The Best Way To Handle Employee Holiday Requests

This is a guest post by Ariel Black of ACAwise; ACAwise is a full-service ACA reporting and compliance solution for Applicable Large Employers (ALEs) and Third Party Administrators (TPAs).

With Spring Break right around the corner for most students and educators, you may have some employees requesting time off for family vacations or spring getaways.

Let’s be honest, managing holiday requests can be a thorn in management’s side. However, with a little preparation, you will be rewarded with happier employees and fewer disruptions to your team. Learn how to handle employee holiday requests in style before it is too late.

The Best Way To Handle Employee Holiday Requests

Communicating Annual Leave

One of the most common problems with annual leave is finding out how many days your employees are entitled to. This luckily is easy enough. If an employee is salary or works full time, they are entitled to a minimum of 5.6 weeks paid leave.

However, this is not the biggest issue with annual leave. Managers will find in many cases that their employees feel their annual leave is unfair.

Some of these reasons may include:

• Misunderstanding of their entitlements
• Certain roles deserve more than minimum entitlement

Tips and Advice for HR Entitlements:

1. Attractive Holiday Plans

Company-wise your entitlement plans need to be attractive to your employees. For a bare minimum the company must comply with laws and regulations but by offering extras will go a long way with the happiness of your employees.

Consider offering public or bank holidays as extras instead of including them with employee entitlements.

2. Fair Treatment of All

Another way to avoid disgruntled employees is to award entitlement fairly. Everyone should be treated the same, and there should be no favoritism involved when it comes to annual leave. Granting additional benefits to a select group of employees will only lead to disruptions within your team.

Consider increasing entitlement across the board as an alternative that will encourage loyalty among your employees.

3. Increase Understanding

This point can not be stressed enough. Make sure your holiday pay and entitlement program is clearly understood by all of your employees and easily accessed. The worst thing you can do is appear to be hiding something.

The holiday season can be hectic for everyone especially those in management, but when you prepare you can keep your employees focused and productive. Try using these helpful tips and suggestions to help avoid any disruptions within your workforce. Please comment, like, and share this informative blog for those who understand the pains of HR holiday management.

Ariel Black is a Content Marketing Manager for SPAN Enterprises, parent company to ACAwise. ACAwise is an all-in-one ACA reporting solution designed to track and monitor compliance throughout the year for ALEs and TPAs.

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How To Organize Receipts & Records for Tax Filing

With technology gaining new developments, keeping track of receipts and financial transactions for your exempt organization may have become a little easier. Often times you may be given the option to receive your receipt via email or by text message. Although this is convenient, it can become somewhat difficult to keep up with the mixture of printed and digital receipts on top of all of the other paperwork you need when preparing taxes for your organization.

Here’s a few tips on how to get all of your paperwork and that ever-growing box of receipts organized.

Take Inventory

The first step in organizing your paperwork is to assess the types of documents and receipts that you have. Paperwork can be categorized in various ways, including tax filings for previous years; bank or loan accounts or mortgage statements; pay stubs; assets sales receipts of gains/losses (residential property, vehicles, etc.); deduction/expense receipts; insurance; and interest paid/interest deductions (i.e. loan interest).

How Long Should I Keep Receipts?

Don’t you find yourself asking this question a lot? Right before you’re about throw away a receipt you think to yourself, “Hmm...should I keep this just in case?”

The length of time that you keep financial records is based on why you originally needed them. For example, annual tax returns, insurance claims, investments, etc., should be kept beyond tax season. Remember, the ultimate purpose of keeping your records is to have documentation for the IRS.

Audits of tax filings have a statute of limitations that can be extended three years after you’ve filed (or the due date of the tax return), so it is extremely important and beneficial to keep these records for at least three years.

If you do not file with the IRS or they have no reason to believe that a case of fraudulence has occurred, there is no statute of limitation. Because of this, you can keep any relevant tax documentation as long as possible.

NOTES:

• Self-Employed individuals and tax exempt organizations are more likely to be scrutinized and given longer statutes of limitations. If you are self-employed or file for an exempt organization (with employees), keep your filing records for four years.

Organize Your Records

Organization is the key to success here. It’s suggested that you sort financial records and receipts based on how soon you may need them.

