Sawyer Accounting & Tax

06/04/2026

How Does The Employer Credit For Family and Medical Leave Work for Orange County Small Businesses?

Lower your 2026 taxes with the employer credit for family and medical leave. See how you can claim it using your wages or insurance premiums.

06/04/2026

𝙃𝙤𝙬 𝙢𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙄 𝙥𝙖𝙮 𝙖 𝙨𝙪𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙣?
Start with what’s fair for the work and realistic for your business.

A good college intern pay rate should account for:
• What similar businesses in your area are paying
• Whether the role requires special skills or education
• How much training and oversight the intern will need
• Whether your budget can support the role well

If you’re bringing on an intern, the arrangement should focus on training, mentorship, and real learning experience, while also giving your business a better way to build future talent.

06/03/2026

𝙒𝙝𝙮 𝙙𝙞𝙙 𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙖𝙭 𝙥𝙖𝙮𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙣 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙖 𝙗𝙞𝙜𝙜𝙚𝙧 𝙄𝙍𝙎 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙗𝙡𝙚𝙢 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙢𝙮 𝙗𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨?

Because the IRS problem didn’t stop with the old balance.

If your business missed estimated payments this year while you were trying to catch up on last year’s tax debt, you may now have two problems at once:
1. An old balance that’s still collecting penalty and interest
2. A new balance building for the current year

Before you decide what to pay first, you need to know:
• Which tax years have balances
• Whether each balance is federal, state, or both
• How much is tax versus penalty and interest
• Whether payments were credited to the right year
• Whether this year’s estimates are already falling short

Those numbers tell you what you’re actually trying to fix.

Then you can build a payment plan that deals with the old debt without creating a new one.

If you want help setting up a payment plan, send us a DM so we can work with you.

06/02/2026

𝘾𝙖𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙗𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙡𝙚𝙜𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙤𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙣 𝙪𝙣𝙥𝙖𝙞𝙙 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥?

Not every internship can be unpaid. The main question is: 𝘞𝘩𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵?

For an internship to be unpaid, the intern’s learning and career development needs to be the primary focus. The work should feel more like training than filling a role your business actually needs done.

A few things to think through:
• Is the training similar to what they’d get in a classroom?
• Are they learning, or mainly covering regular work?
• Are they replacing someone you’d otherwise pay?
• Is there a clear understanding that no job is promised afterward?

06/01/2026

𝙃𝙤𝙬 𝙙𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙛𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙤 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙙𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙤𝙧 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙜𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣?

Some people appreciate a quick note. Others value a private conversation, a public shoutout, or clear next steps they can act on.

The same goes for recognition.

A simple “thank you” can mean a lot, but it means even more when it’s given in a way the other person actually receives well.

So here’s a good question to ask your team, your clients, or even yourself:

When someone wants to acknowledge your work, what feels most encouraging to you?

05/29/2026

𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙄 𝙙𝙤 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙗𝙖𝙣𝙠𝙧𝙪𝙥𝙩𝙘𝙮?

Before you file for bankruptcy, get your records together and look at the tax consequences. Start here:
1. Gather all tax records (recent tax returns, IRS transcripts, IRS or state notices, and any prior 1099-C forms, etc).
2. Review whether you may be insolvent (comparing what you owed with what you owned on the relevant date).
3. Review timing issues. This may include unfiled tax returns, recent tax debts, or creditor payments made before bankruptcy.

Last step...

Talk with us before you file. A bankruptcy filing can affect more than your debt. It can also affect what shows up on your tax return, and we can help you think through that part before the paperwork is submitted.

05/28/2026

How To Hire An Intern For The Summer For Your Orange County Business

Ready to hire an intern for the summer? Learn how to correctly classify and pay your interns to stay 100% compliant with IRS rules.

05/28/2026

𝘾𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙢𝙮 𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙛𝙛 𝙧𝙚𝙛𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙩𝙖𝙭𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚?

If your business deducted tariff payments as an expense in prior years, you may not be able to treat the refund as tax-free money when it comes back.

Most of the refund will likely need to be reported as taxable income in the year you receive it.

There’s another piece to watch too: CBP may include interest with the refund.

For tax reporting, you’ll need to separate:
• The refund principal
• The interest paid on the refund

Don’t just plan for the cash coming in. Plan for how it may show up on your tax return too. DM us if you want help getting that plan in place.

05/27/2026

Google's updates to its search bar are really interesting: https://www.techbrew.com/stories/google-it-while-you-still-can

And you might be tempted to ask all kinds of tax questions with the new features. And the thing is, the answer might sound definitive in the results but actually still be wrong for your situation.

Tax questions need details that AI agents don't think to ask for.

Maybe your income changed. Maybe you got an IRS notice. Maybe you’re asking about a deduction, but the real issue is how your business is set up.

Don't rely on quick answers from Gemini when it comes to your IRS obligations.

Ask a professional you can trust (we're right here).

05/26/2026

𝘾𝙖𝙣 𝙨𝙩𝙪𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙡𝙤𝙖𝙣 𝙙𝙚𝙗𝙩 𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙩𝙖𝙭 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙗𝙡𝙚𝙢𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙗𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙤𝙬𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙨?

It can, especially if you’re settling debt, dealing with bankruptcy, or trying to clean up multiple financial issues at once.

When a lender forgives or cancels debt, the IRS may treat the amount you no longer have to repay as taxable income. Student loans can fall into that category unless an exclusion applies.

Canceled student loan debt may be excluded when:
• The debt is discharged in bankruptcy
• You were insolvent immediately before the debt was canceled
• A specific student loan forgiveness rule applies
• Another tax-law exclusion applies to your facts

If you own a business, timing matters. Your debt resolution and tax reporting may depend on what happens first.

Before you sign a settlement or file anything that could trigger cancellation of debt income, take time to look at the tax side first. If you’re not sure what that could mean for your return, reach out and we can help you make the next move.