Small business owners often start and run their businesses by themselves. As the business grows, employees are eventually hired to help with the increased work. Of course, the business owner then has to figure out employment taxes.

If you have employees, you are responsible for paying a variety of taxes at the federal, state, and local levels. You must also withhold certain taxes from the paychecks of your employees. So, what are employment taxes?

Employment taxes include the following.

1. Federal income tax withholding

2. Social Security and Medicare taxes

3. Federal unemployment tax (FUTA).

Federal Income Taxes - Social Security and Medicare Taxes

You generally must withhold federal income tax from wages paid to an employee. Form W-4 is used to determine the specific amount, although most payroll services or your accountant will do this for you.

Social security and Medicare taxes pay for benefits that workers and families receive under the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA). Social security tax pays for benefits for the retired, survivors, and disability insurance distribution provisions of FICA. Medicare tax pays for benefits under the medical care provisions of FICA. As an employer, you must withhold a percentage of these taxes from employee and match the withholding amount.

In general, you must deposit these taxes by check or cash to an authorized financial institution, typically your bank. Check with your tax professional to make sure you are not required to use the Electronic Federal Tax Deposit System (EFTPS). Regardless of the payment method, you will then report them on Form 941, the Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return.

Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)

FUTA is a combined federal and state program that provides unemployment compensation to the unemployed. As a business owner, you are solely responsible for paying this tax, to wit, nothing is withheld from the paychecks of your employees. FUTA is determined by using Form 940, but you are encouraged to use a tax professional to determine payment amounts.

Employment taxes can be frustrating for a small business owner. They are, unfortunately, a necessary evil as your business grows.

You've made it through another tax season. After you take a well-deserved vacation, what's next?

By the time the following year's tax season rolls around, will your individual tax clients remember who you are? Wouldn't it be nice if there were some services you could offer them all year long?

Try these five ideas to smooth out your yearly revenues and keep in touch with your tax clients more than once a year.

1. Debt Reduction

Do you have some clients that are paying too much interest on their debt? Do they need a plan to pay off their debt and get back into the black?

Offer forecasting and planning advice or debt reduction and consolidation in the form of consulting and workshops. Help debt-ridden clients consolidate their credit cards, refinance their balloon mortgages, and move from rentals and leases to asset acquisition. With a little planning and some debt reorganization, some clients could save hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars. As the economy goes south, more people will need this service.

2. Insurance Audits

Is your client fully insured? Overinsured? Partner with an insurance agent (or two) to offer an insurance audit for the client. You and your insurance partner(s) can decide on the scope of the audit: car, home, personal liability, business liability, health coverage, etc. Some of the questions your partnership can answer include:

* What is the dollar limit of coverage I should sign up for?
* I carpool the neighborhood children. Am I covered?
* Which deductible should I sign up for?
* Are there any gaping holes in my coverage? As an example, too many people become surprised to find they are not covered when floods damage their homes. It's better to find out before the crisis whether you're covered or not.
* I serve on a nonprofit board. Do I have any liability?
* In the health insurance area, can I afford to be covered at all? Is medical tourism an option?
* As a Medicare patient, do I need supplemental coverage?
Affordable health care is such a big issue these days. Clients who have incurred extraordinary expenses from a catastrophe need help with debt management or even bankruptcy options.

You and your insurance agent can come up with a great checklist to help clients get the coverage they need and avoid financial surprises in their future.

3. Leisure Planning

Wealthy retiring baby boomers are traveling, finding new hobbies, and buying grownup toys such as luxury cars, second homes, airplanes, and boats. Tap into a hot consulting trend of helping baby boomers find leisure money for play time. This service is a subset of retirement planning and/or personal financial planning. Help clients analyze investments, determine tax benefits, and plan for cash flow changes. You can guide them in prioritizing and deciding what they can afford in their golden years.

4. Education Financing

Does your client have kids in high school who plan to attend college? Find a consultant that specializes in scholarship and loan options. Help the client decide how to manage cash flow during the financial crunch time of sending the kids to college.

5. Traditional Retirement Planning

Bring in a full retirement specialist that can help people meet their retirement goals. You can partner with a personal financial planner, a brokerage house, or obtain the licenses to offer investment products yourself.

Empower the Client

As you can see from these ideas, you don't necessarily have to offer these extra services yourself. Instead, partner with experts and provide the seamless experience of meeting all of your client's financial needs throughout the year. The common thread in all of these services is to empower the client to thrive through the financial hot spots of our time, and to keep them coming back to you more than once a year.