Industries Archives - Page 11 of 46

Free Webinar: Getting a 360° Perspective on your Business

NEWS|April 29, 2021

Join our very own GrowthWheel Certified Advisor – Joni Peebles, CPA as she hosts a FREE GrowthWheel webinar on key steps to growing your business Friday, May 7, 2021 from 1-3pm!

Please register here to reserve your spot and take the first step to improving your business!

Workshop: Getting a 360^o Perspective on Your Business — Make decisions and plan actions for growth

This webinar is about addressing the four lasting challenges of any business and learning how to make a plan for growth. Join a group of fellow entrepreneurs, small business owners, and a GrowthWheel Certified Advisor in this 2 hour workshop about finding your biggest barriers to growth! Explore the options for improving your business concept, customer relations, organization, and operations.

Get to know the GrowthWheel 360° Perspective here.

Who should Attend?

This webinar is for startup and growth companies in all life stages and within all industries.

Purpose of the workshop:

Introduce the GrowthWheel concept for making business decisions
Determine current challenges and what you can do to overcome them
Learn the actions steps you can take to kick start the growth of your business
Make a plan to move forward

Takeaway from the workshop: When the workshop is over you will walk away with:

A tool stack to work with your growth plan
A 30-60-90 Days Action Plan for your next steps
Ideas and feedback from other entrepreneurs

If you have any questions please contact us!

American Rescue Plan: More Details on Tax Credits Available

NEWS|April 26, 2021

The IRS and Treasury Department announced today further details of tax credits available under the American Rescue Plan. These credits aim to help small businesses and include paid leave for employees receiving COVID-19 vaccinations.

The American Rescue Plans allows for small businesses to claim refundable tax credits that reimburse them for the cost of providing paid time off for employees receiving the vaccine, providing paid time off for anytime needed to recover for the vaccine and providing paid sick and family leave due to COVID-19.

News release IR-2021-90 details these credits here. You can also find even more in depth information on tax credits available to small employers on the fact sheet provided by the IRS.

As always, please do not hesitate to call our offices for additional information and to speak to your representative about how this could affect your situation.

digital sales tax | CPAs in Baltimore County | Weyrich, Cronin & Sorra

Maryland Sales and Use Tax on Digital Products

NEWS|March 18, 2021

The Maryland legislation recently overrode Governor Hogan’s veto of House bill 932. The bill expands the current 6% sales and use tax to include the sale of digital products. Maryland recently published Business Tax Tip #29 Sales of Digital Products and Digital Code which gives a nonexclusive lists of possible digital products such as but not limited to:

A sale, subscription or license to access content online
A sale, subscription or license to use a software application
Photographs, artwork, illustrations, graphics and similar products

The release points out that the sales and use tax does not apply to the sale of a non-taxable service performed electronically unless the service results in a digital product. To view the Comptroller’s release click here.

For more details on the recent change to the sales and use tax rules please do not hesitate to call our offices for additional information and to speak to your representative about how this could affect your situation.

A reminder that the Comptrollers Office Of Maryland recently extended the Sales and Use tax deadline for sales taking place in March, April, and May of 2021 to July 15, 2021.

ARPA | tax accountants in Cecil County | Weyrich, Cronin & Sorra

The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) has passed: What’s in it for you?

NEWS|March 11, 2021

Congress has passed the latest legislation aimed at providing economic and other relief from the COVID-19 pandemic that has haunted the country for the last year. President Biden is expected to sign the 628-page American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), which includes $1.9 trillion in funding for individuals, businesses, and state and local governments.

The ARPA extends and expands some of the critical provisions in the CARES Act and the Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA). It also includes some new provisions that should come as welcome news to many families and businesses.

