Estimated Taxes- Who Needs to Pay Them?

Interest, dividends, rents, royalties, and business receipts. What do all these types of income have in common? The answer: Typically, no federal income tax is withheld from any of them. That means you may be required to make estimated tax payments.

To determine if you have to pay estimated taxes, you’ll need three numbers: the amount of tax you expect to owe for 2015, the amount of tax you’ll pay via withholding or credits for 2015, and the tax shown on your 2014 return.

Generally, if you expect to owe $1,000 or more for 2015 after subtracting your withholding and credits, you could be subject to underpayment penalties. However, if you have prepaid 90% of your 2015 tax liability or 100% of your 2014 tax liability, you will not be penalized. Special rules apply when your income is greater than $150,000, or if you’re in the business of farming or fishing.

You can compute your 2015 estimated tax using the worksheet in the Form 1040-ES package. The package also contains the forms you’ll file if you plan to pay the estimated tax by check or money order. The payments are generally due in four equal installments. The due dates are April 15, June 15, September 15, and the following January 15.

Be aware that changes in your personal financial situation can affect the amount of estimated tax you’re required to pay. Remember, penalties can apply if you underpay

How’s Your Dental Practice Doing?

Recently I ran across the following article in Dentistry IQ written by Roger P. Levin, DDS.  How are you recording and tracking your “big data?

You’ve probably heard the term “big data,” which refers to all of the electronic activity tracked by businesses today. With the various software programs that are available to administer scheduling, accounting, inventory, payroll, and more, dental practices now generate their own big data.

How can dentists take advantage of this information to monitor and increase practice development? The secret is to know which numbers actually indicate growth or decline – the Key Production Indicators™ (KPIs)

For general dental practices, following the metrics listed here will provide a solid picture of how their practice measures up:

1. Production: What are the daily, weekly, monthly, and annual production figures? These provide the big picture of how a practice is doing.

2. Collections: What percentage of fees charged are actually paid? If a practice isn’t collecting 98%, your policies and scripts may need to be adjusted.

3. Profit: What is the practice’s total revenue after operating expenses are subtracted?

4. Overhead: Is overhead 59% or less of total income? If not, doctors should examine expenses to see what can be reduced.

5. New patients: How many new patients are coming in each month and each year? This indicator should be increasing 10% to 15% annually.

6. Fee-for-service vs. insurance production: What is the ratio? Can it be adjusted one way or another to the practice’s benefit?

7. Case acceptance: How do patients respond to treatment recommendations? Are at least 90% of case presentations accepted?

9. Percentage of hygiene patients scheduled: Are 98% of the practice’s patients scheduled for their next appointment at all times?

10. Cancellation and no-show rates: Is the rate 1% or less? If not, the practice may suffer from unproductive gaps in the schedule.

Of course, recording the numbers is only the first step in making headway. KPIs must not only be recorded but also analyzed each week. A quick review should take two to five minutes. Over time, consistent evaluation of KPIs makes it possible for the doctor to rapidly identify performance gaps and make corrections to marketing, expenses, systems, scripts, and other policies as needed. The next step is to create goals, share them with the team, and monitor progress toward meeting them.

Top Five Reasons Dentists Need to Use Social Media

In businesses across the board – finance, healthcare and even your favorite pet store, companies are finding the use of social media critical to business success.

Consider using social media as a way to create professional connections, advertise your dental services and create a loyal client base.

Some of the overwhelming benefits of putting your practice on some form of a social media platform include:

• Regular Interaction with Target Clients

Using the power of social media, you can connect on a more personal level with your patients. Twitter and Facebook are great tools to utilize, enabling a dentist to send a quick, personal message to your patients anytime. This kind of personal attention can strengthen your relationship and maintain a personal connection with your client base.

• Real-time Responses

Social media platforms allow for quick responses to client inquiries and concerns. Your dental practice will be enabled with the tools needed to easily and efficiently direct potential patients to your website or contact information, to schedule an appointment.