Keep up with Active File documents! These include documents that you will actively need in the coming year (i.e. W-2s, expense receipts, etc.). Having these documents in multiple formats, whether it’s printed, scanned, or electronic, is always helpful.

Once you have filed or the tax year has ended, you can safely discard the following documents:

1. Pay stubs 
2. Bank Statements 
3. Receipts (once your taxes have been filed, paper receipts should be shredded)
4. Loan Interest Payments
5. Investment Statements 

Financial records that you do not need in the present moment, but may need to be accessible in an audit, should be kept in a digital format and not in a physical space. Scanned documentation can be stored on your computer or uploaded into a cloud service.

The Easiest Way to File 

Once you’ve organized all of your paperwork, utilize ExpressTaxExempt for your e-filing needs. ExpressTaxExempt eliminates the worry about missing your Form 990 filing deadline! With our simple, interview style e-filing process, you can complete your form and instantly transmit it directly to the IRS.

We offer easy e-filing for Form 990 Series returns (Form 990, Form 990-N (e-Postcard), Form 990-EZ, and Form 990-PF) so you can quickly file the correct 990 Form for your organization. For more information on e-filing pricing, click here.

Follow the simple step-by-step guide to create your free account, enter basic information about your organization, complete the form interview, review your information and audit report, pay for your form, and transmit it directly to the IRS. The entire process is completed in 5 simple steps!

If you have any questions, feel free to contact our support team of e-file experts at 704.839.2321 for any questions or help with your e-filing experience. We’re available Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. EST. You can also reach us 24/7 via email with support@ExpressTaxExempt.com.

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November 15 Deadline is Here | E-file Today!

The Day Has Come!! ExpressTaxExempt put much focus on the November 15 (Form 990 Series) deadline recently to make sure all of our users were aware that they may be required to file by today to maintain the exempt status of their organization.

If you’re not aware of today’s deadline and what is due, let’s do a quick recap to bring you up to speed.

About Form 990 Series

Tax exempt organizations are required to file one of the following tax returns of the Form 990 Series annually. The Form 990 series consists of the following:

Form 990 is filed by organizations with gross receipts more than or equal to $200,000 or total assets equal to or greater than $500,000.

Form 990-EZ is the Short Form Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax and is filed by organizations with gross receipts less than $200,000 and $500,000 in total assets.

Form 990-N is for organizations with gross receipts that are less than or equal to $50,000. This form can only be filed electronically.

Form 990-PF is filed by Exempt & Taxable Private Foundations as well as Non-Exempt Charitable Trusts which the IRS treat as private foundations.

Click here to find out what information you’ll need to have in order to file these forms.

Is My Organization Required to File? 

GIF via GIPHY 

All organizations are not required to file on today’s deadline. The Form 990 deadline is the 15th day of the 5th month after your tax year ends. That means for organizations with a calendar tax year that ends in December the 990 deadline is on May 15th.

However, if you have a fiscal tax year, meaning your tax year consists of 12 consecutive months and ends any month besides December, your deadline is in a different month. 

There are two types of organizations that must file today:

1. Organizations with a tax year that ended on June 30.
2. Organizations whose original filing deadline was May 15 but filed an automatic extension (Form 8868). 

If your organization ended its accounting period (tax year) on June 30, you have the option to file your return today or apply for extension to file with Form 8868. 

If your organization was required to file on May 15 and was granted a 6-month extension to file, you must file today since there is not another extension that can be filed. 

The Easiest Way to File

ExpressTaxExempt eliminates the worry about missing your Form 990 filing deadline! With our simple, interview style e-filing process, you can complete your form and instantly transmit it directly to the IRS.

We offer easy e-filing for Form 990 Series returns (Form 990, Form 990-N (e-Postcard), Form 990-EZ, and Form 990-PF) so you can quickly file the correct 990 Form for your organization. For more information on e-filing pricing, click here.

Follow the simple step-by-step guide to create your free account, enter basic information about your organization, complete the form interview, review your information and audit report, pay for your form, and transmit it directly to the IRS. The entire process is completed in 5 simple steps! 

