Tips for Biz Success- 25 Dangerous Internet Passwords
February 1, 2012 | 
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Introducing the Tips for Business Success series! We consider ourselves your partner, education is a key part of helping you make smarter decisions. To that end, we are going to start blogging at least once on a month on more well-rounded topics that can contribute to your business’s success, not just financial or tax stuff.
So, for the first post in the series, we want to talk to you about cyber security and protecting yourself on the internet. The federal government recently released a list of the 25 most common passwords. You can be sure, if someone is trying to hack you, they’ll try these:
1. password
2. 123456
3. 12345678
4. qwerty
5. abc123
6. monkey
7. 1234567
8. letmein
9. trustno1
10. dragon
11. baseball
12. 111111
13. iloveyou
14. master
15. sunshine
16. ashley
17. bailey
18. passw0rd
19. shadow
20. 123123
21. 654321
22. superman
23. qazwsx
24. michael
25. football
You can find more information on internet scams and protecting your identity online at this government website. At Glass Jacobson, we take security very seriously. Our clients all have access to password protected, encrypted secure portal to transfer financial files to us electronically. No email attachments here! This tax season, if you need help getting us your documents securely, contact us.
Thanks to our own technology guru, Lauren Bramble, for sharing this information with us.
Women of the Sandwich Generation: Protect Yourself!
January 26, 2012 | Subscribe to our RSS Feed
On Tuesday, January 24th, we learned from GJ’s Senior Financial Advisor Christine Schmitz that 1/3 of American women could be defined as being a member of the “Sandwich Generation,” caring for both an elderly parent and a child in some capacity. That explains why the third Women: Protect Yourself workshop, “The Sandwich Generation: Caring for Aging Parents” was a packed house!!
Along with Christine talking about financial issues associated with this stage of life, we heard from:
Kimberly Battaglia, Esq. Hodes, Pessin, & Katz, P.A. on legal issues, and
Eric Trautman, Head of Security, Oakcrest Retirement Community on scams and frauds that target the elderly and ways you can protect your parents (and yourselves!).
You can view all the presentations and documents here, but here are the top three takeaways:
- The median cost of nursing home care this year is $75,190 per year! Medicare/medicaid would only cover a very small portion of this and only for a short time. How are you going to pay that bill if you parent needs assistance? With government assistance all but disappearing and many insurance carriers discontinuing long-term care insurance policies, now is the time to talk about your options with Christine.
- Advanced healthcare directives do NOT take any power away from you. However, they are essential to your piece of mind and your families. If you don’t have these set up for you and your parents, contact Kim Battaglia to do so.
- Talk to your parents about paying their bills online or with a credit card, versus with a check. It can offer them more protection in case of fraud or identity theft.
***Bonus tip***
In the age of camera phones, do not stand in line at the grocery store or anywhere else with your credit card out of your wallet! All it takes is a quick (and quiet) snap for someone to steal your card information.
For more information on the Sandwich Generation workshop, contact us. Make sure to sign up the fourth workshop in the Protect Yourself Series, Business 201: Taking Your Business to the Next Level.
Tax Prep Explained: 1099s
January 23, 2012 | Subscribe to our RSS Feed
As another year in the life of your business has come to an end and it is time to start preparing all those dreaded year-end forms. There are tax returns to be filed, prepared by your CPA. There are W-2’s and year-end payroll reports prepared by your payroll service or maybe you decide to tackle them yourself. And there are 1099 forms to file paid to independent contractors and temporary help who worked in your business. No matter who is going to prepare them, be it you, your CPA or payroll service, they should be filed.
Let’s take a look at who should receive a 1099 and what penalties there may be for not filing them in a timely fashion. The Internal Revenue service wants the 1099’s filed so income does not fly under the radar and is reported on the recipients income tax return.
Who, related to payments made by your business, is required to receive a 1099?
- Persons receiving $600.00 or more for services
- Persons receiving $600.00 or more for rent
- Attorneys receiving $600.00 in legal fees. This applies to both individuals and legal firms.
You will need to have the person or entities name, address and social security/ federal ID number to correctly record payments made to them. Therefore, once you have someone work at your company you should get that information up front. The last thing you want is to have you or your staff playing private detective to try and hunt someone down come the end of the year.
The 1099’s are supposed to be in the recipient’s hands by January 31 similar to a W-2. The due date to get the 1099’s to the Internal Revenue Service is February 28. If you don’t file the 1099’s by the due date and cannot show reasonable cause you may be subject to a penalty. The amount of the penalty depends on when you file the correct 1099.
- $30 per 1099 if you file within 30 days of the February 28 deadline penalty
- $60 per 1099 if you file more than 30 days late and before August 1
- $100 per 1099 if you file after August 1 or do not file the required returns
Don’t let the filing of 1099’s become an administrative headache for you. With a little upfront information gathering you can get out the necessary forms and avoid those nasty penalties. Also, make sure that you are clear on the difference between an employee and an independent contractor. Glass Jacobson’s seasoned tax team can help. As your year-round tax advisor, we help guide you through employment and payroll tax issues.
Questions?
larry.goldberg@glassjacobson.com