• Increased Traffic Converts Into Increased Business

As your social media sites grow and gain higher rankings, your sites will become more visible to both your regular patients and people active on those social media platforms. This creates a great opportunity to reach potential dental clients.

• Affordable (Even Free!) Marketing

While hiring social media management from an agency can seem expensive, it can often create a higher return on your investment. Managing your own accounts on Facebook and Twitter means free marketing. However, keep in mind that this takes a significant investment of your time, as you must stay active in continually sharing relevant and useful contents if you want to drive traffic to your dental practice.

• Put You on Equal Ground

Unlike traditional marketing, social media platforms provide the same tools and resources to all users, no matter the size or amount spent. Effective use of these tools is the key to success on social media!

To read the entire article, please visit www.community.pennwelldentalgroup.com.

3 ways to get money into your dental practice faster

Doesn’t everyone want to receive their money faster? If you’re an office manager, how great would it be to tell your boss you’ve figured out how to turn around insurance payments within a week? If you’re a dentist, how would you like to hear these words?

Technology has made it possible to get claims to the insurance companies faster, which means you get your money faster. And it doesn’t end with claims — get on board with direct deposit and take it a step further. I wasn’t paid by any of these companies; rather, they are my favorite methods of making my life as an office manager much easier.

1. Are you still mailing attachments? Stop right now! — My favorite is National Electronic Attachment, Inc. Every time I use this program I get giddy, and depending on the day, it might be the highlight. It allows users to attach anything that shows up on thier computer screen and attach it to the claim. NO. MORE. PRINTING.

Every year the list of participating providers gets longer, and I’ve run across very few insurance companies that don’t allow electronic attachments. If you get correspondence from the company stating they didn’t receive the attachment or required documentation, NEA attaches a unique number to each claim. They take that number, log into their end of NEA, and find the corresponding attachment.

2. A better clearinghouse — You’ve heard this saying before, but this is one of those things where it really counts — You get what you pay for.

Did you know that some clearinghouses might actually be printing those electronic claims and then mailing them to the insurance company? Why wait until the claim gets to the insurance company to find out the subscriber ID is wrong or is missing information? OneMind Health offers a variety of products, but their first is claims submission and real-time benefits, eligibility, and pre-estimates. The beautiful screen allows users to easily track every claim, and it won’t let someone send anything until it has all the required information.

3. Direct deposit — This is the cheapest way to get your money faster, and it won’t cost you a thing! Set up a separate account that is linked to your main checking account. The OM in the office will need access to the account in order to track deposits that are made from the insurance company. Once the deposits are accounted for, you can just transfer money into the main account.

If you don’t separate the accounts, it might be messy to look at. Sometimes the insurance companies will make a bulk deposit, but sometimes they don’t.

This list isn’t a complete revenue cycle solutions, but you will see a difference immediately. The skill set of your staff, your goals, and how you train your staff also play a role into how quickly you turn production into collections. Use the technology that’s available to you and reap the benefits!

Find out how ACA affects Employers with 50 or more Employees

Some of the provisions of the Affordable Care Act, or health care law, apply only to large employers, which are generally those with 50 or more full-time equivalent employees. These employers are considered applicable large employers – also known as ALEs – and are subject to the employer shared responsibility provisions and the annual employer information return provisions. For example, in 2016 applicable large employers will have annual reporting responsibilities concerning whether and what health insurance they offered in 2015 to their full-time employees.

All employers, regardless of size, that provide self-insured health coverage must file an annual return reporting certain information for individuals they cover. The first returns are due to be filed in 2016 for the year 2015. 

Effective for calendar year 2015, ALEs with 100 or more full-time or full-time equivalent employees will be subject to the employer shared responsibility provision and therefore may have to make a shared responsibility payment. This applies to employers that do not offer adequate, affordable coverage to their full-time employees and one or more of those employees get a premium tax credit. The employer shared responsibility provisions will be phased in for smaller ALEs from 2015 to 2016. 

