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If your business has employees, you must pay employment taxes. The payment system can be a bit confusing, so this article discusses how to go about depositing employment taxes with the IRS.

Depositing Employment Taxes

To pay employment taxes, you must deposit the money with the IRS. As is typical with tax situations, the payments are not actually made to the IRS. Instead, you must deposit the employment taxes with a federal depository. Moving the burden to the private sector, the IRS requires most banks to act as depositories. If your business has just started hiring employees, ask you bank if they act as a depository. If they do not, you may want to change banks.

To deposit the taxes, you forward money per the bank specifications. You will also need to file a Federal Tax Deposit Coupon, Form 8109, with the deposit. The IRS typically sends these forms to you at the beginning of each calendar year. If you don’t receive any, you can download the form from the IRS site or ask your tax professional.
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Debt Resolution, IRS Settlements Offer Help for Serious Tax Problems

San Mateo, Calif., – With tax day behind us, consumers and business owners who owe the IRS are not out of the woods. But while death and taxes are the big two inevitabilities, those with serious tax problems should know that it is possible to negotiate with the IRS to reduce past-due tax penalties and payments, according to Bradford G. Stroh, co-founder and CEO of Freedom Financial Network, LLC.

Americans, carrying more debt than ever, are also more likely to have tax problems than in the past. In 2004, the total of uncollected IRS taxes reached upwards of $250 billion. The number of levies (a key enforcement tool in which the IRS takes possession of assets to collect on unpaid taxes) topped 2 million during fiscal year 2004 – a 21 percent increase from 2003 and triple the 2001 number.

According to Stroh, taxpayers with tax debts under $10,000 usually can manage the payment on their own or via an installment plan arranged with the IRS. “Tax problems merit professional help when individuals cannot pay tax liabilities of $10,000 or more,” Stroh says. “At that point, specialists can negotiate directly with the IRS on behalf of these consumers, helping them obtain settlements.”

Tax relief specialists usually are attorneys or certified public accountants with special training and experience. Stroh explains that these experts can navigate the intricacies of IRS forms and calculations, help consumers understand the criteria the IRS imposes, and then help them get back into good standing with the IRS.

Depending on the severity of an individual’s situation, two types of IRS settlement are available:

An offer in compromise reduces the principal amount owed to the IRS.

An installment agreement is a payment plan for the amount due and often includes reduced penalties.
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On September 23, 2005, the Internal Revenue Service began sending notices to tax payers in thirteen states that there may be a problem with their tax payments. Here is the scoop.

Traffic School?

It seems one of the trucks carrying the payments was involved in a traffic accident and the payments were lost. The accident actually occurred in San Mateo, California and resulted in…wait, I have to stop laughing. Okay. Deep breathe. The tax documents were “ejected into the bay” and can’t be recovered! There must be a couple of great white sharks wondering what is going on.

The payments in question are estimated tax payments made by anyone to the San Francisco mail box for the IRS in the first few weeks of September. Yes, the IRS uses drop mail boxes like everyone else. How encouraging.

The little traffic snafu suffered by the IRS apparently wasn’t so little. The service is reporting that as many as 30,000 estimated tax payments from individuals and businesses in 13 states may have been lost.

Who knew the IRS used monster trucks? Instead of “Grave Digger”, the truck must have been called “Every last penny you have Digger.”
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The last thing most people think about when starting a business is doing taxes. But proper planning will make doing your taxes much easier – and keep the IRS happy!

Here are 3 simple tips for keeping proper records:

1. Whenever you buy anything for your business, keep the receipt!

Not only will this make record keeping a lot simpler, but if you are ever audited (having your tax return reviewed in detail by the IRS), you can prove your expenses, and save yourself money.

2. Write down all your expenses and income as they happen.

As your business grows, you’ll have more and more activities to keep you busy. The last thing you’ll want to do each April 15 is to organize your records for the year. So, it’s a good idea to write down all your financial activities as they happen. You’ll find preparing your taxes will take much less time if you are organized.
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