Sisterson Blog

ERISA generally requires employee benefit plans with 100 or more participants to have their annual reports audited. Plan administrators have fiduciary responsibilities to hire independent qualified public accountants to perform quality audits. Read more

On August 6, 2021, the IRS explained in an announcement (available here) that certain retirement plans adopted after the close of the employer's taxable year will not be required to file a 2020 Form 5500. Read more

Annual audits are not an event many not-for-profit organizations look forward to. However, regular maintenance and preparation specific to an impending audit can make the process less disruptive. Read more

The IRS has published new guidance on the Employee Retention Credit (ERC). Notice 2021-49 addresses various issues, particularly those related to the extension of the credit through 2021 by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). Read more

Private companies and not-for-profits are wrestling with accounting for the employee retention credit that qualifies eligible employers for payroll tax reduction under COVID-19 relief laws. They’re uncertain whether those credits should be presented gross as income or net of the related expen Read more

A critical deadline is approaching for many of the businesses that have received loans under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which was created in March 2020 by the CARES Act. Read more

On June 30, 2021, Governor Wolf signed Act No. 25. The budget included several Pennsylvania tax reform code changes. Read more

The first advance payments under the temporarily expanded child tax credit (CTC) will begin to arrive for nearly 39 million households in mid-July 2021 unless, that is, they opt out. Read more

Not-for-profit organizations that accept contributions of nonfinancial assets, such as land, services and supplies, need to know about Financial Accounting Standards Board rules approved last year. Read more

The estimated number of going concerns for fiscal year 2019 fell to the lowest amount in 20 years. But the pandemic caused financial distress that could bring an end to this downward trend for fiscal year 2020. Read more

President Biden recently announced his $1.8 trillion American Families Plan (AFP), the third step in his Build Back Better policy initiative. The announcement followed the previous releases of the proposed $2.3 trillion American Jobs Plan and the Made in America Tax Plan. Read more

The goal is to continue to provide a supplemental payment of $5,000 to the smallest and hardest hit businesses and nonprofit organizations that have been most severely affected by the economic effects of the pandemic. Read more

The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 created a temporary 100% (vs. 50%) deduction for certain food or beverages provided by restaurants. The 100% deduction applies to amounts paid or incurred after December 31, 2020 and before January 1, 2023. Read more

If you are a Pennsylvania taxpayer and are requesting a refund on your Pennsylvania personal income tax return, please be on the lookout for a PA ID validation letter to be issued to you requesting an action be performed to confirm your identity before the refund will be issued. Read more

President Biden has signed the PPP Extension Act of 2021. The new law extends the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) application filing deadline from March 31, 2021, to May 31, 2021, thus providing potential PPP borrowers additional time to submit their applications. Read more

You may recall that the IRS extended the individual filing deadline to May 17, 2021. On March 29, the IRS elaborated on this. Specifically, IRS Notice 2021-21 provides details on the additional tax deadlines which have been postponed until May 17. Read more

Regional certified public accounting and financial consulting firm, Sisterson & Co. LLP has announced the following promotions. Read more

Pennsylvania has extended its personal income tax deadline, to May 17, 2021 to coordinate with the extended federal tax return deadline. Read more

The Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service announced that the federal income tax filing due date for individuals for the 2020 tax year will be automatically extended from April 15, 2021, to May 17, 2021. Read more

The CARES Act created the employee retention tax credit (ERTC) for eligible businesses and tax-exempt organizations that pay qualified wages, including certain health plan expenses, to employees after March 12, 2020, and before January 1, 2021. Read more