Paramount Tax & Accounting Silicon Valley Central Blog

While it may feel like tax season is just barely in the rearview mirror, summertime is a crucial period for making smart choices when it comes to your taxes. Follow our tips to make next year’s tax season easier — and maybe even save some money.

Bookkeeping can seem overwhelming, especially if you've never done it before. But don’t worry — here, we’ve compiled tips for healthy accounting habits that will set you and your business up for success.

On August 8, 2020, the President issued a Memorandum allowing employers to defer withholding and payment of an employee's portion of the Social Security tax (i.e., the 6.2% FICA portion of the federal payroll tax on employees). Medicare taxes, however, are not covered. The payroll tax deferral is effective starting September 1, 2020, and also applies to the employee portion of the Railroad Retirement Act Tier 1 tax. While employers are allowed to defer the withholding and payment of the payroll taxes on employees' applicable wages, they are not required to do so.

The "Dirty Dozen" is a list of common tax scams that target taxpayers. Compiled and issued annually every year by the IRS, this year it includes many aggressive and evolving schemes related to coronavirus tax relief, including Economic Impact Payments. The criminals behind these bogus schemes view everyone as potentially easy prey and everyone should be on guard, especially vulnerable populations such as the elderly.

With a potential economic downturn in the wings due to COVID-19, being debt-free is a worthwhile goal. Unfortunately, between mortgages, car loans, credit cards, and student loans, this is unrealistic for most people - especially those of pre-retirement age. Instead, it's better to start by focusing on managing debt. When you handle debt wisely, you won't have to shell out every cent of your hard-earned money to your lender or feel like you're always on the verge of bankruptcy.