The Affordable Care Act: You May Need to Work with a Rochester Accounting Firm

The Affordable Care Act has been a topic in the news for well over three years. As the law begins its implementation, there are rules and requirements that must be adhered to in order to remain in compliance with the act. While some business owners may wish to try and figure things out on their own, they likely would be making a huge mistake. Granted, the employer mandate has been recently waived buying businesses more time to learn how to comply with the law, there is only so much a novice will be able to figure out. As such, it is absolutely necessary than anyone running a small business speak with a tax professional discuss matters with an qualified Rochester accounting tax specialist who is able to offer the proper guidance and advice. Anything less runs the risk of turning into a major problem for a business owner.

Most are likely aware that the law requires businesses with 50 full-time employees to offer health coverage or pay a penalty. Those who have heard this might not have looked closer at the wording of the law or read any of its related statutes. There is likely a good reason why they would not think to do so. The owner of a business is not involved with accounting and does not follow such matters closely. Be that as it may, the law is the law and there will be requirements which must be followed.

For one, the 50 employees refers to the total amount of employees among all the businesses owned by someone. In other words, if you owned 5 businesses with 10 employees, providing healthcare is required. As skilled Rochester accounting professional will be able to advise you about matters such as these.

Also, the delineation of 50 full-time employees could mean the equivalent of the total of the hours worked by 50 full-time employees. If a host of part-time employees end up equating with the number of full-time hours, requirements to cover benefits or pay fines kicks in. Timelines also exist for a business to comply with the law. Has your business down what is required to stay on top of its timeline? If not, then there could be a number of troubles coming down the road.

Once again, since the law is new and business owners are not versed on how to deal with it, hiring a professional accountant is a much better plan than filing messed up tax returns. If you do that, the risk of an audit increases exponentially. Even if you do not get audited, the tax return will have to be changed. How could it not be? The figures on it were wrong. When a tax return has been adjusted, you will usually find a bill showing up in the mail not too long after you have filed it. Rather than deal with such unexpected and annoying financial woes, it would be much better to have a Rochester accounting tax professional handle your business' ability to implement the program the right way.

Dealing with Late Deposits on 401(k) Plans

As the plan sponsor for your employees’ retirement benefits plan known as the 401(k), you have the fiduciary responsibility of ensuring accurate and timely deposits of the contributions, loan repayments, and other withheld deductions related to the plan. But what happens when you have been remiss in your fiduciary responsibility? Here are tips from a trusted Rochester CPA in dealing with said late deposits.

Know the Requirements

The first step is to know the general requirements for 401(k) plans in terms of the timing of their deposits. The date of deposits depends on the number of participants such that:

• If you have fewer than 100 participants in the plan, the employees’ contributions and loan repayments should be deposited by the 7th business day after the pay period pertaining to the amounts withheld.
• If you have 100 or more participants in the plan, the deposit must be made either on these two dates, whichever is earlier - (a) the date when the withheld amounts can be segregated from the assets of the business; or (b) the 15th business day of the month after the pay period pertaining to the withheld amounts.

Ask your trusted Rochester CPA about possible exceptions but the above mentioned rules apply to most plan administrators. Keep in mind, too, that a few 401(k) plan vendors will send reminder about late plan deposits but said reminder are usually worded in such a way as to exclude all fiduciary responsibility on their part. You, as the plan administrator, must assume said responsibility.

Keep Records

In most instances of late deposits, you have the option of self-correcting the issue by making the deposits and then calculating the lost earnings caused by the late deposit not being invested in a 401(k) plan. You will not be required to file the necessary paperwork with the Department of Labor and/or with the Internal Revenue Service especially when the late deposits pertained to just one to two payroll cycles. You must, however, keep records of your actions as future reference for audit work by an independent Rochester accountant, for example.

Kick the Problem

As your trusted Rochester CPA will say, a late deposit should not be cause for concern but you should kick the problem, so to speak, as early as possible. Always remember that one or two late deposits are mostly inevitable considering human nature. But when such tardiness becomes chronic, remains unresolved for several payroll cycles, and/or becomes fraudulent in nature, you will have problems with government authorities on your hands.

Why? Late deposits can trigger audits by the DOL and/or IRS, which can lead to sanctions including penalties. The DOL will determine whether the 401(k) plan deposits were accurate and timely often by looking at the earliest possible date that you, the plan sponsor, could have made the deposits but did not. This is where your meticulous records come in as well as your valid explanation for the missed deposits.

Your best plan of action: Consult with your trusted Rochester CPA about the appropriate methods to kick the problem even before it becomes an audit trigger. Keep in mind that not only will your company be subjected to a DOL audit but you may be penalized by the IRS in the form of excise taxes.

Obamacare and Your Taxes for 2013

All Rochester accounting firms including Rizzo & DiGiacco have been well prepared for the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, as soon as it was signed into law on 23 March 2010; it’s their job, after all. But it is also the job of taxpayers such as yourself to anticipate Obamacare’s impact on your taxes for 2013.
 
