Same-Sex Married Couples to Get Refunds for Taxes Withheld on Health Benefits

The IRS’ announcement that they will recognize all same-sex married couples became effective on September 16^th. While filing status is the change that is getting the most attention it is not the only significant tax consequence. The effects are far-reaching and provide several avenues for same-sex married couples to get money back from the IRS.

For years, same-sex couples have paid taxes on health benefits that their opposite-sex counterparts have received tax-free. The Windsor decision has put a stop to this, thankfully, and the IRS is now allowing employers and employees to seek refunds of these taxes. Last week, the IRS issued guidance on how to claim refunds of both FICA (Social Security and Medicare) and Federal Income Tax Withholding.

Since FICA taxes are reported and remitted by your employer, you will have to rely on them to get your money back. Unless they are willing to reimburse you out-of-pocket, they will need to amend their payroll tax returns. You will want to discuss this with your employer; they may not know they are also eligible for a refund.

Luckily, the IRS has created special administrative procedures simplifying this process. Employers typically must amend each quarter individually. Under these circumstances, the IRS is allowing employers to amend all four quarters with one amended form. The procedures also require that the employer file corrected W2s.

If your employer does amend their payroll returns it will only get the FICA taxes back to you. To claim a refund for any income tax withholding, you will have to file an amended income tax return using the corrected W2. This will be a significant benefit to some but it is worth noting that the benefit is not necessarily greater than any negative consequences amending may have. If you are a taxpayer that would have paid more taxes as married filing jointly, amending to claim a refund of payroll taxes may not be worth it.

Thank you to our current and former team members and colleagues for helping us develop this content.

QuickBooks Online Basic Training (for Nonprofits) - Part 1

$ 100

This training is designed for the accidental operations manager, board treasurer, executive director, or anyone else who needs to understand how QuickBooks works so you can accurately and confidently record and track your organization's financial information. It covers the basics of bookkeeping, QuickBooks vocabulary, data entry for income and expenses, and basic troubleshooting. To help you understand the why behind it all, this course also includes and introduction to basic accounting concepts. Although this training assumes no prior QuickBooks knowledge, there's still plenty to learn for those who need a refresher, need nonprofit specific training, or who are coming to QuickBooks Online from Desktop.

Purchasing this training grants you access to our portal, where you can view the video and presentation slides at your convenience.

QuickBooks Online Basic Training (for Nonprofits) - Part 2

$ 100

Building on Part 1, this training will show you how to verify your data entry and create useful reports for both staff and board that will help you make decisions. This training covers QuickBooks' banking integration, reconciling accounts, generating and manipulating reports. You'll also learn how to handle non-cash activity and understand the difference between cash and accrual accounting.

Purchasing this training grants you access to our portal, where you can view the video and presentation slides at your convenience.

QuickBooks Online Intermediate Training (for Nonprofits) - Part 1

$ 100

So you feel comfortable with QuickBooks data entry, but you still have a feeling there's a lot QuickBooks can do that you're not taking advantage of? Our two-part series of intermediate trainings are for you. In Part 1 we cover ensuring your QuickBooks is set up in the best way to capture different kinds of information: functional expenses (program vs. admin and fundraising), grants, and multiple entities like fiscal sponsorships or related organizations. You'll learn why this tracking is necessary, how to gather the information you need to do it, and how the information is used. budgeting -- for your whole organization, specific programs, and even grants.

Purchasing this training grants you access to our portal, where you can view the video and presentation slides at your convenience.

QuickBooks Online Intermediate Training (for Nonprofits) - Part 2

$ 100

Building on Part 1, in this training we'll take your fully tricked out QuickBooks and put it through the paces, covering how to track grant expenditures or invoice against reimbursable grants, how to allocate expenses across multiple programs, and how to manage multiple entities such as related 501(c)(3)/(c)(4) orgs. This course also includes general background and training on fiscal sponsorships such as what to consider, how to set them up, and the differences between fiscal sponsorship models.

Purchasing this training grants you access to our portal, where you can view the video and presentation slides at your convenience.

How to Review a 990 for Staff & Board

$ 100

This training reveals the mystery contained in the many pages of Form 990 and its associated schedules. You will learn from the perspectives of both a CPA 990 preparer and experienced nonprofit director. Nonprofit staff will learn how to review a drafted 990 and work with the external tax preparer on any needed adjustments. Board members will learn how to review a finalized 990, and which parts of the form are of greatest concern. This training is also useful to anyone who wants to better understand some of the "why" behind many nonprofit accounting structures, practices, and terminology.

Purchasing this training grants you access to our portal, where you can view the video and presentation slides at your convenience.

1099-MISC & 1099-NEC Training

$ 75

Every January your organization is responsible for providing 1099 forms to certain independent contractors who you paid more than $600. In this training we'll go over the ins and outs of which contractors this applies to, and how to build your systems so that it's not a crunch to prepare.

Purchasing this training grants you access to our portal, where you can view the video and presentation slides at your convenience.

Coming this summer, check back often!!

We offer trainings as 1:1 sessions, customized private trainings for you and your team, or sponsored customized trainings for your community members. Contact us for more information.

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