If you have employees, you know how important health insurance is for your benefits package. It also takes a big bite out of your budget. Selecting the right insurance for your company is extremely important for employee retention and maintaining your bottom line. Here are tips to help you find the best health insurance for your business:
Know the size of the network. A popular way to lower insurance costs is opting for a smaller network of health care providers. Known as narrow provider networks, coverage is limited to a much smaller group of clinics and hospitals than traditional plans. But while the cost savings are nice, employee satisfaction is likely to decline as some of them will have to change doctors to stay in network. When researching insurance options, be sure to compare the network size to industry averages.
Watch for coverage limits. Lifetime and annual dollar limits for essential health benefits were banned in 2014, but limits still appear in other ways. Dental services, for example, are exempt from the dollar limits and often have annual and lifetime coverage limits. Another way insurance providers hedge their risk is by limiting the number of a certain type of visits, like for chiropractic care or physical therapy.
Don’t forget prescription coverage. Many health insurance programs don’t include full coverage for prescription drugs, so you may need to add supplemental insurance. Pay special attention to the coverage differences between brand name and generic drugs. Also review any deductibles and other limits. Another type of coverage available is a prescription discount program. Discount plans simply charge you a subscription cost that allows you to use a contracted discount.
Understand what isn’t covered. When trying to sell you on their plan, insurance providers do a good job showing you what they cover. What can be harder to figure out is what they don’t cover. Some of the types of services that may not be covered are vision care, nursing home care, cosmetic surgery, alternative therapies like massage therapy or acupuncture, and weight-loss procedures.
Be prepared to provide employee data. The process of obtaining a quote for health insurance can be an overwhelming task. Health insurance companies will want, at a minimum, a list of employees with some pertinent details like age, sex, coverage details (self, spouse and other dependents), and home zip code. They will want the forms filled out by all employees, even those that are opting out of insurance coverage. If you are working with a benefits broker, they can help you prepare what will be needed in advance to speed up the process.
Shopping for health insurance for your business is complicated. Taking the appropriate time to understand each coverage option and the associated costs will benefit both your business and your employees’ wellbeing.
Maybe you’re behind on paying your bills because of circumstances outside of your control. Or perhaps there’s been an error in billing. Either way, these scenarios may lead to a run-in with a debt collector. Fortunately, there are strict rules in place that forbid any kind of collector harassment in the U.S. If you know your rights, you can deal with debt collection with minimal hassle. Here’s what to remember:
You have a right to details — without harassment. When a debt collector calls, they must be transparent about who they are. They need to tell you: “This is an attempt to collect a debt, and any information obtained will be used for that purpose.”
In addition, debt collectors cannot use abusive language, or threaten you with fines or jail time. The most a debt collector can truthfully threaten you with is that failure to pay will harm your credit rating, or that they may sue you in a civil court to extract payment.
You don’t have to put up with 24/7 calls. Debt collectors may not contact you outside of “normal” hours, which are between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. local time. They may try to call you at work, but they must stop if you tell them that you cannot receive calls there.
Keep in mind that debt collectors may not talk to anyone else about your debt (other than your attorney, if you have one). They may try contacting other people, such as relatives, neighbors or employers, but it must be solely for the purpose of trying to find out your phone number, address or where you work.
You can tell them to stop. Whether you dispute the debt or not, at any time you can send a “cease letter” to the collection agency telling them to stop making contact. You don’t need to provide a specific reason. They will have to stop contact after this point, though they may still decide to pursue legal options in civil court.
You can dispute collection. If you believe the debt is in error in whole or in part, you can send a dispute letter to the collection agency within 30 days of first contact. Ask the collector for their mailing address and let them know you are filing a dispute. They will have to cease all collection activities until they send you legal documentation verifying the debt.
If a debt collection agency is not following these rules, report them. Start with your state’s attorney general office, and consider filing a complaint with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, as well.
