 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Free eNewsletter & Special Promotions
Volume 6, Issue 5, May 2008
If the images in this newsletter don't appear, make sure you are connected
to the Internet and click here.
|
If you own a small business and would like to offer a retirement plan to your employees, there are some options available to you. Payroll Deduction IRAs and SEP plans are uncomplicated, low-or-no-cost retirement plan options that a business may offer to its employees.
Payroll Deduction IRA – This option allows an employee to establish an IRA with an outside financial institution (such as a bank), and then make payments to that IRA via payroll deduction. Employers only need to transmit the employee’s payments to the financial institution at which the employee has established the IRA.
Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) – The SEP plan allows an employer to make contributions to traditional IRAs that have been established for each eligible employee. Employees do not make contributions to SEPs; only employers contribute, but employees are always 100% vested (have ownership in) all of the money in their SEP IRA.
The table below illustrates some specifics of each option:
| Payroll Deduction IRA | Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) |
| There are no filing requirements for the employer. | Businesses of any size may offer this plan. |
| Only employees make contributions; no contributions are made by the employer. Also, employees may not take out participant loans. | Form 5305-SEP may be used as the prototype for your plan document. |
| Businesses of any size may offer this plan; there are no size requirements or minimums. | Businesses cannot offer any other retirement plan (except for another SEP) if Form 5305-SEP is used as the prototype for your SEP plan. |
| There are no tax deductions for your business and little or no administrative costs or requirements. | Employers typically do not have any filing requirements; rather, the financial institution completes the paperwork. |
| Contribution limits: • $5,000 for 2008 • $1,000 ‘catch up’ contribution per year for 2006 and beyond (for employees age 50 and over) |
Contribution limits: • Total contributions cannot exceed $46,000 for 2008 (and subject to cost-of-living adjustments for later years) or 25% of the employee’s pay. |
Additional rules apply to both retirement plans, and the friendly professionals at Kemper CPA Group LLP are available to help answer your questions about the best plan for your business. How can we help you? Contact us today!
Summer is just around the corner, and as you begin making plans for vacation, don’t overlook your own back yard! By exploring local attractions, you’ll be saving on travel and lodging expenses, and local towns and cities will be benefiting from dollars you might have spent elsewhere. Staying close to home can be an affordable alternative to an expensive vacation, especially important during times of economic uncertainty.
From state and federal parks to fairs and festivals, the states where you live and work have much to offer. Your state tourism board has a wealth of knowledge about area events and local places of interest.
Consider all of those nearby places you’ve always wanted to visit. Pick one, or a few, and make a point to visit this summer. Wherever you go this summer, have a safe, relaxing vacation!
When you start a business, several factors, including taxes and legal matters, affect the type of business entity you choose, and the type of income tax return you file is dependent on your business structure. Because selecting a business structure is a complicated matter, consult your attorney and your accountant for help in deciding which option is best for your business.
Below are brief descriptions of some of the most common business structures:
Sole Proprietorship: A single business person owns all of the business’ assets, retains all profits, and is responsible for all of the business’ liabilities and debts.
Partnership: Two or more individuals share ownership of a business and are jointly responsible for all liabilities and debts.
Corporation: Corporations are separate legal entities, owned by shareholders who purchase the corporation’s capital stock. Shareholders retain limited liability.
Subchapter S Corporation: Eligible corporations can elect to be treated as S corporations, whereby shareholders’ earnings and profits are passed through to their personal tax returns as distributions. Shareholders who work for the company must pay themselves wages and meet “reasonable compensation” standards.
Limited Liability Company: Limited Liability Companies (LLCs) are a newer type of business structure made available by state statute. LLCs combine the limited personal liability of a corporation with the flexible management and tax treatment of a partnership.
Additional information about the types of business structures, including advantages and disadvantages of each type, is available on the Small Business Administration website. Our certified public accountants and consultants can provide further guidance about the various types of business structures and can help you determine which is the best for you and your business. You can count on Kemper CPA Group LLP for all of your business’ accounting needs. Contact us today!
The May/June 2008 issue of the “Loose Change” Newsletter includes the following articles:
| • | Watch Out for the “Gotchas” |
| • | Flatline ID Fraud |
| • | You Can Almost Bank on It! |
| • | Exchanging a Life Insurance Policy |
| • | No Means No |
| • | Swept Up in a Dragnet of Investing Excuses |
| • | Don’t Forget the Cash in the Toolbox |
| • | Sibling Rivalry? |
| • | Tone Up Your Emergency Fund |
| • | What’s Correlation Got To Do with It? |
| • | Do Be a “Do-Bee” |
| • | Green Bonds for Greener Pastures |
| • | Coming to the Aid of Students |
| • | When a Gift Is Not a Gift |
| • | The Pension Dilemma |
| • | Gains for Charity |
| • | Tour de Force |
| • | Margin Accounts – More Than Marginal Risk |
| • | Quiz Yourself |
Contact Kemper Capital Management LLC for all of your investing needs.
Investment advisory services offered by KCPAG Financial Advisors LLC, a registered investment advisor. Securities officered through Securities America, Inc., a registered broker/dealer. Member NASD/SIPC. Thomas A. Moore, John D.
Porter, Shawna D. Horne, Sheila Lautenbacher, Jessica Daugherty, Joseph M. Mendes, CA Insurance Lic. #0C62535, Gregory Meador, Marcia Elder, Registered Representatives. Insurance services offered through KCPAG Insurance Services LLC. Kemper Capital Management LLC and its subsidiaries are not affiliated with Securities America.
Yes, you too can afford an entire Information Technology (IT) department working for your business!
Server and workstation support, software selection, installation, training and maintenance, Internet site development, network design and support – you can have it all, and more, working for your business!
How? It’s simple…outsource the entire IT department.
Outsourcing makes sense for businesses who cannot otherwise afford to pay a full-time, in-house staff person to manage their computing systems. The complexity of current computing equipment, software, and networks requires highly skilled, experienced professionals to maintain, upgrade, troubleshoot and otherwise worry about them. It is difficult for small businesses to find people with the required skills and experience and even harder to manage the salaries those people command. Looking outside your company can give you a broad selection of options and allow you to find the best IT management solution for your business.
Another benefit is the simple peace of mind that comes with knowing your data is safe, your systems are running the most current software, and there is someone available to help when the server decides it’s going to take a permanent holiday.
At Kemper Technology Consulting, there are many skilled professionals ready to be the IT department for your business. We have network support staff, programming staff, people to help you choose, purchase, install, and maintain software, take your business to the Internet, and much more. We have five locations in Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky, so our friendly staff is close to your business. And we have the highly skilled, certified people available to provide a complete IT solution for your business.
Kemper Technology Consulting can be the IT department for your business – contact us today!
Kemper Technology Consulting
Robinson, IL
618-546-5633
www.kempertc.com
Evansville, IN • Indianapolis, IN • Paducah, KY • Effingham, IL
Please be advised that, based upon current Internal Revenue Service (IRS) rules and standards, the advice herein is not intended to be used, nor can it be used, as the sole basis for decisions. Additional issues may exist that could affect the treatment of the individual transactions, and this narrative does not provide a conclusion with respect to all such issues.
You are currently subscribed as: EMAIL_ADDRESS
email us at info-administrative@kcpag.com.
521 North 6th Street, P.O. Box 297, Vincennes, IN 47591
