Small Business Liaisons
“We're acting to make it easier to do business in Washington"
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Upcoming events & IRS news releases 8/24/2015 Announcements & Upcoming Events: Save the Date! Biz Fair 2015 - Saturday, September 26 Saturday, Sept 26 – 8:00 am – 3:30 pm Renton Technical College – Renton, WA One day, one place - learn how to form and run a small business. Connect with government agencies and business organizations to get the information you need. Attend seminars that cover topics for all stages of business ownership. Visit www.bizfair.org and follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/bizfair. IRS Webinar: Business Taxes for the Self-Employed – The Basics https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/webinars-for-small-businesses August 26 -- 11:00 a.m. - noon Register here: https://www.webcaster4.com/Webcast/Page/445/9489 Free! Topics include: This event will be archived in the IRS Video Portal for later viewing approximately three weeks after the date of the event. IRS Webinar Series: Affordable Care Act Provisions for Employers and Coverage Providers If you’re an employer or health coverage provider, you can attend a series of educational webinars this summer to help you understand the Affordable Care Act’s employer provisions and related requirements. The IRS is presenting three different webinars in July that will each be repeated in August and September. Employer Shared Responsibility and Information Reporting Learn about the ACA’s employer shared responsibility provisions and information reporting requirements for employers and providers of minimum essential coverage. · Sept. 16, 1:30 – 3 p.m. Employer-Sponsored Health Coverage Information Reporting Requirements for Applicable Large Employers Learn about employer-sponsored health coverage information reporting requirements for applicable large employers, including who is required to report, what information the law requires you to report, and how to complete the required forms. · Sept. 10, 11 a.m. – 12 p.m. Information Reporting Requirements for Providers of Minimal Essential Coverage Learn about the information reporting requirements for providers of minimum essential coverage, including employers that provide self-insured coverage. Learn who is required to report, what information the law requires you to report, and how to complete the required forms. · Aug. 26, 1 – 2 p.m. · Sept. 22, 1 – 2 p.m. Small Business Workshops – Seattle SBA Education and Training Center What you need to know to start and sustain your company without being so focused on your tax return. In this class you will learn the types of entity structures and their tax effects, important requirements for specific deductions like meals and entertainment and home office and how to choose your tax preparer. Licensing and Registration: What You Need To Know - 2nd Thursday of each month - 10:30 to 11:30 am Once you've chosen your business entity (limited liability company, corporation, sole proprietor, etc.), then it's time to register and license your business. Hear what steps you need to take with the Secretary of State's Office and Business Licensing Services. Workshops are held at the 4th & Battery Building - 2401 Fourth Avenue, Suite 450, Seattle Please pre-register by calling 206-553-2664 or e-mail workshops@sba.gov. SBA and SCORE also offer a variety of other workshops for small business owners – find out more here: https://www.sba.gov/offices/district/wa/seattle Seattle SCORE Workshops http://seattle.score.org/localworkshops SCORE offers workshops designed to give you the skills necessary to start your own successful business. Sept 2, Oct 7 -- Starting a New Business Sept 16 – Understanding Financial Statements 4th & Battery Building - 2401 Fourth Avenue, Suite 450, Seattle Affordable Care Act 101 Webinars for Small Business The SBA and Small Business Majority are holding weekly Affordable Care Act 101 webinars. During the presentation, small business owners can learn about the law and what it means for their company and employees. Visit the web page above for a complete schedule and to register. Webinars are also offered in Spanish. See the page above for dates and to register. http://lni.wa.gov/Safety/TrainingPrevention/workshops/WorkshopInfo.asp?WkshopID=78 This workshop is designed for new businesses or businesses that plan to hire workers for the first time. It explains an employer’s rights and responsibilities and provides an overview of the services and resources available at Labor and Industries. Sept 9 -- Tacoma 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. Sept 22 -- Mount Vernon -- 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. Sept 29 -- Yakima-- 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. Oct 1 – Tumwater -- 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Oct 6 -- Vancouver -- 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Oct 6 -- Kennewick -- 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Oct 7 – Tukwila -- 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. New Business Tax Workshops – Washington State Department of Revenue Learn the basics of Washington State taxes. This free workshop will help you understand your tax reporting responsibilities. Tax reporting classifications, deductions, sales tax collection, and recordkeeping requirements will be discussed. You'll also have the opportunity to ask questions regarding taxes that apply specifically to your business. To find out when the next workshop will be held in your area, and to register, see the link above. Can’t attend a workshop in person? Watch an online workshop or tutorial. IRS Updates & News Releases: Did