Here then are the most important aspects of Obamacare as its provisions apply to tax planning goals. If you have any questions, concerns and issues about the law’s impact on your taxes, you should get it right from the horse’s mouth, so to speak – obviously the best Rochester accountant from our company! (Note: We also offer CFO outsourcing services for businesses)

Medicare Payroll Tax

 

In case it has escaped your attention, Medicare has faced and continues to face major financial concerns brought by several factors including the budget crisis and the national recession. The Obamacare provision regarding the payment of the 2.5% Medicare payroll tax on earnings above the stated thresholds - $200,000 for single taxpayers and $250,000 for married couples annually – is designed as part of the plan to keep the Medicare program running as well as it should be.

Obviously, the tax will affect high-income earning households. If you belong to the category, you can expect your Rochester taxes to have substantial differences in 2013 than in 2012 because of it.
Note: Your Rochester CPA will fill in the tax under its official name of Medical Hospital Insurance (Part A) Tax for the Medicare Hospital Insurance (HI) Trust Fund. Look for it for your enlightenment’s sake.

Unearned Income Tax

Yet another way that Obamacare will affect taxes in 2013 is the unearned income tax. Keep in mind that the tax will apply to a wide range of investments and their income including but not limited to dividends on stocks, interests on deposits, and rent revenue.

Individuals with several investments in their portfolios are then well advised to get on board the best Rochester consulting firm’s roster of clients so as not to overlook items wherein unearned income tax may be levied. The more accurate your tax returns in this regard, the better your chances for staying on the right side of the law - and the accountants and tax planners of Rizzo & DiGiacco will be of valuable assistance on this matter.

As with the Medicare payroll tax, the unearned income tax will affect high-income households. Single taxpayers earning more than $200,000 and married couples earning more than $250,000 per year will be subject to a surtax of 3.8% prior to deductions.

Cadillac Health Insurance Plan Tax

Although the tax will be imposed in 2018, Americans are well advised to start looking for affordable health insurance plans before the tax takes effect. The Cadillac health insurance plan tax refers to the steep 40% penalty for individuals enrolled in health insurance policies costing $10,200 or higher and for families with health insurance plans costing $27,500 or higher.

The bottom line: Be proactive by discussing the impact of Obamacare on your healthcare plans and your tax plans with your accountant and/or tax planner.

What Should I look for in a Rochester Accountant?

Someone you can openly communicate with and that will be there for you is important when it comes to selecting a Rochester accountant. While you want to work with a company that has a good clientele, make sure they also have time for you. It can be frustrating when you feel they are too busy to answer your questions and to give you the personalized attention you need for your account. Make sure they have core values and ethics in place so that you aren’t going to compromise yourself or your business by working with them.

Not all Rochester accounting companies offer the same services. A common mistake though is just assuming that they do. Some of them offer very basic series and a broad spectrum of choices. Others though are more specialized and they handle the very complex types of tax issues or business needs that can develop. There is so much more to these businesses than just Rochester taxes that is for sure!

For example, some of them offer CFO outsourcing services. This may be a concept that could work very well for your business. Yet you weren’t even aware that it was a possibility. With the creative elements in place as well as advanced technology, it may surprise you just what they can do for you.

Your own methods of communicate and style of tax planning that you are comfortable with will also influence who you work with. While a Rochester CPA can provide you with options, in the end you have the final say. Not only about who you will work with but the type of strategy that they can implement for taking care of your account.

Always take the time to make sure you have the right Rochester CPA in place. If you are looking for one, make sure you evaluate plenty of options before you make that final decision. You have too much at stake to make a rush decision. If you already have a CPA, but you feel that they aren’t really meeting your needs, it is time to change.

The process of Rochester consulting is worth looking at. This will take some time but it is a good investment overall. It allows you to talk face to face, at no charge, with various accountants in the Rochester area. There is no obligation to hire them and it is considered one of the best methods for evaluating who will rise to the top of your list.

Prepare for Rochester Consulting Sessions

One of the best ways to find a Rochester CPA that is perfect for your needs is to talk to several of them. Spend some time compiling a list of possibilities and then check them out online. You need to explore their features offered to make sure they are a good match for your personal or business needs.

Next, you need to find out their rating with the BBB and also what other clients have to say about them. Only select those businesses that have a BBB rating of B+ or higher. This means that they are excelling in their line of work and that works to your advantage. Read the various reviews from clients to find out about the pros and cons of a given business.

For those that seem quite favorable, write down their name and phone number. Then you can get in touch with them for an appointment. Ask about Rochester consulting which should always be free of charge. With the consulting, you need to be prepared for it so that you get all you can out of the session. If you go in and waste time because you don’t know the direction to take all of it, then you will get very little value out of it.

Show up with a list of questions that you have about tax planning, Rochester taxes, and other details. Use this same list of questions at each of the Rochester accounting firms you consult with so that you can compare answers. It is fine to jot down some notes too while you are in that meeting, they won’t mind at all.

It is acceptable to ask questions about their areas of expertise, experience, and their ethical behaviors. You need to know that the Rochester accountant you hire is going to be exceptional in all matters for you. Knowing you can count on them to be honest, efficient, and to be affordable will give you peace of mind.

