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Two Common 401(k) Plan Administration Pitfalls

If your company has a 401(k) plan, you know it's a great benefit for your employees. Payroll deduction is an easy way to save for retirement, and can provide a tax-advantaged way to grow that important nest egg.But you also know that 401(k) plans come with some critical compliance issues. Both the IRS and Department of Labor (DOL) regulate employee…

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Things to Consider When Refinancing Your Mortgage

The combination of low interest rates and rising property values may be leading you to consider refinancing your home. Whether you should do so depends on several factors. Why Refinance? Here are four benefits to refinancing: 1. Lowering Your Interest Rate and/or Your Monthly Payment Reducing your interest rate can provide significant long-term savings, especially if your current rate is…

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Expanded and Enhanced Tax Credits for Minor Children

With the March 11, 2021 passage of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), two long-standing tax credits for taxpayers with minor children received significant enhancements. Child Tax Credit Background: The Child Tax Credit (CTC) previously provided up to a $2,000 credit per qualifying child. This credit began to phase out for taxpayers with adjusted gross income (AGI) > than $400,000…

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Employers: Be Sure to Notify Employees of the New COBRA Premium Assistance

If you have employees who are eligible for COBRA coverage because of job changes outside of their control, here's good news. They may be eligible to have their premiums fully paid between April 1, 2021 and September 30, 2021. This provision of the recent American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) applies to employees in these situations: The employee's hours were reduced…

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Employee Retention Credit Expanded for 2021

The coronavirus relief legislation passed at the end of 2020 included an enhancement to the Employee Retention Credit (ERC) that makes it available to more businesses. What is the Employee Retention Credit? The ERC provides for a refundable tax credit for companies that continue to pay their employees, even if the business is closed or experiences a slowdown due to…

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Tax Due Dates for January 15-31, 2021

Friday, January 15, 2021 Pay the final installment of your 2020 estimated tax using Form 1040-ES Deposit payroll tax for December 2020 if the monthly deposit rule applies Kansas Withholding Tax Deposit Report (Form KW-5), monthly filers, December Monday, January 25, 2021 Kansas Consumers' Compensating Use Tax Return (Form CT-10U) - annual filers, previous year Kansas Consumers' Compensating Use Tax…

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Kansas Unemployment Fraud Continues to Rise

We first told you about fraudulent unemployment claims a couple of months ago, and their prevalence has increased since then. The Kansas Department of Labor (KDOL) reports they have stopped more than 100,000 fraudulent claims to date, with more pouring in. As you can imagine, the demand for unemployment payments has skyrocketed during the pandemic - since March 15, 2020,…

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Highlights of the Recent COVID Relief Bill Signed 12/27/20

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA) extends some key provisions of earlier legislation, including additional loans under a new Paycheck Protection Program and an additional $300/week unemployment compensation payment (because the previous $600/week allotment expired last July). It also extends a variety of tax provisions set to expire at the end of 2020, including an extension of the Work Opportunity…

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