Businesses- Closing out 2009 and Planning for 2010

January 6, 2010 | Subscribe to our RSS Feed

A new year provides an excellent opportunity to take a close look at your business and determine whether you need to make changes. To start 2010 on the right foot the following tips may be useful:

• Close out 2009 properly. Final payroll filings for 2009 are due by February 1, 2010.
• Watch for notification of your new unemployment insurance rate for 2010. It could have as much as tripled, so make sure you pass the new rate on to your payroll service provider and take this increase into account when planning your cash flow and expense pojections.
• Be sure you are classifying your employees correcty. The state is cracking down on employers inappropriately paying associates as contractors.
• Consider your entity classification. There may be tax benefits for converting from a C to an S Corporation. Similarly, a sole proprietor should consider the tax and legal benefits of converting to an S Corporation or an LLC. These elections should be made early in the year.

A more detailed version of this article by Tammy Schneider appears in the Jan/Feb 2010 issue of the “Maryland Messanger,” a publication by the Independent Insurance Agents of Maryland. Please visit their website at www.iiamd.org.

Submitted by Tammy Schneider

Questions?
tammy.schneider@glassjacobson.com