the extra tax burden that [...]

1099 Requirements “a hardship on small businesses”

admin — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 18:06:31 +0000

According to a group of Democratic senators, the IRS needs to reduce the paperwork burdens that will fall on small businesses from the new 1099 reporting requirements due to hit in 2012. The new requirements may place a hardship on small businesses by creating an extra paperwork burden. … We insist that the IRS develop [...]

Should it stay or should it go?

admin — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 18:04:42 +0000

We’re well past the April 15th filing deadline and you’re taking some time to clean out your files. After running your business for several years, the paperwork really starts to pile up! So how long is long enough to keep your tax documents? The IRS has three years from the date you filed your taxes [...]

Update to 1099 Reporting Changes

admin — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 18:03:27 +0000

The IRS has issued a proposed regulation to help deal with the flood of paperwork associated with the new 1099 reporting requirements that are set to take effect in 2012. Under the proposed regulation, any business purchases made with a credit or debit card will be exempt from the new reporting requirement because those purchases [...]

IRS Agents Requesting QuickBooks File!

admin — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 18:03:02 +0000

According to the National Association of Tax Professionals, IRS auditors are now being instructed to obtain a copy of the taxpayer’s QB file for audits for any taxpayer that uses QuickBooks. If the taxpayer refuses to provide the database and the auditor deems it necessary, they can issue a Summons for the file! There is [...]