Is a payroll provider right for you and your business? While it is an added expense, there are good reasons to add a partner to help with this service. Here are five things to consider:
Allows full attention on growing the business. If a portion of employees is focused on managing and processing payroll, business growth opportunity may be stifled. This is especially true if a key employee or owner is the one processing payroll. By outsourcing payroll responsibilities, the full workforce can concentrate on growing the business.
Improves accuracy and compliance. Most entrepreneurs didn’t go into business to tabulate hourly time cards, calculate tax withholdings, or stay current with the constantly changing government filing requirements. Thankfully there are those who specialize in monitoring labor regulations, compliance updates and the number-crunching that payroll requires. This will invariably improve the payroll accuracy a business needs.
Lowers audit risk and increases peace of mind. Federal taxes, state taxes, local taxes, Social Security, Medicare, unemployment taxes and overtime requirements are long (and growing). Payroll services reduce audit risk on the front end and provide audit assistance on the back end.
Enhances internal controls. Separation of duties is an important internal control for all businesses. This is tough to do in a small company. Businesses with one or two-person payroll departments are susceptible to fraud or embezzlement. Adding an outside payroll service can provide the checks and balances a company needs to stay protected.
Save money. One of the key methods of reducing business costs is adding efficiency. Outsourcing payroll increases efficiencies because payroll professionals need fewer hours to get the job done. These time improvements, coupled with potential savings in penalties and interest, can have a positive effect on net income.
When laying out and understanding all aspects of using a payroll service, it may be time to review your situation.
If you or your business sells product on Amazon using the Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) service, you are well into the multi-state sales tax mess … even if you are not aware of it. You may be asking yourself:
Do I now need to register my business with every state and collect tax on their behalf?
Do I really have physical nexus? What about economic nexus? What is nexus?
Background
The old sales tax standard required you to collect and remit sales tax only in states that you have a physical presence (also known as physical nexus). The recent South Dakota vs. Wayfair, Inc. decision by the Supreme Court then legitimized the concept of economic nexus. This means your business could be required to collect and remit sales tax based on where you ship a product and not whether you ever set foot in a particular state (economic nexus).
The bigger mess
States were quick to jump on the bandwagon and actively identify Amazon, Ebay and Walmart sellers to demand sales tax for website sales. Some states, like California, got even more aggressive and decided that FBA sellers actually have physical presence because Amazon may put your product in a warehouse in their state. They got seller lists from Amazon and sent out threatening letters to small sellers demanding back sales tax, even though businesses have no way to retroactively collect the tax because the customers are Amazon customers.
Marketplace facilitator to the rescue?
To help address this mess and alleviate the need for small businesses to collect and remit sales tax forms to 50 states, many states acknowledged the problem and have passed what is called Marketplace Facilitator laws.
In short, it’s on the facilitator, NOT you. States with these laws require Amazon, Ebay and similar companies that facilitate sales for resellers to collect and remit sales tax on reseller Amazon activity. There are more than 30 states that have adapted these laws.
You DO NOT need to register your business to collect sales tax in states that have Market Facilitator legislation unless you are otherwise required to do so.
What you need to know
Know the states. Know which states have Marketplace Facilitator laws. If you don’t, you could unwittingly register your business with a state when you do not have to do so.
Some states deploy deceptive tactics. For example, California passed a Marketplace Facilitator law effective October 2019. Despite this law, the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) is actively soliciting (threatening?) small businesses who sell on Amazon to register and remit sales taxes for a time period prior to this date without disclosing the new law. To make matters worse, their sales tax registration form could make you personally liable for business-related sales tax and disclose your confidential supplier list. It may also be filled with other legal entrapments.
Know the minimums. Even states without Marketplace Facilitator laws typically have minimum thresholds before they require you to collect and remit sales tax. Every state is different, but the typical limit is 200 transactions or $20,000 in sales.
