UHY LLP September Newsletter

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September 2013

IN THIS ISSUE

Equal Tax Treatment for Same-Sex Marriages

Banking Solutions to Mitigate Payment Fraud

Issue 27

EVENTS CALENDAR

9/23 Sales & Use Tax Fundamentals

10/24 Annual Construction Outlook

10/30 Concepts & Developments of Nexus

11/13 Annual Manufacturing Outlook

12/4 Annual Accounting & Regulatory Update

12/4 Annual Tax Form

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

Macomb's Largest CPA

Recruiting Update

NEXUS & APPORTIONMENT

Does your company sell to customers in other states? A review of your apportionment methodology may reduce your overall state tax cost.

Contact your UHY professional today.

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EQUAL TAX TREATMENT FOR SAME-SEX MARRIAGES

Written by Jeff Goins, CPA

Currently same-sex marriages are legal in 13 states as well as the District of Columbia. The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which was signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1996, in part prevented the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages for purposes of federal laws. This meant that a same-sex couple who was legally married under the laws of their state would not be recognized as being married for federal purposes. This affected items such as taxation of fringe benefits or even the filing status of a federal tax return. On June 26, 2013, the Supreme Court ruled (in the Windsor case) that Section 3 of DOMA was unconstitutional because it violated the Fifth Amendment. The result is a same-sex couple who was legally married under a particular state law, would be treated as legally married for federal purposes.

The impact of the Supreme Court's ruling on DOMA left many unanswered questions on how it would impact taxation of same-sex marriages in states that do not recognize same-sex marriages. On August 29, 2013, the IRS issued Revenue Ruling 2013-17, which answered some of those questions. The ruling states that, for federal tax purposes, a same-sex married couple will be considered married if they entered into marriage in a state which allows marriage between individuals of the same-sex even if the state in which they are now domiciled does not recognize the marriage. The ruling also indicates that the term "marriage" does not include registered domestic partnerships, civil unions or other similar formal arrangements recognized under state law that are not denominated as a marriage under that state's law.

One of the major changes arising from the court's ruling is the taxation of health coverage and fringe benefits which may be excludable from income based on an individual's marital status. Section 1.106-1 states that gross income does not include contributions by an employer to an accident or health plan for personal injury or sickness incurred by the employee, the employee's spouse, or the employee's dependents. Section 119 states that the value of any meals and lodging provided by an employer to an employee, the employee's spouse, or the employee's dependents may be excluded from income. Sections 117(d), 129, and 132 covering qualified tuition reduction, dependent care assistance programs and certain fringe benefits are other examples of circumstances where married couples would enjoy tax benefits that non-married couples would not benefit from. Many same-sex couples will benefit from these changes going forward and may even amend prior year's tax filings.

For past years, it may be beneficial for couples to amend but they will not be required to do so. The statute of limitations for filing a refund claim is the later of three years from the date the return was filed or two years from the date the tax was paid. This could mean potential refunds for couples who were not eligible to file a joint income tax return and who had to include benefits paid to their spouse in income. For 2013, all legally married couples must file their return using either Married Filing Jointly or Married Filing Separately.

For more information or questions on this topic, please contact your professional at UHY LLP in Farmington Hills

248 355 1040 or Sterling Heights 586 254 1040 or visit us

on the web at www.uhy-us.com.

BANKING SOLUTIONS TO MITIGATE PAYMENT FRAUD

Written by Lucy Marshall, CFE

Payment fraud continues to be a growing threat. This type of fraud occurs when unauthorized transactions are made through identity theft, forgery, counterfeiting or other criminal activity.

Small businesses are targeted because they frequently do not take enough precautions. They typically lack separation of duties, do not reconcile accounts monthly, do not perform background checks on new hires, fail to install antivirus software, or have no safeguards in place at all.

Help protect against payment fraud by taking advantage of the following banking solutions:

SECURITY FOR ONLINE BANKING

Secure logins - Create a unique login ID and strong password. Ensure that secure ID tokens and passwords are changed periodically.

Firewalls - Should be installed on all computers to help protect against criminals who want to delete and steal confidential information.

Up-to-date browsers - Set up automatic updates on your computer to keep your internet browsers up-to-date. Confirm your banking session is encrypted for protection against fraud and theft.

USE OF CUSTOM CHECK STOCK

Custom check stock provides increased security through features such as holograms, heat-reactive ink circles and fiber security weaves. These features can discourage counterfeiting and make it difficult to copy or duplicate checks.

AUTOMATED CLEARING HOUSE (ACH) SERVICES

ACH services are an electronic means of conducting financial transactions. Controls over how and when you make payments can be increased by utilizing these services. Most banks offer enhanced protection for ACH transactions, such as ACH blocks. Blocks can be used to filter out unauthorized business transactions. A business selects the criteria to block certain ACH debits (i.e. setting dollar limits for single transactions and limits to aggregate daily transactions) and the bank won't process transactions which do not comply with the criteria.

POSITIVE PAY SERVICES

With Positive Pay, transactions are reviewed against a list of approved payments that you provide to the bank. If the payment is not on that list it simply doesn't get paid.

For more information or questions on this topic, please contact your professional at UHY LLP in Farmington Hills

248 355 1040 or Sterling Heights 586 254 1040 or visit us

on the web at www.uhy-us.com.

