QUALIFIED CHARITABLE DISTRIBUTIONS IN 2015 UNCERTAIN, BUT THERE IS AN OPTION!

Billy Thomas, CPA

Capitol Hill provided an excellent holiday gift in late-December 2014 with the Tax Extenders Package, otherwise known as The Tax Increase Prevention Act. One of the most talked about provisions of the Act was the extension of tax-free distributions from an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) for charitable purposes through December 31, 2014. This is called a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) in tax terms.

A QCD is a very common tax savings strategy. Essentially, a taxpayer who is 70 […]

January 29, 2015 Accounting, Tax Read more...

Tips for Increasing Revenue and Decreasing Expenses in your Benefit Plan

Shelby Hammond

Part of a trustee’s fiduciary responsibility is to manage the income and expenses of their plan. Below are some of the ways in which a trustee can increase revenue coming into the plan while managing the costs associated with the plan.

The primary sources of income of a multi-employer benefit plan are employer contributions and investment income.

Increase collections: To increase the income of a plan, trustees should carefully consider their processes for collecting employer contributions. Potentially increasing the […]

January 28, 2015 Accounting, Benefit Plan Accounting Read more...

VIRGINIA ADOPTS A FIRST TIME HOME BUYER’S SAVINGS PROGRAM

Glenn Bailey, CPA

Beginning in 2014, Virginia has adopted a program (FHSP) that allows a taxpayer to designate an account as a first time homebuyer savings account and subtract the income from that account from their VA taxable income. (Section 58.1-322) The account can only be used to pay the down payment or closing costs for a single family home (includes condos and co-ops, but not a multi-family building or land) in VA for someone who has never owned a […]

January 27, 2015 Accounting, Tax Read more...

IRS RELEASES NEW APPLICABLE FEDERAL RATES

Jobe Dupre’, CPA

Each month, the IRS provides various prescribed rates for federal income tax purposes. These rates, known as Applicable Federal Rates (AFRs), are regularly published as revenue rulings.

The AFRs for February 2015 are as follows:

Annual
Semi-Annual
Quarterly
Monthly

Short-Term: 1-3 years
0.48%
0.48%
0.48%
0.48%

Mid-Term: >3 & up to 9 years
1.70%
1.69%
1.69%
1.68%

Long-Term: >9 years
2.41%
2.40%
2.39%
2.39%

January 23, 2015 Accounting, Tax Read more...

Hiring a Payroll Auditing Firm, Question 9: Have you Done Payroll Audits for our Industry or Similar Industries?

How a prospective payroll auditing firm answers this questions shows how well they did their homework in preparing for the interview. A firm answering “yes” simply has to detail its experience with the industry. A firm who answers “no” must explain how the audits that will be performed are similar to their experiences. A detailed explanation is essential if the answer is “no.” Stating that all payroll audits are the same is not sufficient. All payroll audits are not […]

January 22, 2015 Payroll Audit Read more...

Tips for Using Electronic Records

Posting by Phil Vivirito

There are many times when an employer will send electronic records, as well as times when an employer will provide electronic records to the auditor in the field. Here are some useful tips to help ensure you have the correct records for your audit.

Records are usually received in a PDF format or non-PDF format which include Excel, Word, or text file.

Whichever format you receive documents in, it is best practice to make a copy of them. […]

January 20, 2015 Payroll Audit Read more...

Bond Beebe Welcomes Two New Employees

Bond Beebe, a certified public accounting and advisory firm with offices in Bethesda, Maryland and Alexandria, Virginia, announced today that two new employees have joined the Firm.  Bond Beebe’s Tax Department welcomes Daniel King as a staff accountant.  King is a May 2010 graduate of American University with a B.S. in Business Administration – Accounting.  Bond Beebe Financial Advisors welcomes Amanda Melick as their new Financial Services Assistant.  Melick is a graduate of Elon University with a B.S. in […]

January 20, 2015 Firm News & Events Read more...

Bond Beebe Welcomes Four New Employees

Bond Beebe, a certified public accounting & advisory firm with offices in Bethesda, Maryland and Alexandria, Virginia, is pleased to welcome Gwen Seal and Joseph Entwistle as Senior Auditors, and Khaldun Taib as a Staff Auditor. Also joining the Firm is Kayla Lewis as a Payroll Auditor. “We are fortunate to have these individuals working for Bond Beebe,” said Cynthia Dietrich, Director of Human Resources. “We’re happy our culture, benefits, and growth opportunities continue to attract quality candidates.” The […]

January 20, 2015 Firm News & Events Read more...

Hiring a Payroll Auditing Firm, Question 8: Do you Have a Dedicated Payroll Audit Staff?

Posting by Larry Beebe, CPA

Ideally the payroll audit firm should have staff that do nothing but perform payroll audits. There are several advantages in having full time payroll auditors:

The payroll audits are usually performed more efficiently by staff who are totally dedicated to this type of work. Auditing staff who are assigned periodically to do payroll audits usually do not understand how to operate efficiently and effectively due to the unique nature of the work.
Payroll audit reports […]

January 16, 2015 Payroll Audit Read more...

Accounting for ACA Transitional Reinsurance Fee

Sue Weaver

As Plan Administrators and Controllers consider closing the accounting records for 2014, keep in mind the Transitional Reinsurance Program that went into effect January 1, 2014. This is an annual fee for virtually all health plans calculated on a per participant basis that is due to the government to stabilize premiums under the Affordable Care Act. So, all Plans will need to account for the fee in 2014.

Per generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), this is a calendar year […]

January 15, 2015 Accounting, Benefit Plan Accounting Read more...