Lana Kurilova Rich PLLC

12/06/2021

Washington employers, please remember about WA Cares Fund, which is the new tax that you have to withhold from your employees' paychecks starting on January 1, 2022. Please check with your payroll service providers to make sure that they are up to speed, or if you do payroll in-house, please remember to to make the adjustments accordingly:

If you are an employer in WA State, it's important to get up to speed on employer requirements for the WA Cares Fund. Learn more here.

11/11/2021

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/11/11/irs-commissioner-we-desperately-need-resources-so-agency-can-serve-you-our-country/

It will be interesting to see if IRS receives the requested $80 bill in funding. Their computer systems are outdated and their call centers are definitely under-staffed. I would want to see more well-trained auditors, preferably CPAs, rather than barely-trained tax examiners, on their staff. If an audit is to take place, a taxpayer is better off, in my opinion, being audited by a CPA, rather than by a former cashier, for example, who received six months of IRS training and now is trying to examine the books of a small business.
Thus, there could be some benefits to any funding boost.

Without the dramatic increase in funding the Biden administration is calling for, the IRS can't adequately provide taxpayer services or catch tax cheats.

10/29/2021

For our Washington state contractors, you may be interested to know that the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries (LNI) is considering the contractor's license fee increase of 5.79%. If you would like to comment on this increase, please refer to the timetables in the link below:

L&I considers contractor registration fee increases Washington State Department of Labor & Industries sent this bulletin at 10/29/2021 01:47 PM PDT Having trouble viewing this email? View it as a Web page. The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) is considering raising the fee to....

09/24/2021

Washington retailers, please pay attention to the plastic bag ban rule . and especially to the new charges, and the sales tax, you are required to collect on any other reusable bags:

https://dor.wa.gov/sites/default/files/legacy/Docs/Pubs/SpecialNotices/2020/sn_20_PlasticBags.pdf

09/21/2021

Here is some information from the SBA regarding the enhanced Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program to Aid Small Businesses Facing Challenges from Delta Variant. The application deadline is December 31, 2021, but the SBA encourages the applicants to file their applications asap. More information is here:

Increased Loan Cap to $2 Million, Expanded Use of Funds to Pay and Prepay Business Debt, Streamlined Review Processes, and Deferred Payments; First Approval and Disbursement of Loans of $500,000 or Less Also Introduced.

09/21/2021

City of Bellevue offers some rent relief grants to our local small businesses. Take advantage of this opportunity:

The city will tap federal money to offer grants between $2,500 and $15,000 to help small businesses pay back rent owed through Aug. 31.

09/16/2021

Washington business owners, please do not forget to file your Unclaimed Property Report with the Washington State Department of Revenue. This year's deadline is November 1, 2021. Normally, this report (and any payment) is due by October 31st. The WA DOR created a new designated website for your reports and payments: https://ucp.dor.wa.gov/
If you do not know the rules about the unclaimed property, now is the time to do your research. The WA DOR will charge penalties (big surprise there!) for any late filings and/or payments.

08/18/2021

Several grants may be available to our local artists. Compliments of the City of Bellevue. The link shows the application process and your deadlines:

We work with artists and organizations to ensure that Bellevue is a great place where each year over 6,000 artists and volunteers can live up to their creative potential, over half a million attendees experience innovative art and diverse cultural traditions and thousands of people are supported wit...

02/16/2021

Our client shared this article with me today. It is very accurate of the current state of being of the IRS. So if you feel that you cannot get anywhere with the IRS, you are certainly not alone.

A mountainous backlog of paperwork at the IRS continues to wreak havoc on America’s tax collection system — which especially hurts lower-income filers.

01/05/2021

New overtime pay rules for some salaried employees have been implemented in Washington state:

11/26/2020

For our Washington state small businesses: Please do not miss your chance to apply for this grant:

Last week, Gov. Jay Inslee announced an additional $70 million for business grants. $50 million of that is for a new round of Working Washington business grants. The remainder will go toward funding all qualified businesses that applied in earlier rounds of our resiliency grant program. (NOTE: Busin...

10/17/2020

To our Washington state business owners who may not be in full compliance with the Washington State Department of Revenue: You still have a couple of months, until November 30th, to take advantage of their relatively generous voluntary disclosure program: https://dor.wa.gov/open-business/apply-business-license/voluntary-disclosure-program

We find that this program does save folks a substantial amount of money, so it is worth considering.

Our offices remain closed to the public due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but we can fully support you remotely. Visit our Contact page for options.