QUARTERLY ACCOUNTING & SEC UPDATE

UHY LLP is pleased to provide you with a recap of new FASB, PCAOB, SEC and other accounting-related requirements and proposals that may soon affect your company. We believe our insights will benefit you, your audit committees, CFOs and senior management.

Q2 2013: UHY LLP QUARTERLY ACCOUNTING & SEC UPDATE

If you'd like to discuss any of these topics, please contact your professional at UHY LLP in Farmington Hills 248 355 1040 or Sterling Heights 586 254 1040 or visit us on the web at www.uhy-us.com.

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS

ISSUE 27

International Business is a twice-yearly publication featuring articles on current business affairs in countries and business cultures around the world. This issue is dedicated entirely to internationalization of businesses in order to provide you with a view of what to take into account and how to minimize risks when going international.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE ISSUE

EVENTS CALENDAR

9/25 UHY Advisors State & Local Tax Forum I: Sales & Use Tax Fundamentals

Please join us at UHY's Farmington Hills office on Wednesday, September 25 for the first in a series of three state and local tax forums.

No matter the size or nature of your business, every organization must deal with the complexity of sales and use taxes. Join us for a discussion on the essentials of the sales and use tax, various exemptions and exclusions, an overview of compliance and the increase in state audits and what corrective actions you can take prior to an audit.

7:30AM-8:00AM Registration, Breakfast & Networking

8:00AM-8:15AM Opening Commentary

8:15AM-9:45AM Sales & Use Tax Fundamentals

9:45AM-10:00AM Interactive Discussion

10/24 UHY LLP Annual Construction Outlook

Save the date! UHY LLP is pleased to announce Construction Outlook 2014 that will be held in UHY's Farmington Hills training center. Join us to learn more about the latest industry trends and recent financial and tax developments. Topics, speakers and keynote will be announced shortly.

Thursday October 24 2013

7:00AM-10:30AM

CPE credit will be offered. Pre-registration for this complimentary program is required. Breakfast will be provided. Space is limited. Multiple registrations are welcome. To RSVP contact Shannon Gnesda via email sgnesda@uhy-us.com or phone 586 843 2637. Formal invitation to follow.

11/13 UHY LLP Annual Manufacturing Outlook

Save the date for Manufacturing Outlook 2014 "Made In America: Growing Demand Fuels Optimism and Urgent Change". Join us either onsite at UHY's Farmington Hills office or online via webcast to learn more about developing industry trends including automotive, economic and banking. Topics, speakers and keynote will be announced shortly.

Wednesday November 13 2013

onsite breakfast program online webinar

Central Time 7:30AM-10:45AM 8:00AM-10:45AM

Eastern Time 8:30AM-11:45AM 9:00AM-11:45AM

Save the date! More UHY events are just around the corner...

10/30 UHY Advisors State & Local Tax Forum II: Concepts & Current Developments of Nexus

12/4 UHY LLP Annual Accounting & Regulatory Update

12/4 UHY Advisors Annual Tax Forum

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

Macomb County's Largest Accounting Firm

The UHY LLP Sterling Heights office is proud to be Macomb County's largest accounting firm. Explore its history, involvement in the community, and plans to renovate and remodel to make room for the growth ahead. Click here to read the full press release.

Experienced Recruiting Update

UHY Michigan is actively looking for experienced candidates to fill key positions in our local offices. Please review the openings below and if you know someone who may be interested in any of these roles please reach out to Rina Henning, Recruiting Manager, via email rhenning@uhy-us.com or phone 248 204 9331.

Sterling Heights

Tax Managers

Audit Seniors (2-5 years of experience)

CSA (full charge bookkeeper with 1040 experience)

Farmington Hills

Tax Manager

Published by UHY LLP News.

Our firm provides the information in this newsletter as tax information and general business or economic information or analysis for educational purposes, and none of the information contained herein is intended to serve as a solicitation of any service or product. This information does not constitute the provision of legal advice, tax advice, accounting services, investment advice, or professional consulting of any kind. The information provided herein should not be used as a substitute for consultation with professional tax, accounting, legal, or other competent advisors. Before making any decision or taking any action, you should consult a professional advisor who has been provided with all pertinent facts relevant to your particular situation. Tax articles in this newsletter are not intended to be used, and cannot be used by any taxpayer, for the purpose of avoiding accuracy-related penalties that may be imposed on the taxpayer. The information is provided "as is," with no assurance or guarantee of completeness, accuracy, or timeliness of the information, and without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including but not limited to warranties of performance, merchantability, and fitness for a particular purpose.

UHY Advisors, Inc. provides tax and business consulting services through wholly owned subsidiary entities that operate under the name of "UHY Advisors." UHY Advisors, Inc. and its subsidiary entities are not licensed CPA firms. UHY LLP is a licensed independent CPA firm that performs attest services in an alternative practice structure with UHY Advisors, Inc. and its subsidiary entities. UHY Advisors, Inc. and UHY LLP are U.S. members of Urbach Hacker Young International Limited, a UK company, and form part of the international UHY network of legally independent accounting and consulting firms. "UHY" is the brand name for the UHY international network. Any services described herein are provided by UHY Advisors and/or UHY LLP (as the case may be) and not by UHY or any other member firm of UHY. Neither UHY nor any member of UHY has any liability for services provided by other members.