BTR's News to Use

This time of year, many companies are arranging the renewal of their health plans.  As your company prepares to do the same, please keep one thing in mind: the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”).   

Below are a few of the topics discussed in our ACA seminar with Bernstein Shur Attorney, Steve Gerlach.

• Beginning in 2015, employers with 100 or more full time employees (part-time employees are counted proportionally) are subject to ACA penalties if they fail to offer to their full time employees health coverage that meets ACA standards. These penalties run $2,080-3,120 per year per employee. 

As of 7/31/15, President Obama signed the Surface Transportation and Veterans Health Care Choice Improvement Act of 2015 (Highway Act), which includes some significant changes to longstanding tax provisions. Please note, these changes will only take effect for tax years beginning AFTER December 31, 2015 and therefore do not affect the upcoming tax season. Important changes are as follows:

• Partnership returns (Form 1065) are due March 15 instead of April 15 following the close of the calendar year (or 15^th day of the third month following the close of the fiscal year)
• S Corporation returns will remain having a due date of March 15.
• Corporate returns (Form 1120) are due April 15 instead of March 15 following the close of the calendar year (or 15^th day of the fourth month following the close of the fiscal year)
• Extension periods for 1065s and 1120s will both stay at September 15, even though the original due dates have changed.
• The extension period for Trusts and Estates (Form 1041) has been changed to September 30 rather than September 15.
• The FBAR return (FINCEN 114) will be due April 15 instead of June 30. It can also now be extended to October 15, whereas previously no extension was allowed.

If you’re the parent of a high school or college student, chances are your kid has a summer job.  If so, chances are they don’t necessarily know what they’re doing when it comes to taxes. They probably don’t understand how their taxes can affect you as a parent, or their own finances as they transition into adulthood.

Here’s what you BOTH need to know about paying taxes on summer jobs:

• All taxpayers, including students, must fill out a W-4 when starting a new job.  This form is used to determine the amount of tax that will be withheld from each paycheck.  It is important that both you and your child understand what is being withheld and how it will affect your child’s income.

*Side note: if your child has multiple summer jobs, make sure they receive and fill out a W-4 for each position.  This is the only way to ensure that your child’s employer is withholding an adequate amount of taxes to cover their total income liability tax.