you know? One of the best ways to get information is by visiting the IRS Small Business Tax Center where you can learn everything from how to get an Employer Identification Number (EIN) online to how to best navigate an audit. Payments to Independent Contractors http://www.irs.gov/uac/Newsroom/Payments-to-Independent-Contractors The Internal Revenue Service reminds employers to correctly determine whether workers are employees or independent contractors. Generally, employers must withhold income taxes, withhold and pay Social Security and Medicare taxes, and pay unemployment tax on wages paid to employees. Business owners do not generally have to withhold or pay any taxes on payments to independent contractors. Before a business can determine how to treat payments for services, they must first know the business relationship that exists between the business and the person performing the services. IRS Warns Taxpayers to Guard Against New Tricks by Scam Artists; Losses Top $20 Million http://www.irs.gov/uac/Newsroom/IRS-Warns-Taxpayers-to-Guard-Against-New-Tricks-by-Scam-Artists Following the emergence of new variations of widespread tax scams, the Internal Revenue Service issued another warning to taxpayers to remain on high alert and protect themselves against the ever-evolving array of deceitful tactics scammers use to trick people. These schemes — which can occur over the phone, in e-mails or through letters with authentic looking letterhead — try to trick taxpayers into providing personal financial information or scare people into making a false tax payment that ends up with the criminal. It is important to remember the official IRS website is IRS.gov. Taxpayers are urged not to be confused or misled by sites claiming to be the IRS but ending in .com, .net, .org or other designations instead of .gov. Taxpayers should never provide personal information, financial or otherwise, to suspicious websites or strangers calling out of the blue. See the full article for more information on what to do if you think you have been the victim of an IRS impersonation scam. IRS Reminds Truckers: For Most, Highway Use Tax Return Is Due Aug. 31 http://www.irs.gov/uac/Newsroom/IRS-Reminds-Truckers-Highway-Use-Tax-Return-Is-Due-Aug-31 The Internal Revenue Service reminds truckers and other owners of heavy highway vehicles that in most cases their next federal highway use tax return is due Monday, Aug. 31, 2015. The deadline generally applies to Form 2290 and the accompanying tax payment for the tax year that begins July 1, 2015, and ends June 30, 2016. Returns must be filed and tax payments made by Aug. 31 for vehicles used on the road during July. For vehicles first used after July, the deadline is the last day of the month following the month of first use. Though some taxpayers have the option of filing Form 2290 on paper, the IRS encourages all taxpayers to take advantage of the speed and convenience of filing this form electronically and paying any tax due electronically. Taxpayers reporting 25 or more vehicles must e-file. A list of IRS-approved e-file providers can be found on IRS.gov. Additional IRS Statement on the "Get Transcript" Incident http://www.irs.gov/uac/Newsroom/Additional-IRS-Statement-on-the-Get-Transcript-Incident Following an incident involving the IRS’s “Get Transcript” web application discovered in May, the IRS conducted an extensive review covering the 2015 filing season to assess whether other suspicious activity occurred. Following this review, the IRS has identified more questionable attempts to obtain transcripts using sensitive information already in the hands of criminals. As a result, the IRS is moving immediately to notify and help protect these taxpayers. The IRS will begin mailing letters in the next few days to about 220,000 taxpayers where there were instances of possible or potential access to “Get Transcript” taxpayer account information. A wide variety of actions to protect taxpayers are being taken beyond the mailings, including offering taxpayers free credit protection as well as Identity Protection PINs. The IRS takes the security of taxpayer data extremely seriously, and we are working to continue to strengthen security for “Get Transcript,” including by enhancing taxpayer-identity authentication protocols. Tax Tips http://www.irs.gov/uac/IRS-Tax-Tips Visit this page for the latest IRS tax tips. Here is a sample of the tips available: IRS Tax Tips for Starting a Business Eight Things to Know about the Taxpayer Advocate Service IRS Offers Easy-to-Use Online Tools IRS Tips to Help People Pay Their Taxes Get Tax Help with Social Media Health Care Tax Tips https://www.irs.gov/affordable-care-act/health-care-tax-tips2 Check out the tax tips for your health care questions on this page. Health Care Law Tax Provisions: IRS Recorded Webinars for Employers and Coverage Providers Reporting Guidance for Applicable Large Employers What Employers Need to Know about the Affordable Care Act Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) Marketplace https://www.healthcare.gov/small-businesses/ The Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) Marketplace helps small businesses provide health coverage to their employees. The SHOP Marketplace is open to employers with 50 or fewer full-time equivalent employees (FTEs). This includes non-profit organizations. You can enroll in SHOP any time of year - there’s no restricted enrollment period. For more information, visit HealthCare.gov. There are guides, an archived webinar and other resources available here: https://marketplace.cms.gov/outreach-and-education/shop-resources-2018.html The Affordable Care Act and Employers
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