If you're an employer who has claimed a COVID-related Employee Retention Credit (ERC), you may be concerned about being audited. Or perhaps you've received an audit notice from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). If that's the case, don't panic. An audit doesn't mean that you're already suspec...
As the Wall Street Journal recently reported, while other pandemic-related assistance programs have expired, filing for the Employee Retention Credit (ERC) continues to be on the increase. Many employers are absolutely entitled to ERC claims, but the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) wants to make s...
Although other forms of COVID pandemic assistance received more initial fanfare, employers should also not overlook the federal tax relief available. One important initiative is the “Employee Retention Credit” (ERC), a credit for those employers who retained employees during the height of the pan...
As of 2022, the IRS is cracking down on employers and payroll taxes. If you are a business owner who has failed to send the IRS your employees' Medicare and Social Security contributions, the IRS will very likely come knocking at your door—and they won't go easy on you. Penalties for failing to ...
Nobody likes doing taxes. When you have a business to run, you have other things to worry about—plus, you'd rather hire a professional to take care of complex payroll taxes. But what happens if the accountant or payroll service you hired makes a mistake on your tax return? The IRS has started cra...
When your business has employees, it also has the responsibility to withhold federal and state taxes from employee paychecks and employees' Medicare and Social Security contributions. These payroll tax liabilities are known as “trust fund” taxes because the employer holds them in trust before sen...
The IRS is cracking down on employers, making it clear that employers who fail to comply with federal tax laws are one of their top priorities. For a business, this means that a simple mistake can turn into a big problem, leading to an IRS investigation, back taxes, penalties, and interest. Moreo...
As an employer, you must withhold tax payments from employee paychecks under federal law. Federal Insurance Contribution Act (FICA) contributions include both employee and employer contributions to Social Security and Medicare and federal taxes the employee owes based on their earnings. These p...
Here are Some Red Flags for 2022 We all dread facing an IRS audit. The risk is relatively low – the IRS only audited .04% of all returns in 2019. The agency performs complex statistical analyses to determine which returns to audit. But in your personal and business finances, it is possible to pr...
Not reporting all of your income and assets to the IRS is a big deal, and the IRS will aggressively pursue if it discovers you didn't report all of your income. But in some cases, failing to report all of your income can be unintentional. We often find that clients aren't aware of the special rul...
If you're facing an IRS audit, you may be concerned about what will happen if the IRS finds a mistake in your return. A common question we get from clients is whether they can get in trouble for a mistake made by an accountant or tax preparer. Rest assured, the IRS is unlikely to criminally prose...
If you're facing an IRS audit, it's important not to panic. Not all IRS audits are the same, and you and your tax attorney can handle many audits quickly and efficiently by mail. Correspondence Audits For all IRS audits, the IRS will initially contact you by mail. Correspondence audits are the ...
For many business owners, starting a company is a lifelong dream. After all that hard work and sacrifice, it's important to ensure that you have your business ducks in a row. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics, about 20% of small businesses will fail in the first year, and only ...
Facing an audit from the IRS can be both a frightening and a frustrating experience, particularly if you sought tax advice to avoid tax disputes. After the IRS concludes your audit, you'll receive the auditor's findings in writing. If you disagree with the results, you have a couple of options, i...
Being audited can be a stressful experience, especially if this is your first audit. Whether you're facing a personal or a business audit, you probably want to know what to expect and how you can prepare. So, in this article, we'll discuss the business and personal records the IRS may examine dur...
When the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) comes knocking on your door, your anxiety and stress levels may shoot through the roof. You may not even know what, if anything, you did to deserve a visit or a letter from the IRS, but you know that your financial freedom might be on the line. You may fin...
A common question from clients is whether you can face personal liability or criminal prosecution if your business does not comply with IRS rules. As an officer of a corporation, there are some situations where you might face personal liability for the actions of a business. These situations incl...
In today's 24/7 online world, it can be hard not to discuss major events happening in our lives on social media, by text, or via email with friends and family. But if you're involved in a complex IRS case, particularly if you are the subject of a criminal investigation, there are some important g...
Good news for those of us still feeling the effects of the global pandemic and the economic slowdown that came with it: as it did last year, the IRS has extended the deadline for filing federal individual income taxes. While the United States has been making great strides in tackling Covid-19 ove...
Before 2019, a tax judgment lien in Maryland never expired – but that changed last year when Maryland Governor Larry Hogan signed a law allowing certain tax liens on some real or personal property to terminate 20 years from the date of assessment. According to the IRS, a federal tax lien is the ...
When a person dies, there are a number of tax considerations that may exist. One is whether the person owes taxes or has tax debt. This tax debt can be federal or state debt. In general, this debt does not automatically go away at death. It is treated differently by state and federal governments....
If you are the subject of an audit by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), your case might go from a civil to a criminal investigation without your knowing. The Criminal Investigation (CI) Division at the IRS pursues these investigations and recommends prosecution to the relevant authorities. How ...
The Coronavirus pandemic has been devastating to the economies of Maryland and the U.S. According to the Pew Research Center, about half of all lower-income Americans report household job or wage loss due to COVID-19 business closings. The virus is disproportionately affecting the small businesse...
Taxes are due every year on April 15th, and if you fail to meet the deadline, you could face interest and penalties of up to 25%. Both the U.S. Internal Revenue Service and the Maryland Comptroller use the threat of interest and penalties to ensure that taxpayers meet deadlines. But each year,...
If you are behind on state tax filings or filed taxes incorrectly, but the state of Maryland hasn't contacted you yet, you may have an opportunity to fix it. You may be able to participate in Maryland's Voluntary Disclosure Agreement (VDA) Programs. The VDA program allows taxpayers who might face...
Time is of the essence when it comes to tax-related issues. If you are uncertain as to what your next step should be, contact the reliable tax attorneys at Gabaie & Associates, LLC today.
