Category: Tips for Small Business (page 2 of 3)
Some phony charities will have names that are similar to well-known organizations, as well as websites that sound or look like those of legitimate organizations.
The IRS has a charity search feature, Tax Exempt Organization Search, that allows people to find legitimate, qualified charities to which donations may be tax-deductible.
If requested, charities can provide their Employer Identification Number (EIN) which can be used to verify their legitimacy through the IRS charity search tool.
Starting 12/31/2018 through 12/30/2019, the basic minimum wage will be $11.10 per hour in most of New York State.
The minimum wage rate differ based on: the fast food industry, tipped workers, Long Island, Westchester County, large and small employers in New York City.
General Minimum Wage Rate Schedule
NYC – Large Employers (of 11 or more) $15.00
NYC – Small Employers (10 or less) $13.50
Long Island & Westchester $12.00
Remainder of New York State $11.10
For more information on the increased minimum wage specific to your industry, please click here.
Employers must post a Minimum Wage Information poster as well as various other posters in their place of work visible to all employees.
Beginning on Jan. 1, 2019, the standard mileage rates for the use of a car (also vans, pickups or panel trucks) will be:
- 58 cents per mile driven for business use, up 3.5 cents from the rate for 2018,
- 20 cents per mile driven for medical or moving purposes, up 2 cents from the rate for 2018, and
- 14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations.
It is important to note that under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, taxpayers cannot claim a miscellaneous itemized deduction for unreimbursed employee travel expenses. Taxpayers also cannot claim a deduction for moving expenses, except members of the Armed Forces on active duty moving under orders to a permanent change of station.
For more details see Notice-2019-02.
Beginning in October 2018, all New York State employers, regardless of size, must adopt a sexual harassment prevention policy. Aside from implementing the policy, employers must conduct training or use a similar policy that meet or exceeds the law’s minimum standards.
All employees must complete the training by October 9, 2019. Employers are required to ensure that all employees receive training on an annual basis.
For more information, model policies and training sessions as well as a toolkit for employers, please visit NYS Combating Sexual Harassment in the Workplace.
On November 2nd, the African American Men of Westchester and the Business Council of Westchester will host its 28th Annual Brotherhood Breakfast. This will be an excellent opportunity to network with business leaders and government officials.
Our thought leadership discussion this year is STEM and the importance of having a STEM-Literate Workforce in all businesses.
I hope you will consider attending. You may register at 2018brotherhoodbreakfast.eventbrite.com
Thank you
Wiley Harrison
Breakfast Chairperson
Congratulations to BYB’s Wiley Harrison on his recent appointment to Westchester County Executive George Latimer’s MWBE Task Force.
The task force was created to address the needs and challenges of Minority and Women-Owned Businesses (MWBE) in Westchester County in order to help them grow and succeed.
“The bottom line is this – we need to attract businesses and keep businesses here in Westchester County to keep our economy thriving. When our businesses thrive our County thrives, and we want to partner with those businesses, large and small, to meet their employment needs and technology needs.” – County Executive Latimer
President Trump recently signed the tax reform bill into law which resulted into major changes to the code for both individuals and corporations. Here is a brief summary of the changes that will affect most of you.
- Tax Brackets – Same number of brackets, different tax rates and different ranges. If your taxable income is the same in 2018 as was 2017, you will pay less federal taxes. A lot of the difference are in the changes leading to “taxable income”.
- The marriage penalty is almost gone. – Under the old law the combined income for a married couple was taxed at a higher rate than the same total income for 2 individuals. For example: a single person with taxable income of $90K would be in the 25% bracket. A couple with $180k in taxable income is in the 28% bracket. Under the new law, both cases are in the 25% bracket.
- New Standard Deductions
| Filing Status | Old Law | New Law |
| Single | $6,500 | 12,000 |
| MFJ | 13,000 | 24,000 |
| MFS | 6,500 | 12,000 |
| HOH | 9,350 | 18,000 |
- Capital Gains (stock sales and sales of other appreciated assets)
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- Short term gains are taxed as ordinary income (no difference)
- Long term rates are as follows:
| Single | MFJ | HOH | MFS | |
| 0% up to: | $38,600 | $77,200 | $51,700 | $38,600 |
| 15% up to: | 425,000 | 479,000 | 452,400 | 239,500 |
| 20% over | 425,000 | 479,000 | 452,400 | 239,500 |
- Tax Breaks for Parents. The child tax credit is increased from $1,000 per child to $2,000 per child. Of that amount $1,400 is refundable. In addition, the phase out for eligibility is expanded.
| Tax Status | Old Law | New Law |
| MFJ | $110,000 | $400,000 |
| Individuals | $75,000 | $200,000 |
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- If children are 17 years and older or you care for elderly relatives, you can claim a nonrefundable credit of $500 each.
- Home mortgage interest can only be taken for mortgage balances up to $750,000. This was previously $1 million. This applies to loans taken after Dec. 15, 2017. Interest on home equity debt can no longer be deducted.
- State and Local Tax Deduction (SALT) is now limited to $10,000.
- Deductions that are disappearing:
-
- Casualty and theft losses
- Unreimbursed employee expenses
- Moving expenses
- Pass-through income from sole proprietorship, LLCs, partnerships, and S corporations will be able to deduct 20% of the profit. There are phaseout income limits that apply to “professional services” business owners. They are $157,500 and $315,000 for individuals and married couples respectively.
- Corporate tax rates have been reduced for most corporations, but not for all. A corporation with profit below $50,000 will pay more in taxes. The new rate is 21% for all profits. The old rates were:
| From | To | Rate |
| $0 | $50,000 | 15% |
| 50,000 | 75,000 | 25% |
| 75,000 | 100,000 | 34% |
| 100,000 | 335,000 | 39% |
- Interesting: If in 2017 your corporate profit was $50,000; your federal tax was $7,500 (50K * 15%). That tax increases under the new law to $10,500 (50K * 21%). Let’s hope this is corrected soon.
From 12/31/2017 to 12/30/2018, the basic minimum wage is $10.40 per hour in most of New York State.
There are different minimum wage rates for: the fast food industry; Long Island; Westchester County; and large and small employers in New York City.
General Minimum Wage Rate Schedule
NYC – Large Employers (of 11 or more) $13.00
NYC – Small Employers (10 or less) $12.00
Long Island & Westchester $11.00
Remainder of New York State $10.40
For more information on the increased minimum wage specific to your industry, please visit the NYS Department of Labor.
Employers must post a Minimum Wage Information poster in their place of work.
On July 19, Governor Cuomo announced final regulations implementing New York’s nation-leading Paid Family Leave (PFL) program. The state’s PFL program will provide New Yorkers with job-protected, paid leave to bond with a new child, care for a loved one with a serious health condition or to help relieve family pressures when someone is deployed abroad on active military service.
Insurance companies notified disability benefits (DB) policyholders that PFL will be added to their DB policies effective January 1, 2018. Nearly all employees of DB policyholders will be automatically covered for PFL.
PFL will be funded through employee payroll deductions. As an employer, you are responsible for collecting the appropriate PFL contributions to cover the cost of the program. You may begin employee payroll deductions for PFL as of July 1, 2017.
The rate of PFL is 0.126% of the employee’s weekly wage, not to exceed 0.126% of the current New York State average weekly wage (AWW) of $1,305.92.
Please review the fact sheet for further information.
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