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Employers Hiring New Employees May Be Able to Claim a Work Opportunity Tax Credit

The Covid-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the labor market – mandated government lockdowns and workers’ and customers’ fears of contracting the illness resulted in businesses closing or temporarily cutting back and laying off or furloughing millions of employees.  In April 2020, the unemployment rate reached 14.8%, the highest rate since such data started to be collected in 1948.  While by September 2021 the unemployment rate had declined to 4.8%, millions of job openings went unfilled as former employees were reluctant to return to work. Some businesses still weren’t operating at full capacity because they weren’t able to find enough employees.

Filing as Married Separate? Better Read This.

Married taxpayers have two options when filing their 1040 or 1040-SR tax returns. The first and most frequently used filing status is married filing joint (MFJ), where the incomes and allowable expenses of both spouses are combined and reported on one tax return. The joint status almost always results in the lowest overall tax. Spouses who file together are jointly liable for the tax, meaning either or both can be held responsible for paying the tax from the joint return.

Small Businesses: Here’s How the U.S. Supreme Court Wayfair Decision Affects You

If you are a small business owner, chances are good you’re paying more attention to your accounts receivables and deliverables than to a three-year-old Supreme Court decision. But knowing what happened in the Wayfair decision on June 21st of 2018 is important if you do a significant amount of business in states other than where you have a physical presence.

The Many Benefits of 401(k) Profit-Sharing Plans

If you are an employer looking for an attractive employee benefit that lets you plan contributions around your revenues, consider a 401(K) profit-sharing plan. These plans allow you to make pre-tax deposits to your employees’ eligible retirement accounts after the end of each calendar year, providing the flexibility to determine exactly how much you want to contribute based on your finances and goals.

IRS Extends COVID-19 Relief Leave Donations

As part of the emergency disaster declaration made by President Trump on March 13, 2020, it became possible for employees to donate their unused paid vacation time, sick leave, and personal time off to qualified charities that provided COVID-19 relief in 2020.

The IRS recently extended leave donations through 2021. Check with your employer to see if they are participating and for more details. It is an opportunity for you to make donations without costing you out-of-pocket cash.