Register for National Small Business Week Events, April 30-May 4

There’s so much going on for National Small Business Week that you simply don’t want to miss.

For starters, the IRS is preparing a special series of presentations to help people navigate difficult tax issues, including the following National Small Business Week Webcasts. Two 30-minute sessions are available each day: Session 1 at 11 am and Session 2 at 1 pm ET.

April 30th: Can I Deduct This?
Session 1 – https://www.webcaster4.com/Webcast/Page/1148/25449
Session 2 – https://www.webcaster4.com/Webcast/Page/1148/25478

May 1st: Employee versus Independent Contractor 
Session 1 – https://www.webcaster4.com/Webcast/Page/1148/25479
Session 2 – https://www.webcaster4.com/Webcast/Page/1148/25480

May 2nd: Pay Now? Pay Later? Can’t Pay?
Session 1 – https://www.webcaster4.com/Webcast/Page/1148/25481
Session 2 – https://www.webcaster4.com/Webcast/Page/1148/25482

May 3rd: Small Business Resources 
Session 1 – https://www.webcaster4.com/Webcast/Page/1148/25483
Session 2 – https://www.webcaster4.com/Webcast/Page/1148/25485

May 4th: Paycheck Check-Up
Session 1 – https://www.webcaster4.com/Webcast/Page/1148/25486
Session 2 – https://www.webcaster4.com/Webcast/Page/1148/25487

Closed Captioning will be available for Session 2 only.  CE will not be offered. Email SBSE.SL.Web.Conference.Team@irs.gov with any questions.

They are also highlighting particular products that may assist small business owners with questions about taxes and recordkeeping.

In addition, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and SCORE Association will host a free, three-day Virtual Conference during SBA’s 2018 National Small Business Week, May 1-3.The Virtual Conference, which takes place from 12:30-6:30 p.m. ET each day, includes a series of webinars led by private sector employers that give practical advice on current business strategies. Topics for the webinars include discrimination and harassment in the workplace, the U.S. economic outlook and its impact on small businesses, cybersecurity for small businesses and more. The Virtual Conference also includes chat rooms where business owners can network with other owners and aspiring entrepreneurs.

Source: Register Today for National Small Business Week

IRS Adds One Day to Tax Deadline: Now April 18, 2018

The Internal Revenue Service announced today that it is providing taxpayers an additional day to file and pay their taxes following system issues that surfaced early on the April 17 tax deadline. Individuals and businesses with a filing or payment due date of April 17 will now have until midnight on Wednesday, April 18. Taxpayers do not need to do anything to receive this extra time.

Source: IRS Adds One Day to Tax Deadline: Now April 18, 2018

IRS E-file & Direct Pay Systems Down on Tax Day

The IRS E-file and Direct Pay systems are both down today, April 17th, Tax Day. It is an unhappy (and slightly grim) reminder to accountants to establish a policy — which I have held for the past 10 years or so — requiring all clients to submit signed e-file signature authorization forms by 6 pm on the day immediately prior to Tax Day. Personally, I insist on submitting all e-files before I go to bed that night (let’s be honest: by 2 or 3 am). I encourage you to do the same… next year!

In the meantime, this advice is being offered by CPA Practice Advisor. They will be posting updates throughout the day.

The credit card payment systems available through the IRS website appear to be functioning, however there is a fee associated with making those payments.
If the website stays down, taxpayers are still responsible for making payment by midnight tonight. An obvious alternative is to head to the Post Office.
The IRS has asked that efilers continue to proceed with their efiling, even if returns aren’t being accepted in short order.
Another bit of advice from my tax software company — usually we send state returns “linked” to the federal return so that if the IRS return is rejected, we have an opportunity to fix the underlying problem before the state return is submitted. However, in today’s case, all state returns should be sent “unlinked” so that they do not get caught up in the IRS system issues.

Source: IRS Direct Pay is Down, Efile System also Down | CPA Practice Advisor

Accountable Plan Webinar May 9

The NSAC Cooperative Learning Network is offering an upcoming webinar that sounds like it would be useful to quite a few accountants, on the topic of Accountable Plans:

The IRS has been finding that many entities are either not familiar with the Accountable Plan rules, or are not following them. As a result the government has been applying more scrutiny to this issue and assessing large amounts of additional taxes and penalties. In this one hour session we will understand how Accountable (and Non‐Accountable) Plans affect reimbursements, allowances and advances ‐ and how to create and operate a respected Accountable Plan.

Presenters are John Denison (Senior Director of Tax at Adams, Jenkins & Cheatham, PC) and Larry Ford (Director of the Tax Resolution Team at Adams, Jenkins and Cheatham, CPAs).

The one-hour seminar is offered at 11:00 AM ET / 10:00 AM CT / 09:00 AM MT / 08:00 AM PT. The session is free to NSAC members and $56 for non-members.

Source: NSAC Cooperative Learning Network – Accountable Plans

SBA Small Business Week Virtual Conference

The U.S. Small Business Administration and SCORE Association will host a free, 3-Day Virtual Conference during National Small Business Week. The conference will take place Tuesday, May 1 – Thursday, May 3 from 12:30 pm ET-6:30 pm ET daily. Registration is free to the public.

Participate in this free, online conference to watch 12 educational webinars, get free business advice from mentors, pick up free information and resources from sponsors and network with fellow business owners.

The webinars include:

  • Hug Your Haters: How to Embrace Complaints & Keep Your Customers
  • Simple Steps to Choosing the Right Financing
  • Addressing Discrimination and Harassment in the Workplace
  • Sharing Your Story Through Video
  • Pop & Play: How Opening a Pop-Up Shop Can Help Launch Your Retail Brand
  • How Changing Consumer Behavior Impacts Your Business
  • How to Get New and Repeat Business On Autopilot with Email Marketing
  • Cybersecure Your Small Business
  • Managing Your Finances in the Cloud
  • Creating and Sustaining a Strong Social Presence
  • The U.S. Economic Outlook and Its Impact on Small Businesses
  • Grow Your Business in 2018

Source: National Small Business Week Virtual Conference