Let Us Help You File

If you have any questions, feel free to contact our support team of e-file experts at 704.839.2321 for any questions or help with your e-filing experience. We’re available Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. EST, and even offer extended customer support hours tonight for the November 15 deadline. You can also reach us 24/7 via email with support@ExpressTaxExempt.com.

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Mystery Solved: Exempt Organization Employment & Form 941

When you first think of a nonprofit organization or charity, you initially think that everyone participating is volunteering their time and not on payroll. However, in order to effectively carry out of the work of your organization, it is necessary (at times) to employ individuals to serve as yearly staff. 

Although these employed individuals work for a tax exempt organization, they are not excluded from having taxes withheld from their earnings. Employment taxes are reported to the IRS through Form 941, Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return.

Organizations, charities, and small business owners who prepare payroll checks for the employment of staff are expected to file this form quarterly (four times a year); even if the business does not have employees during select quarters. 

The next quarterly deadline for filing this form is Tuesday, October 31. 

However, exceptions are made for seasonal employees, whose taxes are not required to be filed each quarter.

NOTE: If you have decided to close your business/organization or stop paying wages that would subject you to payroll taxes, your obligation to file quarterly returns can end. This can be done by designating the return for the last quarter that you pay taxable wages as a “final” return at the top of the return.

Information Needed to File

In order to file Form 941, you must report three major things:

1. Number of Employees
2. Total Wages Paid
3. Amount Withheld [to calculate the tax payments owed] 

Payroll records along with any documents supplied by employees with taxable tips will be needed as well. For more information on Social security and Medicare tax, click here.

Filing Form 941

To complete the Form 941 filing process, you must have details about your business readily available, such as your company’s EIN and online signature PIN (preferred). 

To obtain a PIN for your business or organization for FREE, click here. Once you have received your PIN, you can easily complete the simplified filing process. 

HINT: Form 941 can be e-signed through Form 8453-EMP.

We're Here To Help

Calculating and filing your payroll tax information can be stressful and confusing. For that reason, our sister product, ExpressTaxFilings, was created to assist small business owners and exempt organizations with an easy-to-use filing process for annual and quarterly payroll tax needs. ExpressTaxFilings takes pride in providing an accurate, efficient, and secure e-filing process that will save you both time and money. 

If you need any assistance during this straightforward and easy filing process, have no fear! We’re here to help. If you need any assistance give the dedicated, US-based ExpressTaxFilings support team a call anytime, just like you would with ExpressTaxExempt. Both teams are available Monday - Friday from 9 AM to 6 PM EST at 704.684.4751. They’re also available via live chat and offer 24/7 email support at support@ExpressTaxfilings.com.

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Upcoming Filing Deadline for Exempt Organization Employers

Has your organization employed individuals to help carry out the mission of the group?

Do you or someone you know own and operate a business with employees?

If so, as an employer, it is required that you file Form 941 with the IRS quarterly.

Employers are responsible for withholding federal income tax, social security tax, and Medicare tax from each of their employee’s salary. Form 941, also known as the Employer’s Quarterly Tax Return, is used to report these employment taxes quarterly and assists with calculating the employer’s portion of Social Security and Medicare tax.

Quarterly Filing Deadlines:

Form 941 has a total of four filing deadlines each year. These deadlines are split into first, second, third, and fourth quarters with the following due dates:

With only two days left in the month of September, the Third Quarter deadline is right around the corner. Be sure to file your Form 941 no later than October 31 with TaxBandits.

Filing Process:

Most people think that filing taxes can be a headache and an extremely time consuming process...not with our sister product, TaxBandits! You will only need two major pieces of information to get started--Employer and Employment Details.

GIF via GIPHY

Employer details include the employer’s name, EIN, and address; while employment details include the following:

• Employee Count
• Medicare Tax & Social Security
• Deposit Made to the IRS
• Tax Liability (Monthly/Semiweekly)
• Signing Authority Information
• Online Signature PIN or Form 8453-EMP

Once that is entered all you will need to do is review the completed form, pay a small, affordable price per form, and transmit directly to the IRS. And just like that, you’ve avoided IRS penalties and compliance issues.