Key provisions for individuals, businesses and other employers

Here’s a broad overview of some of the provisions that may affect you:

Individuals

Additional direct payments (or recovery rebates) of $1,400 — plus $1,400 per dependent (including adult dependents) will be made to eligible individuals. To qualify, individuals must have an adjusted gross income (AGI) of up to $75,000 per year, ($150,000 for married couples filing jointly and $112,500 for heads of households). The payments phase out and are no longer made when AGI exceeds $80,000 for individuals, $160,000 for married joint filers and $120,000 for heads of household.
For eligible individuals, the Child Tax Credit (CTC) increases to $3,000 for each child age six to 17 and $3,600 per year for children under age six. To be eligible for the full payment, you must have a modified AGI of under $75,000 for singles, $112,500 for heads-of-households and $150,000 for joint filers and surviving spouses. The credit phases out at a rate of $50 for each $1,000 (or fraction thereof) of modified AGI over the applicable threshold.
Parents will begin receiving advance payments of part of the CTC later this year. Under the ARPA, the IRS must establish a program to make monthly payments (generally by direct deposits) equal to 50% of eligible taxpayers’ 2021 CTCs, from July 2021 through December 2021.
Some taxpayers who aren’t eligible to claim an increased CTC in 2021, because their income is too high, may be able to claim the regular CTC of up to $2,000, subject to the existing phaseout rules.
For 2021, there’s an expanded child and dependent care tax credit of up to $4,000 for childcare expenses for one child and up to $8,000 for two or more children for households making up to $125,000.
Any student loan debt forgiven between December 31, 2020, and January 1, 2026, will receive tax-free treatment.
An additional $300 per week in unemployment benefits will be paid through September 6, 2021. In addition, the first $10,200 in unemployment benefits received beginning in 2020 isn’t included in gross income for taxpayers with AGIs under $150,000. (However, for joint filers below the AGI limit, the $10,200 exclusion applies separately to each spouse.)
There’s expanded availability of and increased Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies for those who obtain insurance in the ACA marketplaces, for 2021 and 2022.
Federal rental assistance is included for families affected by COVID-19, applicable to past due rent, future rent payments, and utility and energy bills.
There’s expanded eligibility for low-income individuals with no qualifying children to claim the Earned Income Tax Credit.

Businesses and other employers

Pandemic assistance grants will be made to eligible businesses serving food or drinks, including restaurants and food trucks.
There will be additional funding for forgivable loans to eligible businesses under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which is currently scheduled to expire on March 31, 2021.
Nonprofit organizations and online news services will receive expanded PPP eligibility.
New targeted Economic Injury Disaster Loan grants will be available for eligible small businesses in low-income communities.
The Employee Retention Tax Credit is extended for eligible employers that continue to pay employee wages during COVID-19-related closures or experience reduced revenue through December 31, 2021. This includes “recovery startup businesses” (those businesses that launched after February 15, 2020, with average annual gross receipts of $1 million or less).
Tax credits for paid sick and family leave are modified and extended to September 30, 2021.
The excess business loss limitation is extended through December 31, 2026.
The Section 162(m) limits on the tax deduction that public companies can take for executive compensation is extended to cover the CEO, the CFO and the five next highest paid employees, beginning in 2027.

Make the most of the benefits

With vaccination rates climbing, the ARPA may be the last of the major legislative relief packages addressing the effects of the pandemic. We’d be pleased to provide you with more information on how you can make the most of the benefits available to you, your family or your business. Please contact us today to see how this will affect your situation.

bFile System Ready for RELIEF Act Sales & Use Tax Credit | CPA in Harford County | Weyrich, Cronin & Sorra

Governor Hogan Announces Emergency Stimulus & Relief Package

NEWS|January 14, 2021

Governor Larry Hogan recently proposed an emergency legislative package that will provide more than $1 billion in direct stimulus and tax relief for Maryland families, small businesses, and those who have lost their jobs as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. If signed into law as drafted the legislation would

Repeal all state and local income taxes on unemployment benefits
Support small businesses with sales tax credits of up to $3,000 per month for four months— for a total of up to $12,000
Extend unemployment tax relief for small businesses. This provision codifies an emergency order the governor issued last month.
Safeguards Maryland businesses against any tax increase triggered by the use of state loan or grant funds.
For families that filed for the states earned income tax credit, provides payments for low-to-moderate income Marylanders, with benefits of up to $750 for families and $450 for individuals. This relief begins with immediate payments of $500 for families and $300 for individuals who filed for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), followed by a second-round stimulus for EITC filers that would provide an additional $250 for eligible families and $150 for individuals. Similar to federal stimulus payments, no application for relief is necessary.

