Happy New Year! In the new and out with the old.
But wait! Not so fast!
There are several tasks a nonprofit homeschool group needs to do to finish out the prior year before forging ahead.
1. Wage Form W-2 to employees by January 31st: Your treasurer should furnish Form W-2 to employees who worked for your organization during the past year by Jan 31st.
The cover sheet for the W-2s, called a transmittal form W-3 transmittal form is due the end of January as well.
2. Independent Contractor Form 1099-MISC are also due January 31. Provide a Form 1099-MISC to individuals paid $600 or more in 2019 for performing a service for your nonprofit. Like the W-2s, the 1099s have a cover page, Form 1096 transmittal form that is also due by Jan 31st.
In 2020, the IRS will be replacing the 1099-MISC for non-employee compensation with a separate form called 1099-NEC. It will be used in early 2021 to report 2020 payments to independent contractors. Click here to see the IRS draft.
PaperW-2s and 1099-MISCs are a nuisance to fill in and mail, so do what I do and file online.
I used a service called Yearli.com for years. They are fast, easy and inexpensive.
Check them out! https://mbsy.co/rzrbp
Using this link gets you a 15% discount and (full disclosure) I make a small commission.
The start of a new year is a great time to determine if your workers should be classified as an employee or independent contractor.
Worker misclassification is a serious issue and can cause significant financial hardship and has caused several businesses to close. Penalties for misclassifying a worker as an independent contractor are very stiff and strictly enforced so now is a good of time to make sure every one of your workers are properly classified. Read more here…
My book Paying Workers in a Homeschool Organization will help to determine if a worker is an Independent Contractor or employee.
For more specific advice, I offer a Worker Classification Consultation.
3. Contribution statements for donations your nonprofit received in 2019. A donation is recorded when it is received even if you don’t deposit the check until the new year. The only exception to that rule is if you receive a check in the mail and the envelope is dated December 31st or before. You can count that as a donation in 2019.
Your contributions statements to donors should be mailed in January so donors can prepare their tax returns.
Those tasks will keep your treasurer (or hired bookkeeper) pretty busy in January!
If you’re needing bookkeeper, I recommend Mary Musick, CPA (inactive) and current homeschool mom. Mary runs a bookkeeping service and can help your homeschool nonprofit with bookkeeping and payroll. Her email is hfbkkpg@gmail.com.
