Recent job statistics indicate that more employers are using part-timers to deal with variations in workload and for short-term projects. Here are a few tips your business will find useful if you hire part-time workers. Communicate clearly with the part-timer. Explain the person’s duties, the hours and benefits, and the individual to whom the part-timer will report. Tell your full-time staff why you’re hiring the part-timer. Make it clear what that person will and won’t be

When it comes to taxes, being self-employed has some advantages. Whether you work for yourself on a full-time basis or just do a little moonlighting on the side, the government has provided you with a variety of attractive tax breaks. Save for retirement. When you’re self-employed, you’re allowed to set up a retirement plan for your business. Remember, contributing to a retirement plan is one of the best tax shelters available to you during your working

The IRS is again warning taxpayers to be on the alert for tax scams. According to IRS Commissioner John Kaskinen, millions of taxpayers have already been taken in by scammers impersonating IRS agents. Whether initiated by sophisticated overseas operators or homegrown con artists, all bogus IRS schemes have a similar objective in mind: to steal your identity and gain access to your accounts. Phony IRS agents often use common American names and fake badge numbers. To

Don’t let penalties for underpaid taxes increase your tax bill next April. Check the total you’ve paid in for 2014 through withholding and/or estimated taxes. If you’ve underpaid, consider adjusting your withholding for the final months of 2014 or increasing your remaining quarterly estimate. If you employ household workers, be sure your calculations include the payroll taxes you’ll owe for them.

For many companies, inventory is a significant dollar amount on the company’s financial statements. So it’s crucial that recorded inventory balances reflect actual values. When such accounts aren’t properly stated, the cost of goods sold and current ratios – numbers that often matter to decision makers – may be skewed. If banks discover that your company’s inventory accounts are overstated, they may not extend credit. If, when necessary, inventories aren’t “written down” (their values lowered in

Mutual funds offer an efficient means of combining investment diversification with professional management. Their income tax effects can be complex, however, and poorly timed purchases or sales can create unpleasant year-end surprises. Mutual fund investors (excluding qualifying retirement plans) are taxed based on activities within each fund. If a fund investment generates taxable income or the fund sells one of its investments, the income or gain must be passed through to the shareholders. The taxable event

October 1 – Generally, the deadline for businesses to adopt a SIMPLE retirement plan for 2014. October 15 – Filing deadline for 2013 individual tax returns on automatic six-month extension of the April 15 deadline. October 15 – If you converted a regular IRA to a Roth in 2013 and now want to switch back to a regular IRA, you have until October 15, 2014, to do so without penalty.

It turns out you can go back after all – at least when it comes to last year’s decision to convert your traditional IRA to a Roth. The question is, do you want to? You might, if your circumstances have changed. For example, say the value of the assets in your new Roth account is currently less than when you made the conversion. Changing your mind could save tax dollars. Recharacterizing your Roth conversion lets you

Changes to the federal income tax code can prompt you to review the legal structure of your business. Last year’s increase in the top tax rate for individuals is one such change, since corporate rates remain the same. At the most basic level, businesses are taxed as either stand-alone or pass-through entities, and a significant difference between corporate and individual tax rates is reason for a new assessment. If you’re debating between operating as a C