Archives for February 2015

EMPLOYEE OR INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR?

February 25, 2015 by Frank

If you are an employer who believes that you determine whether someone who works for you is an employee or an independent contractor, you are mistaken!

How many times have we heard an employer say that the worker is an employee and the worker agrees as evidenced by an independent contractor agreement that both parties signed? A written agreement between a worker and the worker’s employer does not control the worker’s status. Pennsylvania’s (PA) Unemployment Compensation (UC) law requires an examination of the facts to determine if the worker is an independent contractor. Whether the services are performed on a full-time or part-time basis is immaterial to an individual’s employment status.

Contrary to what some employers believe, the following factors [Read more…] about EMPLOYEE OR INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR?

IDENTITY THEFT – HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF DURING THE TAX SEASON

February 17, 2015 by Frank

An identity thief uses a legitimate taxpayer’s identity to fraudulently file a tax return and claim a refund. Generally, the identity thief will use a stolen SSN to file a forged tax return and attempt to get a fraudulent refund early in the filing season. You may be unaware that this has happened until you file your return later in the filing season and discover that two returns have been filed using your SSN. Common warnings that your SSN has been used fraudulently with the IRS [Read more…] about IDENTITY THEFT – HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF DURING THE TAX SEASON

IDENTITY THEFT – ACTION STEPS YOU NEED TO TAKE

February 10, 2015 by Frank

Identity theft occurs when someone uses your personal information without your permission to commit fraud or other crimes. With the increased reports of identity theft, you need to take preventive steps to minimize your risk, and if your identity has been stolen, you need to know what action steps to take.

The IRS discusses sound preventive steps to reduce your risk of identity theft and action steps to take if your identity has been stolen on its website http://www.irs.gov/uac/Taxpayer-Guide-to-Identity-Theft#.UVWmOn9_t6o.email. One of the IRS’s recommendations to help minimize identity theft is to request your free annual credit report which can be found at: https://www.annualcreditreport.com/index.action. Since there are 3 agencies (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) that provide credit reports, we suggest that you do NOT request your free credit report from each agency at the same time since you are only allowed one free credit report each year from each agency. We recommend to our clients that they request their free annual report from one of the individual agencies on a rotating basis every 4 months. Thus, if there is suspicious activity on your credit report, you will hopefully be able to identify it within a four-month period rather than requesting your free reports from all 3 companies once a year.

Despite taking precautionary steps, what action steps should you take if you suspect or know that you confidential information has been breached? [Read more…] about IDENTITY THEFT – ACTION STEPS YOU NEED TO TAKE

Tax Time Identify Theft Precautions

February 3, 2015 by Frank

With the tax-filing season upon us, you must be particularly aware of the threat of identity theft. Your tax return contains sensitive personal information, and scammers can use your Social Security number to get a job or to file a false tax return to obtain a refund.

You need to take the necessary steps to ensure that your tax information does not fall into the wrong hands. You should consider such precautions as: [Read more…] about Tax Time Identify Theft Precautions