By Sheila Emory

In our last newsletter, we told you that the E-VERIFY Program was mandatory for all businesses over 500 employees as of January 1, 2012 (The dates for compliance for businesses over 200 employees are July 1, 2012 and January 1, 2013 for 6 or more). However, the State of Tennessee just passed a bill at the close of 2011 giving you an option.

The Tennessee Legislature passed Public Chapter 436 which gives Tennessee employers an alternative to the federal law that requires all employers to use the E-VERIFY Program. Tennessee employers may request and maintain a copy of any one document listed in PC436 in lieu of enrollment in E-VERIFY Program. This alternative does not apply if the Tennessee employer has already enrolled in E-VERIFY Program.

The documents listed as acceptable to retain in place of enrollment in E-VERIFY are:

• A valid Driver’s License or Photo ID issued by Tennessee
• A valid Driver’s License or Photo ID issued by a state with issuance requirements at least as strict as Tennessee, which will be posted on the TN Department of Safety’s website
• An official birth certificate issued by a US state, jurisdiction, territory or the federal government
• A valid, unexpired US passport
• A US certificate of birth abroad
• A report of birth abroad of a citizen of the US
• A certificate of citizenship
• A certificate of naturalization
• A US citizen ID card
• Valid alien registration documents or other proof of current immigration registration recognized by the US Department of Homeland Security

By Brenda Petersen 

1.  Complete the organizer.

If you are a tax client of BCS, you should have received your individual organizer.  If you did not, please click here to find an electronic version, or call the office at 282-4511 to request one.

The organizer helps you by making sure you have all your ducks in a row.  You will find questions regarding your personal information; dependents; purchases, sales and debt; itemized deductions; possible tax credits and other miscellaneous information.

To ensure a flawless tax return, check the names, birthdays, and social security numbers of you, your spouse, and your dependents.

Please be sure to provide updated contact information.

2. Send us all W-2s, 1099s, etc.

In addition to W-2s and 1099s, we also need any of the following to minimize tax liability:

-  Medical expenses

-  Property taxes paid

-  Charitable contributions

-  Child care expenses

-  Mortgage interest statements

-  Student loan statements or tuition paid

3. Don’t opt out of e-file.

We recommend all of our eligible clients e-file their return.  Some returns cannot be e-filed due to attachments, etc., but if at all possible, you should have your return e-filed.  E-filing is a safer and faster way than paper mail to get your return to the IRS.  Once your e-filed return or extension is accepted, we get a confirmation from the IRS. 

The IRS has mandated that all individual and trust returns be e-filed.  If you still choose not to e-file your return, you must sign an opt-out form.

4. The earlier your information is in, the better.

Our returns are prepared on a first-in, first-out basis, so get your information to us as soon as you can.  The only way we can guarantee your return will be done before the deadline, is to make certain your complete information is to us by April 1^st.   If you wait until after April 1^st, we might have to extend your return. 

5. Start organizing now for next year.

January is a great place to start organizing for next year.  We recommend filing all your information by month, and keeping a separate file for tax-related statements.  This will ensure a stress-free tax season for you next year! 

Have you noticed that the social security tax withheld from your employees’ pay checks is still less than the amount you have to match as an employer? That is due the Payroll Tax Cut Extension that Congress passed at the end on 2011. Employees pay in 4.2% toward Social Security while employers pay in 6.2% toward that same program. The two-month extension is set to expire February 29, 2012, unless Congress can agree to extend it through the end of 2012.

Employers who use computer software to prepare their payroll shouldn’t worry. Companies like Intuit, which owns QuickBooks, will issue updates via their internet links as soon as the law is passed. However, employers who are not connected to the internet may have to wait on CD updates. This delay may result in added time and cost to manually calculate the 1^st payroll in March. My advice is to update your QuickBooks (or other software) when prompted. If you are not connected to the Internet, get connected. It will save you a lot of frustration and time.

By Wade Farmer

The IRS has changed Schedule D so that it acts primarily as a synopsis of capital gains, losses, and carryovers. New in 2011 is Form 8949, Sales and Other Dispositions of Capital Assets (two parts, with short-term investments on part one and long-term investments on part two), which will replace Schedule D-1.

Form 8949 will be used to record capital asset transactions not reported on another form or schedule, and these transactions will be in one of three groups: covered securities sales with cost basis given (In most cases, a “covered security” is a security you obtained after 2010, with the exceptions being noted on the list below.), non-covered securities sales with no cost basis given, or investment asset sales with no 1099-B provided. Each of these categories requires a separate Form 8949. Please see the sample form below.

The cost basis for covered securities will be phased in the 1099-B, starting January 1, 2011.  Brokers need to include the following transactional information for their clients’ 1099-B:

• Stock obtained as of 1/1/11
• Mutual funds obtained as of 1/1/12
• Stock obtained through dividend reinvestment as of 1/1/12
• All notes, bonds and commodities obtained as of 1/1/13

Transactions before these dates will not have cost basis reflected on the 1099-B.

Please do not hesitate to contact our office if you have any questions or concerns, or you would like additional information.

In addition to our quarterly newsletter, we thought we ought to try out this new thing called “blogging.” 

Our partners, managers and staff will all be writing about what we do best: accounting, tax, audit, and consulting.  You can expect to see articles about current issues and changes within these areas.

We’ll also have some articles from our IT department, because they know the types of problems our clients run into on a regular basis. 

We want this blog to be an informational resource, and hopefully provide our clients and friends with more insight into news in the accounting world in a clear and concise format.  We encourage feedback and comments; we would love to hear from you! 

As always, please feel free to contact our office if you want to know more about one of these articles, or if you have any questions or concerns.

Through the Johnson City Schools Homeless Coordinator Bonnie White, BCS provided Christmas presents for 5 children in the Johnson City School System.  Four BCS employees shopped for kids for clothes, toys, and other items. 

Because of donations, Bonnie was able to help double the amount of children she had originally budgeted for, which was 25.  We had fun picking out clothes and trying to find the kids’ most wished for toy.  Bonnie knew all of the children and gave us awesome insights into what the kids would want for Christmas.  She delivered them all before Christmas, and the children and their parents were overjoyed at the wonderful blessings they received.

BCS employees filled 30 stockings for needy children this Christmas.  These stockings are part of the Christmas present distribution program with the Salvation Army.  This year, the Salvation Army helped 1,872 children in Washington County and around 900 in Carter County.