Well, since we said the word ‘penalties’ let’s just go ahead and discuss it briefly so you know what you’re avoiding when filing with us.

Form 941 IRS Penalties:

Failure to file by the Form 941 deadline will result in a 5% penalty on the tax return for each month that the return is late. Although this penalty cpas at 25%, the IRS will penalize you heavily for late payment or not paying the full amount owed. Your organization will be charged 2-15% of the unpaid tax determined by the number of days it remains unpaid.

NOTE: Late deposit penalty amounts are determined using calendar days, starting from the due date of the liability.

Next Steps:

Out of the many components to running your organization, one of the most important is staying in compliance with the IRS. TaxBandits, sister product to ExpressTaxExempt, is an industry leader for online tax preparation and tax filings which offers accurate and efficient e-filing at prices that can’t be beaten! Visit their website today to find out more information about Form 941 and the other services that TaxBandits offer.

As always, we at ExpressTaxExempt aim to help all exempt organizations and hope that your organization can benefit from both of our services. If you need any assistance with filing, just know that we’re available to assist you via phone at 704.839.2321 on Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. EST or reach out to us 24/7 via email at support@ExpressTaxExempt.com.

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International Day of Charity: Support & Give Back Today

“Every good act is charity. A man's true wealth hereafter is the good that he does in this world to his fellows.” -- Moliere

Did you know that today, Tuesday, September 5, 2017 is the International Day of Charity? If you’re like me, you may have recently returned from a Labor Day Weekend vacation or even enjoyed a great cookout with friends and family on your day off on Monday.

Labor Day Weekend has ended and now we’re “back to life...back to reality!” As we get back into the swing of things to finish out the rest of this week, take a few moments and help make the world a better place by making a donation to charity on International Day of Charity.

Donations can be given to charities that support the environment, protect children, feed the hungry, or help worthy causes. Of course, with their being so many charities to choose from, it’s quite hard to choose which one to give to. We did some research and found some of the top 10 charities that are making a difference in the world which you could consider donating to. Check out the list below:

Charitable Organizations

Natural Resources Defense Council

Based in New York City, this organization has worked with businesses, elected officials, and community groups on issues such as global warming, ocean cleaning, and food security. Natural Resources Defense Council website.

United Nations Foundation

The United Nations Foundation is a U.S. public charity founded by Ted Turner which partners with others around the world to tackle issues such as global health, climate change, poverty, women’s empowerment and more. Visit the United Nations Foundation to donate.

Caring Voice Coalition

The Caring Voice Coalition puts its efforts towards empowering patients who live with a life-threatening chronic disease by providing outreach programs and services aimed to provide financial, emotional, and educational support. Caring Voice Coalition website.

Billy Graham Evangelistic Association

Established in 1950 and now based in Charlotte, North Carolina, this association aims to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to as many people as possible around the world. The association has a weekly Hour of Decision radio program broadcast, syndicated newspaper column entitled “My Answer,” and also has the Billy Graham Response Team which provides emotional and spiritual care to individuals and communities living through a sudden tragedy. To donate, visit the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.

Catholic Medical Mission Board

This group provides healthcare for the world’s most poor and does so by building healthy, sustainable communities through local engagement and partnerships. These causes are targeting in communities throughout Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. Catholic Medical Mission Board website.

AmeriCares

AmeriCares serves as an emergency response and global health organization that aids those in crisis. Established in 1979, AmeriCares has delivered more than $12 billion in humanitarian aid to 164 countries, including the United States. To support AmeriCares, click here.  

To assist the victims of Hurricane Harvey, see our most recent blog post:

“5 Ways You & Nonprofits Can Help Hurricane Harvey Victims”

Samaritan’s Purse

The Samaritan’s Purse has met the needs of those who are victims of war, poverty, natural disasters, disease and famine, while including the purpose of sharing God’s love through His Son, Jesus Christ. Its most popular mission, Operation Christmas Child, has delivered more than 135 million shoe boxes filled with gifts to poor children in more than 150 countries. Visit the Samaritan’s Purse website today to make a donation.

MAP International

Founded in 1954, MAP International helps prevent disease by improving water supplies and promotes health to create hope and lasting change in more than 115 countries. Their annual efforts include partnering with local leaders to help educate and train communities to deal with health threats such as HIV/AIDS. Visit their website at www.map.org for more information and ways to donate.

