Informational Updates

Beginning January 01, 2021 the Maine Earned Paid Leave Law will go into effect. This law requires Maine employers with more than 10 employees for more than 120 calendar days in any calendar year must provide all employees with earned paid leave. The law requires employees to earn at minimum 1 hour for every 40 hours worked. Employees will at minimum be able to earn up to 40 hours, however, employers may opt to offer more than 40 hours of earned paid leave. Employees are able to carry over their earned paid leave time from one year to the next. Employers are only required to provide a total of 40 hours of paid leave, which includes anytime, that, has rolled over from the prior year. The law allows employees to take leaves that are a minimum of one hour increments.  Employers may request a 4 week notice prior to the employees requested leave that are non-emergency. However, employers may not prevent employees for using leave.

For further question you may contact our office at (207) 834-5448.

Effective January 01, 2021

As of January 01, 2021 the new minimum wage will be $12.15. The new service employee minimum wage will see an increase to $6.08. Employers must be able to prove employees receiving the direct service wage will receive $12.15 after the direct wage is combined with the tips received at the end of the week. Both of these increases are a factor of the increase in Cost of Living. The new minimum salary will be $700.97 per week or $36,450 per year.

For further question you may contact our office at (207) 834-5448.

08/22/18

Business Clients,

With the end of the year quickly approaching, as a business owner, you may be thinking about trading in or buying new equipment to help lower any potential tax liability.  We would just like to remind you about the changes in the laws that took effect the beginning of 2018.  The 2017 Tax Relief Act eliminated Section 1031 exchange.  Prior to this change, when there was a like-kind-exchange done on assets, the gain on the sale of the asset was deferred and the tax basis of the vehicle was adjusted accordingly when added to the books.  With the 2017 Tax Relief Act, there is no more like-kind-exchange.  When an asset is sold or traded, the gain on the sale must be recognized as ordinary income.   The good news is that the asset will be put on the books at the value paid and not the adjusted value which will give the option to take more Section 179 Depreciation to compensate for the gain on the sale.    Also, there is an option to take Bonus Deprecation.  The Section 179 Depreciation limit has been increased to $1 million and unlimited bonus deprecation for both used and new property.

There are a few things to keep in mind:                                    

·         Contact us prior to making any big decisions so you can be fully aware of any tax consequences.

·         Section 179 Depreciation is limited to $1 million. 

·         There is a five-year sunset on the 100% bonus depreciation.

·         For 1040 clients, the gain from selling an asset is recognized as ordinary income which is not subjected to self-employment taxes.  Using depreciation to reduce any gains and lower tax liability may reduce the amount of self-employment tax being paid in.  This may result in a significant reduction of Social Security benefits being paid out in the future. 

·         If opting to take 100% bonus deprecation, be aware that the state of Maine does not recognize Bonus Deprecation and will not reduce any state tax liabilities. 

·         If any assets are bought or sold, please provide us with the details of the transaction. 

Please call us with any questions or concerns you have.

08/14/18

Payroll Clients,

The Maine Unemployment Insurance Tax system is changing.  The Maine Department of Labor is introducing their new system, ReEmployME.  They have created this new system to better serve employers and are currently transitioning all employers over.  Some employers might have noticed a few changes already.  In July, if an employer scheduled an unemployment insurance payment, the payment was posted to their account that day with no option to schedule it for a future date.  Also, employers are no longer able to utilize the “bill payment” tax type selection in the EZ Pay application to make unemployment insurance payments. 

Employers will continue to file their third quarter ME UC-1 form with the Maine Revenue Services.  The big changes will take effect when filing the fourth quarter ME UC-1 in January of 2019.  In October, 2018, employers will be able to register with the Maine Department of Labor and create an account with the new ReEmployME system.

Toward the end of September into the beginning of October, we will have available the directions to create a ReEmployME account and how to file the Unemployment Insurance Tax return.  If we currently file your quarterly returns, we will create the ReEmployME account for you.  If you currently file your quarterly returns, we will be here to assist you with creating your ReEmployME account and navigating the new system. 

Please call us with any questions or concerns you have.