Wall, Smith, Bateman Inc. Certified Public Accountants

09/17/2022

In support of the Stephanie Miner 5k walk this weekend, we had a great group of staff who showed their support on Friday by wearing their Stephanie Miner shirts from this year and from years past.

11/18/2021

Are you launching a business or thinking about changing your existing business entity? You’ll need to determine which entity works best for you: a C corporation or a pass-through entity such as a sole proprietorship, partnership, LLC or S corporation. There are many factors to consider. Proposed federal tax law changes may affect your decision. The corporate federal income tax is currently imposed at a flat 21%, while individual federal income tax rates go up to 37%. The rate difference may be mitigated by the qualified business income deduction available to eligible pass-through entity owners that are individuals, estates and trusts. Questions about your situation? Consult with us.

11/11/2021

10/29/2021

🎃👻Happy Halloween, from all of your friends at Wall, Smith, Bateman Inc. 👻🎃

10/26/2021

The Social Security Administration recently announced that the wage base for computing Social Security tax will increase to $147,000 for 2022 (up from $142,800 for 2021). Wages and self-employment income above this threshold aren’t subject to Social Security tax. The Federal Insurance Contributions Act imposes two taxes on employers, employees and self-employed workers. One is for Social Security tax, and the other for Medicare tax. There’s a maximum amount of compensation subject to the Social Security tax, but no maximum for Medicare tax. For 2022, the F**A tax rate for employers is 7.65% — 6.2% for Social Security and 1.45% for Medicare (the same as in 2021).

10/21/2021

How has the pandemic affected your organization? You might not have considered this question since last year if your organization prepares GAAP financial statements only at year end. Home in on the following 10 areas: 1) revenue recognition and collectability of accounts receivable, 2) government grants, 3) estimates and fair values, 4) investments and financial instruments that qualify for hedge accounting, 5) inventory, 6) property, plant and equipment, 7) goodwill and other intangible assets, 8) deferred tax assets, 9) accrued liabilities, and 10) long-term debt. Contact us to ensure your accounting staff is on track to accurately report pandemic-related effects to stakeholders for 2021.

10/18/2021

OCT. 15: If you’re the owner or operator of a calendar-year C corp. which filed an extension, file a 2020 income tax return. NOV. 1: Report income tax withholding and F**A taxes for Q3 2021 (unless you’re eligible for a Nov. 10 deadline because you deposited on time (and in full) all of the associated taxes due). DEC. 15: If a calendar-year C corp., pay the fourth installment of 2021 estimated income taxes. Note: Certain deadlines may be postponed in federally declared disaster areas. Contact us for more about the filing requirements and to ensure you’re meeting all applicable deadlines.

09/17/2021

Sept. 13-17 has been declared National Small Business Week by the SBA. To commemorate, here’s a tax break to consider. Your business may be able to claim 100% bonus depreciation for asset additions. Under current law, first-year bonus depreciation is available for qualified new and used property that’s acquired and placed in service in 2021. That means your business may be able to deduct the entire cost of some or all asset purchases on this year’s return. To take advantage of this, you may want to make acquisitions before Dec. 31. The bonus depreciation tax break can also be used for eligible heavy SUVs, pickups and vans used over 50% for business. Contact us to help evaluate your options.

09/17/2021

You can now pay your bill online! Wall, Smith, Bateman Inc. has made paying your bill even easier! Bills can be paid via ACH by visiting www.wsbcpa.com and clicking the "Make A Payment" button. Follow the prompts, and it’s that easy!

08/27/2021

There’s a harsh tax penalty that you could be at risk for paying personally if you own or manage a business with employees. The Trust Fund Recovery Penalty applies to the Social Security and income taxes required to be withheld by a business from employees' wages. Because taxes are considered government property, the employer holds them in “trust” on the government’s behalf until they’re paid over. The penalty is also sometimes called the “100% penalty” because the people liable and responsible for the taxes will be penalized 100% of the taxes due. The amounts the IRS seeks when the penalty is applied are usually substantial, and the IRS is aggressive in enforcing the penalty.

06/08/2021

The IRS has released the inflation-adjusted amounts for Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) next year. For calendar year 2022, the annual contribution limitation for an individual with self-only coverage under a HDHP (High Deductible Health Plan) will be $3,650. For an individual with family coverage, the amount will be $7,300. This is up from $3,600 and $7,200, respectively, for 2021. For calendar year 2022, an HDHP will be a health plan with an annual deductible that isn’t less than $1,400 for self-only coverage or $2,800 for family coverage. And annual out-of-pocket expenses (deductibles, co-payments, and other amounts, but not premiums) won’t be able to exceed $7,050 for self-only coverage or $14,100 for family coverage.