If you are interested in CFO outsourcing, ask if they offer it. Not all accounting locations do but more of them are including it. If they get asked about it enough, they will consider adding it to keep customers happy and to help them secure new clients. The demand for services is very powerful when it comes to determining what services stay, what goes, and what is added.

You may wish to bring along some documents with you to show the CPA during the consulting session. They can even answer some specific questions about them for you. Communication is important so be open about what you need, what you expect, and don’t leave without answers to your questions.

Of course there will be those entities that talk in circles and don’t give you effective answers. Just mark them off your list because you don’t want to settle for a company that operates in such a manner. Not when there are so many better choices for you in the Rochester area that will do all they can to get your questions answered. They want to help, not make more issues for you.
Make sure you thank them for the time they gave you to talk. Take as much time as you need to make up your mind about who you will work with. When you make that call to move forward, you will already know what you can anticipate from that relationship.

Rochester Accounting Services Offer More than you Think

When most people think about Rochester accounting services, they think about taxes for themselves or for a business. They also think about tax planning services. One of the other options that you may be interested in for your business is CFO outsourcing. This is a practical solution and it is also a way to reduce the cost for the business.

It is a surefire way to do more for the business without one more body to make room for too. Perhaps you don’t have the office space. Instead of hiring someone that is at the business daily, the Rochester accountant can take care of those tasks for you. This short cut may be one that saves you money and time, but it doesn’t mean you compromise the overall importance of that position and role within any given business. It just means you are relying on an external source to take care of it for you.

While Rochester taxes are important, they are really only part of what a business is all about. That is why it makes sense to expand your needs through a CPA to what will really get you results. Such businesses have certainly expanded what they offer well beyond just the realm of tax preparation and tax laws.

For example, they can even help you with successfully identifying the right methods for ending a business. There can be serious tax repercussions and higher amounts due to the IRS if you don’t follow certain guidelines. They can assist you with creating a plan of action that is both legal and also going to offer you the best possible tax breaks available.

Spend some time with Rochester consulting opportunities so that you can find the right business to do this for you. The consulting process allows you to ask questions, get information and decide who has the right methods and experience for your CFO outsourcing to be the most efficient. Take your time finding the right link for this part of your business operations.

With so many realms of a typical business these days, including brick and mortar and e-commerce, you need to be willing to expand in new directions. Outsourcing has become a great way for a business to lower costs where they can. As a result, they can put more funding into what they must to keep the business moving forward, into research and development, and even into marketing. Perhaps now is the time for you to evaluate what benefits you can gain through such a process.

It may be the same Rochester CPA that offers you other services. If you are already working with a CPA, it makes sense to see if they can take on that additional role for you. If they don’t offer the service though you can definitely bring another entity on board to be part of the overall structure for the financial operations of your business.

Why Hiring a Rochester Accountant is a Smart Move for a Business

Most business owners or entrepreneurs are familiar with what a Rochester accountant does. They likely realize hiring an accountant can ensure issues related to their books and their taxes can be made much easier. That said, not everyone may be sure when the time is right for them to hire an accountant. There are a few factors that will come into play dictating the time to hire an accountant is on the horizon.


If you are seriously concerned about your own problems with errors and inaccuracies, then hiring an accountant might be among the most important steps you could take. No one is perfect and accounting can certainly be hard job to perform without error. This is true even when someone has a lot of experience with the job. Imagine how hard it can be when you lack experience. Rather than find yourself in a tough situation where you run the risk of committing pronounced errors, it would be a much better strategy to turn over such tasks to an accountant. Even if only a partial amount of the tasks are handed to an accountant, solace can be taken in the notion the work performed is done so with a lesser chance of error.


Anyone that has become overwhelmed with other responsibilities may wish to hire a Rochester accountant. When a business becomes enormously busy, this is a good thing. However, there can be certain drawbacks such as the inability to juggle all the tasks required and also the inability to be timely with every tasks. Certain responsibilities that do not seem pressing at the time can end up being passed to a later date. This can create an accounting nightmare. Rather than end up in such a position, it would be much better to hire a professional accountant to take on some of those tasks.


The business is starting to grow at a rapid pace. Again, there are quite a number of fruits to success and there are also issues of serious concern. When a business is enormously successful, this means it will be growing. More and more employees are hired. More revenues come in. More expenditures are absorbed. Nothing is inherently wrong with any of these factors. McDonald's went through the same growth process in the 1950s. Of course, such growth does lead to enhanced accounting requirements and anyone that is interested in staying on top of all growth related responsibilities is well advise to speak with a Rochester accountant.


Anytime serious changes in the tax laws occur, hiring an accountant to advise the business form that point forward would be a wise move. Often, by knowing how the law effects you from day one will contribute to avoiding a lot of unnecessary hassles when tax time actually arrives.


In truth, any time you seriously feel working with an accountant would be beneficial, it is advised to contact one. Doing so can save an entrepreneur from an enormous number of headaches.