Westhill Accounting and Tax Services, LLC

09/04/2020

Are you, as a business owner, committing "bank balance bookkeeping"?

Checking your business bank account daily as a measurement of your business health?

If that's you, we should really talk. We go overboard to provide the kind of insight into financials that you need to make strong decisions.

For example, by pointing out different reports and metrics that you can find in most accounting softwares, that business owners or their bookkeepers often neglect. Knowing these numbers will help you avoid an embarrassing flub in YOUR business.

We're here for you.

09/03/2020

"When we long for life without difficulties, remind us that oaks grow strong in contrary winds and diamonds are made under pressure."
-Peter Marshall

May our finances, families, and communities grow stronger through this year of trial.

09/02/2020

What's holding up the next economic stimulus bill? Here are 10 items in negotiation. (And yes, it looks like another round of stimulus checks will be part of the deal.)

The coronavirus-induced recession has economically impacted tens of millions of Americans. Here are the hot-button topics in Washington today.

09/01/2020

Did you get a letter from the IRS in the mail recently? There could be two reasons for this:

1) It could be that your tax payment just hasn't been processed yet. Due to the COVID closure of IRS offices, they are extremely behind on mail processing. If you already sent in your payment, just be patient.

2) It could be that you really do have an accumulating IRS debt. And you know it, but just don't want to face it?

The first step towards finally getting your IRS issues resolved is actually the easiest. Contact us to clarify if you do indeed have a problem, and if so, we'll show you how to work through it.

08/31/2020

UPDATE: Guidance has now been issued regarding the Presidential Memorandum deferring employee Social Security tax withholding.

Social security taxes may be officially postponed (not forgiven) from Sept 1 - Dec 31. This payroll tax deferral for wage-earners below an annual salary of $104,000 is optional, not required.

Then that deferred tax must be paid by April 30, 2021. Interest, penalties, and additions to tax will begin to accrue on May 1, 2021, for any unpaid applicable taxes.

The Treasury Department finally issued guidance for employers on the payroll tax deferral that President Donald Trump signed in an executive memo on August 8, 2020 as Congressional negotiations over the second coronavirus stimulus bill were stalled.

08/29/2020

How Fairfield and Westchester Counties Businesses Get More Done With Less Time

Everybody wants to get more done. Is the answer just working harder? Maybe not. Here's what we found.

08/28/2020

The IRS has not forgotten about cryptocurrency taxes, despite all of the challenges of 2020.

The IRS has begun sending out another round of crypto tax warning letters to US taxpayers according to several posts on Reddit and as reported by several CoinTracker.io users.

08/27/2020

"It doesn't take much to make someone's day or be kind to someone," he said. "And it doesn't have to be with a lawn mower. There's many ways to make a difference."

Since May 17, Rodney Smith has driven nearly 19,000 miles across 46 of the 48 continental United States. His goal is simple: mow a lawn in each state for someone who needs help - a veteran, a single mother, the elderly or someone who is disabled. "I saw a guy traveling the world with acts of kindnes...

08/26/2020

Though the IRS closed most physical operations in March, the mail kept coming. That meant up to 12 million pieces of mail got backed up in IRS processing centers.

When IRS workers returned to work, they resumed normal duties, which included the issuance of overdue tax notices. But some of that money was already sitting in the stacks of mail.

So, in response to the public outcry, the IRS has now stopped sending those notices.

**However, if you were alerted to overdue taxes by an earlier notice and haven't yet paid, you do still need to take care of that. If you don't, the old mail has been processed, you will get a correctly-issued tax due notice ... and owe a lot penalties and interest.

The Internal Revenue Service heard the complaints about incorrect unpaid tax notices and has acted. It announced yesterday, Aug. 21, afternoon that it is temporarily halting the mailing of three nonpayment notices. The decision came on the heels of public outcry, some of it among taxpayers and the p...

08/25/2020

Still no guidance from the IRS about the payroll tax "holiday" (deferral), so it's extremely unlikely that your employer will be ready -- simply because the major payroll companies don't have the answers to many questions.

This means you might not see any savings on your paycheck from this in early September. If it were a "suspension" of the payroll tax (and not a deferral), things would be much simpler ... but the President can't do that at the stroke of a pen -- that's a Congressional matter (separation of powers, and whatnot).

So, don't look to this very much as a financial help just yet.

The clock is ticking on the start of the employee payroll tax reduction that President Trump has issued via an executive order. Businesses and payroll providers are concerned it will be hard to put it into effect by Sept. 1.

08/24/2020

Rather than looking to outside forces to save your financial bacon, what can you do THIS WEEK to find more financial margin? Are there expenses you can cut, additional revenue streams to add (a second/third/fourth job, selling things around the house, etc.), other resources you can tap?

We know ... for some, these are unrealistic options for many possible reasons. These are not easy times.

But regardless, we have a choice: we can either stew in our juice about hard things "out there" ... or we can take positive action today to do something about it for ourselves and our family.

And remember, you've got us in your corner.

08/22/2020

How Fairfield and Westchester Counties Businesses Can Market More Effectively In This New Normal

2020 has changed how Fairfield and Westchester Counties businesses should be communicating with their clients and prospects. Here's what we've learned from our business owner clients.