The Governor’s full announcement can be viewed here.

Employee Retention Credit changed for 2020 & 2021

As part of the recently passed 2021 Consolidated Appropriations Act Congress made a retroactive amendment and extension of the Employee Retention Credit (ERC) which was originally created and made available to businesses as part of the CARES Act of 2020. The extension applies to qualifying wages paid before July 1, 2021.

Previously, a business that received a PPP loan was not eligible to also claim the ERC. However under the new law, PPP borrowers can also apply for the credit, retroactive for 2020. Wages used to satisfy the PPP forgiveness eligibility cannot be used to claim the ERC. Employers that took PPP loans and had excess qualifying payroll should review their eligibility for any ERC available for 2020.

To be eligible for the ERC an employer must have experienced either : (A) Partial or full suspension of operations arising from a governmental order or (B) A significant decrease in gross receipts . The employer must also have continued to pay their employees during this period. A significant decrease in gross receipts is defined as:

2020 year- 2020 Gross receipts were less than 50% of gross receipts for the same quarter in 2019
2021 year- 2021 Gross receipts less than 80% of gross receipts for the same quarter in 2019

The credit computation depends on eligible payroll costs, the maximum eligible credit per employee is $5,000 for 2020 and $7,000 per quarter for Q1 & Q2 2021 (max $14,000).

For employers that have already filed and received their PPP loan forgiveness, additional guidance will be forthcoming as to claiming the 2020 ERC. For employers who received a PPP loan and have yet to apply for forgiveness they may want to consider holding their applications until additional guidance is released by the IRS and SBA.

For 2021 ERC, eligible employers will claim the ERC similar to how the 2020 ERC was claimed, that is by Form 941. In anticipation of receiving the ERC, eligible employers can fund qualified wages by: (1) Accessing federal employment taxes, including withheld taxes that are required to be deposited with the IRS, and (2) Requesting an advance of the credit from the IRS for the amount of the credit that is not funded by accessing the federal employment tax deposits, by filing Form 7200, Advance Payment of Employer Credits Due to COVID-19.

While the IRS has not yet updated their website for the new law, we anticipate updates shortly. Information can be obtained here.

The above is a summary of the ERC, additional eligibility requirements and exemptions apply. Employers with over 100 employees in 2020 or 500 employees in 2021 have additional restrictions.

Please do not hesitate to call our offices for additional information and to speak to your representative about how this could affect your situation.

Important Tax Provisions of the Consolidated Appropriations Act

Tax Prep, Planning & Strategy|December 28, 2020

The Consolidated Appropriations Act package signed by President Trump on December 27^th after being passed by Congress on December 21^st contains a number of important tax provisions designed to assist many individual and business taxpayers.

Individual Stimulus checks

Subject to income limitations, eligible taxpayers will receive payments of up to $600 for each adult and $600 for each dependent. Treasury Secretary Mnuchin expects the initial direct deposits to begin arriving in taxpayers’ accounts via direct deposit the following week.

PPP loans – Additional Funding and Clarity Regarding Deductibility of Related Expenses

Certain small businesses are eligible for a second round of PPP loans, with stricter rules to determine eligibility for need based funding. Eligibility to certain industries such as local newspapers, TV and radio broadcasters, churches and faith-based organizations has been expanded.

Additionally, Congress clarified the treatment of expenses related to PPP loans forgiven or reasonably expected to be forgiven. In Notice 2020-32, IRS previously issued that such expenses were not deductible. The Consolidated Appropriations Act clarified to state that “no deduction shall be denied, no tax attribute shall be reduced, and no basis increase shall be denied” for such expenses. Congress has also made changes to simplify the forgiveness application.

