Anthony Sykes & Company

            With the start of the new school year upon us, educators will want their students to have a complete classroom available to them. That might mean having some out-of-pocket expenses that are not reimbursed. If that’s the case, any principal, counselor, aide, or teacher who works at a K-12 school for at least 900 hours in a year can claim the Educator Expense Deduction . The current limit is $300, but that can be adjusted in the future based on inflation.           The qualifying costs can be related to books, supplies, and other materials used in the classroom. Equipment, including computer equipment and software can qualify. COVID-19 protective items used in the classroom would also apply. This can be claimed even if you use the standard deduction on your tax return. As a reminder, it is always best practice, especially when claiming a deduction, to keep good records which would include receipts. Your qualified tax professional can advise you further.

             Is your QuickBooks Online account safe? Most likely it is. There is a reason why they are the most popular cloud-based accounting software today. However, when something is popular with consumers, it is also popular with criminals looking to take advantage of any opportunity they can. Consider this real-life example of how we helped one of our clients recover from an account hack.           The following details indicate a very sophisticated hack and underscore the need to be vigilant when it comes to criminals trying to steal your money. The Administrator’s account was hacked, and the associated phone number was changed. A Payroll Core subscription plan was added. This allowed the thief to add fake contractor names and associated email addresses. That step is key because this meant W-9’s were emailed to the “contractors”, filled out, and signed via DocuSign and then added to the Administrator User account. At this point the client’s bank account was connected to many di