Check out streamline states. Collecting and remitting sales tax is a daunting task for any small business. Using a third party sales tax administrator is very expensive. There is some help, albeit still complicated, for registering with 23 states that are part of a streamline sales tax agreement.Sales tax collection in multiple states is not for the faint of heart. Streamline Sales Tax and Bill Track 50 are a few of the popular sites that can help.
The Internal Revenue Service today just announced the 2020 optional standard mileage rates used to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical or moving purposes.
Beginning on Jan. 1, 2020, the standard mileage rates for the use of a car, vans, pickups or panel trucks will be:
57.5 cents per mile driven for business use, down one half of a cent from the rate for 2019,
17 cents per mile driven for medical or moving purposes, down three cents from the rate for 2019, and
14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations.
The business mileage rate decreased one half of a cent for business travel driven and three cents for medical and certain moving expense from the rates for 2019. The charitable rate is set by statute and remains unchanged.
Note that under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, taxpayers cannot claim a miscellaneous itemized deduction for unreimbursed employee travel expenses. Taxpayers also cannot claim a deduction for moving expenses, except members of the Armed Forces on active duty moving under orders to a permanent change of station. For more details, see Rev. Proc. 2019-46.
The standard mileage rate for business use is based and set on an annual study of the fixed and variable costs of operating an automobile. The rate for medical and moving purposes is based on the variable costs.
Taxpayers always have the option of calculating the actual costs of using their vehicle rather than using the standard mileage rates.
A taxpayer may not use the business standard mileage rate for a vehicle after using any depreciation method under the Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System (MACRS) or after claiming a Section 179 deduction for that vehicle. Also, the business standard mileage rate cannot be used for more than five vehicles used simultaneously. These plus other limitations are described in section 4.05 of Rev. Proc. 2019-46.
Notice 2020-05, posted on IRS.gov, has the standard mileage rates, the amount a taxpayer must use in calculating reductions to basis for depreciation taken under the business standard mileage rate, and the maximum standard automobile cost that a taxpayer may use in computing the allowance under a fixed and variable rate plan. To add to that, for employer-provided vehicles, the Notice provides the maximum fair market value of automobiles first made available to employees for personal use in calendar year 2020 for which employers may use the fleet-average valuation rule in § 1.61-21(d)(5)(v) or the vehicle cents-per-mile valuation rule in § 1.61-21(e).
In 2018, the government attempted to “simplify” the tax-filing process by drastically shortening Form 1040. The result was six new schedules that created a lot of confusion. Now the IRS is attempting to ease some of that pain by revising the form and removing some schedules. Will it help? Here is what you need to know:
More information on the main form. To make it easier for the IRS to match pertinent information across related tax returns, new fields have been added on the main Form 1040. For example, there’s now a spot for your spouse’s name if you choose the married filing separate status. In addition, there’s a separate line for IRA distributions to more clearly differentiate retirement income.
3 schedules are gone. What was your favorite memory of Schedules 4, 5 and 6? Was it the unreported Social Security tax on Schedule 4? Or the credit for federal fuels on Schedule 5? While those schedules will no longer exist, those lines (and many others) have found a new home on one of the first three schedules. Less paperwork, but still the same amount of information.
You can keep your pennies! For the first time, the IRS is eliminating the decimal spaces for all fields. While reporting round numbers has been common practice, it’s now required.
Additional changes on the way. The current versions of Form 1040 and Schedules 1, 2 and 3 are in draft form and awaiting comments on the changes. Because of the importance of the 1040, the IRS is expecting to make at least a few updates in the coming weeks (or months) before they consider it final. Stay tuned for more developments.
How to prepare for the changes
The best way to prepare is to be aware that 1040 changes are coming. The information required to file your taxes will remain the same, but some additional hunting will be necessary to find the shifting lines and fields on the modified form.
Remember, changes bring uncertainty and potential for delays, so getting your tax documents organized as early as possible will be key for a timely tax-filing process.