Other tax changes

The employment tax credit related to an employer’s portion (6.2%) of FICA taxes has been extended for certain employers.

Certain energy tax credits have been temporarily extended.

Business meals (not entertainment expenses) have been temporarily increased to 100% deductible for 2021 and 2022.

The stimulus package also contained numerous other important provisions that we will continue to monitor as additional information is released.

Questions?

Please contact a member of the WCS Tax Department with any questions.

Maryland Pass-Through Entities: Changes to State Tax Deduction

Tax Prep, Planning & Strategy|December 28, 2020

Following the enactment of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in 2018, individual taxpayers who report itemized deductions on their individual tax returns have generally been limited to the $10,000 cap on the deduction of state and local taxes. Subsequently, many states with high tax rates have looked for opportunities to mitigate such limitation.

Maryland issued legislation in July 2020 permitting a Maryland pass-through entity to elect to pay the tax imposed with respect to Maryland resident members’ share of income. If the annual election is made, the Maryland tax relating to such portion of income would be considered a tax on the entity, and accordingly treated as a business deduction at the pass-through entity level.

Following the announcement of the Maryland legislation, the Internal Revenue Service also recently released Notice 2020-75 which accepted certain pass-through taxes as a deduction at the entity level. The IRS anticipates proposed regulations on this matter to be released as well.

Maryland Pass-Through Entity Election

As currently written, the Maryland election is only available to pass-through S-Corporation and partnership entities (not available for sole proprietors) operating a trade or business and is not available for Maryland nonresident pass-through entity members.

There are many current uncertainties as tax forms and instructions have yet to be released. We expect clarification and technical corrections to be released.

Year End Tax Planning

With the recent Maryland and IRS releases, there are a many potential timing and cash flow implications relating to the payment of the estimated Maryland tax liability by the pass-through entity. We recommend these discussions be included as part of year end 2020 tax planning and consideration of the Maryland tax liability in the future.

Questions?

Please contact a member of the WCS Tax Department here.

Navigating Through the Financial Impacts of the Covid-19 Pandemic

Governmental Accounting|December 23, 2020

As Marylanders brace for the “second wave” of the novel coronavirus COVID-19, members of the Maryland Municipal League (MML) are also bracing for the financial turmoil the pandemic will be causing for the next several years.

Click here to read the full article.

Get smart when tackling estate planning for intellectual property

Tax Prep, Planning & Strategy|August 20, 2020

If you’ve invented something during your lifetime and had it patented, your estate includes intellectual property (IP). The same goes for any copyrighted works. These assets can hold substantial value, and, thus, must be addressed by your estate plan. However, bear in mind that these assets are generally treated differently than other types of property.

4 categories of IP

IP generally falls into one of four categories: patents, copyrights, trademarks and trade secrets. Let’s focus on only patents and copyrights, which are protected by federal law in order to promote scientific and creative endeavors by providing inventors and artists with exclusive rights to benefit economically from their work for a certain period.

In a nutshell, patents protect inventions, and the two most common are utility and design patents. Under current law, utility patents protect an invention for 20 years from the patent application filing date. Design patents last 15 years from the patent issue date. For utility patents, it typically takes at least a year to a year and a half from the date of filing to the date of issue.

When it comes to copyrights, they protect the original expression of ideas that are fixed in a “tangible medium of expression,” typically in the form of written works, music, paintings, film and photographs. Unlike patents, which must be approved by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, copyright protection kicks in as soon as a work is fixed in a tangible medium.

Valuing and transferring IP

Valuing IP is a complex process. So, it’s best to obtain an appraisal from a professional with experience valuing this commodity.

After you know the IP’s value, it’s time to decide whether to transfer the IP to family members, colleagues, charities or others through lifetime gifts or through bequests after your death. The gift and estate tax consequences will affect your decision. But you also should consider your income needs, as well as who’s in the best position to monitor your IP rights and take advantage of their benefits.