Calculating the number of employees is especially important for employers that have close to 50 employees or whose workforce fluctuates throughout the year. To determine its workforce size for a year an employer adds its total number of full-time employees for each month of the prior calendar year to the total number of full-time equivalent employees for each calendar month of the prior calendar year and divides that total number by 12.

Employers with more than 50 cannot purchase health insurance coverage for its employees through the Small Business Health Options Program – better known as the SHOP Marketplace. However, Employers that have exactly 50 employees can purchase coverage for their employees through the SHOP.

Start Planning Now for Next Year’s Taxes

You may be tempted to forget all about your taxes once you’ve filed your tax return. Do not give in to that temptation. If you start your tax planning now, you may avoid a tax surprise when you file next year. Now is a good time to set up a system so you can keep your tax records safe and easy to find. Here are some IRS tips to give you a leg up on next year’s taxes:

• Take action when life changes occur.  Some life events can change the amount of tax you pay. Some examples that can do that include a change in marital status or the birth of a child. When they happen, you may need to change the amount of tax withheld from your pay. To do that, file a new Form W-4, Employee's Withholding Allowance Certificate, with your employer. Use the IRS Withholding Calculator tool on IRS.gov to help you fill out the form.
• Report changes in circumstances to the Health Insurance Marketplace.  If you enroll in insurance coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplace in 2015, you should report changes in circumstances to the Marketplace when they happen. Report events such as changes in your income or family size. Doing so will help you avoid getting too much or too little financial assistance in advance.
• Keep records safe.  Put your 2014 tax return and supporting records in a safe place. If you ever need your tax return or records, it will be easy for you to get them. For example, you may need a copy of your tax return if you apply for a home loan or financial aid. You should use your tax return as a guide when you do your taxes next year.
• Stay organized.  Make tax time easier. Have your family put tax records in the same place during the year. That way you won’t have to search for misplaced records when you file next year.
• Shop for a tax preparer.  If you want to hire a tax preparer to help you with tax planning, start your search now. Choose your tax preparer wisely. Use the Directory of Tax Return Preparers tool on IRS.gov to find tax preparers in your area with the credentials and qualifications that you prefer.
• Think about itemizing.  If you claim a standard deduction on your tax return, you may be able to lower your taxes if you itemize deductions instead. A donation to charity could mean some tax savings. 
• Stay informed.  Subscribe to IRS Tax Tips to get emails about tax law changes, how to save money and much more. You can also get Tax Tips on IRS.gov or IRS2Go, the IRS mobile app. You’ll receive Tips each weekday in the tax filing season and three days a week in summer. You will also get Special Edition Tax Tips at other times during the year.

Planning now can pay off with savings at tax time next year.

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Report Changes in Circumstances that could Affect Your 2015 Premium Tax Credit

If you have enrolled for health coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplace and receive advance payments of the premium tax credit in 2015, it is important that you report changes in circumstances, such as changes in your income or family size, to your Marketplace.

Advance payments of the premium tax credit provide financial assistance to help you pay for the insurance you buy through the Marketplace. Having at least some of your credit paid in advance directly to your insurance company will reduce the out-of-pocket cost of the health insurance premiums you’ll pay each month.

However, it is important to notify the Marketplace about changes in circumstances to allow the Marketplace to adjust your advance payment amount. This adjustment will decrease the likelihood of a significant difference between your advance credit payments and your actual premium tax credit. Changes in circumstances that you should report to the Marketplace include, but are not limited to:

• An increase or decrease in your income
• Marriage or divorce
• The birth or adoption of a child
• Starting a job with health insurance
• Gaining or losing your eligibility for other health care coverage
• Changing your residence

For the full list of changes you should report, visit HealthCare.gov/how-do-i-report-life-changes-to-the-marketplace.

If you report changes in your income or family size to the Marketplace when they happen in 2015, the advance payments will more closely match the credit amount on your 2015 federal tax return.  This will help you avoid getting a smaller refund than you expected, or even owing money that you did not expect to owe.