Direct Relief

Direct Relief is California’s largest international humanitarian nonprofit organization which provides medical assistance to improve the health and lives of people affected by poverty and disaster in the United States and throughout the world. More than $3.4 billion in medical supplies and equipment has been provided since its inception in 1948. Visit the Direct Relief website to support their efforts.  

Take Action

Let’s celebrate International Day of Charity by supporting a charity of your choice and helping those that are in need. Remember, charitable donations can be listed as a deduction on your taxes, so be sure to keep record of your gift. For more information on Charitable Donation Deductions, click here.  If you know of other charities that could use our support, please leave a comment below. At ExpressTaxExempt, we respect the services that exempt organizations provide to communities and we’re motivated to help with your e-filing needs so you can get back to proudly serving your community. Visit our website for any tax forms that your tax exempt organization may need throughout this year and save even more when you e-file with our recently reduced filing rates! We’re available to assist you via phone at 704.839.2321 on Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. EST or reach out to us 24/7 via email at support@ExpressTaxExempt.com.

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Unique Ways to Fundraise for Your Nonprofit

Any leader of a nonprofit organization will tell you that receiving adequate funding for their organization can be somewhat of a challenge. Although charitable nonprofits usually rely on the generosity of donors to support their annual efforts, fundraising initiatives are sometimes necessary to assist with supporting the financial needs of the organization. We’ve provided some fundraising techniques that your organization can utilize for years to come!

FUNDRAISING TECHNIQUES

Collaborate with other Organizations

Reach out to other organizations in your area to host events and support each other’s endeavors.

Supporting each other can assist with finances by cutting the cost in half as well as unique ideas, planning, and execution and follow through.

Have Fun Activities Become Fundraisers

Find out what your community enjoys doing during their free time and turn it into an enjoyable fundraiser. People don’t mind giving or setting aside a few dollars to do what they enjoy.  Let’s take a Talent Show/Competition for example -- the cost of hosting a local talent show can be very inexpensive and if you have a few members of your organization that like to bake, you could sell light refreshments during the intermission of the event to make an extra few dollars. Other events such as a cook-off, charity tournament, scholarship banquet, or even the latest current trend, an escape room puzzle event.

Be Involved in Your Community

Giving back to your community is always beneficial in more ways than one. It pays to educate the community about what your organization does. By making donors aware of your community service initiatives, many will feel comfortable supporting your various endeavors and fundraising efforts. People tend to not give to groups that they know nothing about. The more exposure your organization receives, the better.

Crowdfunding

This is considered to be peer-to-peer fundraising by way of members asking their friends, family members, and coworkers for donations prior to an event and then having them participate in the event.

This type of fundraising is ideal for a marathon, walkathon, pageant, etc., and is a great way to directly involve donors.

FUNDRAISERS

When conducting planning for your organization annually, it can be a challenge to find different ways to raise money. Here are some various fundraising ideas that can be done:

FUNDRAISERS	FUNDRAISING EVENTS
50/50 Raffle or Basket Raffle Bingo	Silent Auction
Sip and Paint	Talent Show / Lip Sync Competition
Recipe Books	Battle of the Bands
T-Shirt Sales	Comedy Night / Karaoke Night
Polar Plunge	Gala
Engraved Bricks	Marathon / Walkathon
Wrapping Paper Sale (Holiday Seasons)	Rainbow Tea
Car Wash	Classic Car Show
Baby Photo Contest	Cooking Class
Penny Drive	Trivia Night
Appreciation Grams	Dinner Theatre
Pie Throwing Contest or Dunk Tank	Date Auction

For more neat fundraising ideas, click here.

Be sure to save those receipts when planning a fundraising event and know that ExpressTaxExempt is always here to be a consistent resource to you and your organization for all things tax exempt! Visit our website for any tax forms that your tax-exempt organization may need throughout this year and save even more when you e-file with our recently reduced filing rates! We’re available to assist you via phone at 704.839.2321 on Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. EST or reach out to us 24/7 via email at support@ExpressTaxExempt.com.

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