If you’ll continue to depend on the IP for your livelihood, for example, hold on to it at least until you’re ready to retire or you no longer need the income. You also might want to retain ownership of the IP if you feel that your children or other transferees lack the desire or wherewithal to take advantage of its economic potential and monitor and protect it against infringers.

Whichever strategy you choose, it’s important to plan the transaction carefully to ensure your objectives are achieved. There’s a common misconception that, when you transfer ownership of the tangible medium on which IP is recorded, you also transfer the IP rights. But IP rights are separate from the work itself and are retained by the creator.

Revise your plan accordingly

If you own patents or copyrights, you probably have great interest in who’ll take possession of your work after you’re gone. Contact us with any questions on how to incorporate IP in your estate plan.

ERM: A systemic approach to reducing your nonprofit’s risks

Accounting & Assurance|August 19, 2020

Do you associate enterprise risk management (ERM) with for-profit businesses? This systemic approach to risk reduction can be just as effective when adopted by nonprofit organizations. Even organizations with limited resources can — and should — use an ERM process to combat threats.

Weighing risks

ERM is a comprehensive program that considers an organization’s entire portfolio of risks. Rather than attacking every risk equally, ERM compares risks and strategically deploys resources depending on their likelihood and potential impact.

You might also have different tolerances for different kinds of threats — for example, be mildly cautious about reputational risks and very averse to financial risks. With ERM, you can contain those risks with the greatest potential impact and respond nimbly to others.

Using it effectively

Experienced financial advisors and risk-management consultants can help you set up an ERM program. Generally, you’ll want to start by establishing a risk management governance structure with assigned roles and responsibilities. Your nonprofit’s executives and board should define the organization’s risk tolerance and make clear its commitment to the program.

Next, your organization will want to:

Assemble a cross-departmental committee to develop the program. Different departments may have different perspectives on certain risks. For example, a finance manager might think inaccurate reporting of program information is less consequential because it’s unlikely to affect revenues or expenses. Your public relations manager may disagree, arguing that such errors could affect how donors and other supporters view your nonprofit.

Conduct a risk assessment. The committee’s first task is to identify risks. It shouldn’t rely on its own knowledge, but should conduct interviews with management and staff and, possibly, clients. Then, the committee will be ready to rank risks based on your organization’s tolerance and their potential impact. Which are most likely to occur? Which could cause the most harm? The bottom line: Which threats are most likely to prevent you from accomplishing your mission?

Create and implement a plan. Once risks are identified and prioritized, the committee can devise a plan to mitigate them appropriately. For each risk, it should determine whether to accept, reduce or avoid it. And it should implement controls, processes and procedures accordingly. The committee is then charged with rolling out the plan. This should include communicating it throughout the organization.

Review and revise. ERM is an ongoing process, with continual monitoring of key risks and key performance indicators to ensure appropriate adjustments. Be sure to update your initial risk assessment to reflect organizational changes (for example, new staff or services), as well as changes in the legal and regulatory environment.

Cost-effective method

Once it’s established, you should be able to manage an ERM program with internal staff and board input. So, it’s a fairly cost-effective method of containing threats. Talk to us about adopting ERM.

Free Webinar: Getting a 360° Perspective on your Business

American Rescue Plan: More Details on Tax Credits Available

Maryland Sales and Use Tax on Digital Products

The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) has passed: What’s in it for you?

Governor Hogan Announces Emergency Stimulus & Relief Package

Important Tax Provisions of the Consolidated Appropriations Act

Maryland Pass-Through Entities: Changes to State Tax Deduction

Navigating Through the Financial Impacts of the Covid-19 Pandemic

Get smart when tackling estate planning for intellectual property

ERM: A systemic approach to reducing your nonprofit’s risks

Our Services

Our Industry Expertise

Hunt Valley Office

Bel Air Office

Elkton Office

Latest Tweets