Do You Owe the IRS? What Now?

What To Do If You Owe the IRS

So you receive a letter from the IRS in the mail and they have figured out that you have been less than truthful when filing your tax returns.  They have recalculated your tax and now you have a bill.  Or maybe, you filed your return on time, but did not have the funds to pay the amount due to the IRS.  If you are like many of the people with IRS tax issues, you likely want to run and hide – hoping the problem will go away.

We see this very often and I am telling you that your problem will not go away on its own.  You need to face it and take steps to resolve your IRS debt. 

The first step is making sure your tax returns were filed correctly, and you need to know how much you owe the IRS for all years that are unpaid.

  

The IRS offers installment payment plans depending on the amount you owe.  This option allows you to pay your overdue tax bill monthly until it is paid off.

If you have a large balance due and you cannot afford to pay it back, you may consider an Offer in Compromise.  This is an option for people who truly cannot and will not be able to pay off their debt in the near future.  If the IRS accepts you into this program, you will agree to pay a smaller amount of tax to settle the debt.  This sum is usually paid in one lump sum, but may be spread over a few payments.

Honorine M. Campisi, CPA

NYS Sales Tax - Florists and the Sales of Flowers

Welcome to the latest installment of our monthly blog “What are the rules for NYS Sales tax for my profession?”  

Every month we are highlighting another industry with a few of the broad guidelines to follow!  Our hope is not only to provide helpful information for the business owners but the consumers as well!

This month’s industry is:

 Florists and the Sales of Flowers

Direct sales and sales using a florist’s wire service are the two ways flowers are usually purchased.  There are different rules that apply depending on how the flowers are purchased. 

•       Direct Sales:  These are sales that don’t involve wire service.  They can include direct sales or the deliveries of flowers.   Sales tax must be charged in the jurisdiction where the flowers are delivered to the customer or at the rate where the customer directs the flowers to be delivered.  The taxable amount includes shipping and/or delivery.

It is important to note that if you call a toll-free number or visit a website to order the flowers these are considered direct sales if they are not completed using a florist’s wire service.  The seller contacts a local florist near the delivery point to complete the order.  If the toll-free number or website is a registered New York State vendor they must collect sales tax on all sales where the delivery of the flowers is within New York State.  Tax is charged on the whole price charged – flowers plus delivery, fees and shipping.  The local florist that is fulfilling the order does not charge sales tax. 

•       Florist’s Wire Service:  Sales of flowers using a wire service are taxed in the jurisdiction where the order is first received from the customer.  It does not matter where the flowers are being delivered to.  

•         Sales of Flowers to Caterers:  If a florist sells flowers to a caterer, he or she does not have to collect sales tax as long as the florist receives a properly completed Resale Certificate.

This is just a brief overview of the sales tax laws regarding the sale of flowers.  Feel free to give our office a call for more information. 

By Christine A. Murphy

Is Your Data Secure?

Is Your Data Secure?

If you think your data is secure, read on to see if you are doing all you can to protect it.  Any business, in in any industry that keeps electronic records should be concerned with the safety of their electronic files.  Hacking has become a profitable business for criminals, making it more important than ever to safeguard yourself.

Here are several quick and easy steps you can take to bolster your resistance to an attack.

1. The first is simple, make sure your workstations go to “sleep” when inactive for more than a few minutes.
2. Clean your desk at the end of the day. Put all files in a locked cabinet or file room.
3. If you offer Wi-Fi to your clients, consider using a second network just for them. Keep the network used for your workstations separate and protect it with a password.
4. Back up your files regularly! This is good practice to safeguard against data loss from other sources, too.
5. Do you work from home? Make sure laptops and files are secured whenever they are out of the office.
6. Do you send sensitive data via email? Email can be accessed by hackers before arriving at its destination, so consider what you are sending. 
7. Review your security standards at least annually and make any necessary improvements.
8. Finally, we all should be checking our personal and business credit reports for signs of trouble, or mistakes that need correcting at least annually.

Honorine M. Campisi, CPA