ElementsCPA Microblog

Have you heard the IRS is phasing out paper checks, both for refunds and for payments?

The transition isn’t complete yet, but the IRS just issued an updated FAQ on the hows and whens – Such as:

• " For now, checks and money orders will still be accepted. However, the IRS strongly encourages taxpayers to make payments using existing electronic options."

• “For all taxpayers with missing [refund bank account] information, the IRS will send letters to individuals using their last-known address on record, Once the taxpayer provides the direct deposit information or exception, the refund will be immediately released via direct deposit or paper check. If there is no response to the notice and there are no other issues with the tax return, the refund will be released as a paper check after six weeks.”

We’ve encouraged customers to consider online options for a number of years – For example, you can find links to pay your quarterly estimated taxes in our related Insights Blog post.

And just reach out to our Design Team if any questions!

❄️Office Snow/Ice Update❄️: Our offices were fully functional by the end of last week and happy to report all systems normal.

Tax Interviews begin this week and our tax filing season is off & running! 🏃‍♂️‍➡️ – Be sure to look for your Tax Interview appointments and other resource materials in your email and regular mail & just let our team know if any questions! 😀📧📬

Starting a small business in DC?

DC’s Department of Licensing & Consumer Protection (DLCP) has released a new 4-step guide to make sure you get off the ground smoothly – Check out the graphic below, and let our team know if any questions!

❄️Office Snow/Ice Update❄️ – Like many in the region right now, we’re working our way back to 100% but aren’t there yet.

• The physical office is open as of today, but it’s icy and we wouldn’t recommend a visit. Our office internet also appears affected currently.

• We’ve been working remote at reduced capacity while our team also puts effort into digging out of their homes.

• Phones are working but email is probably best: because of the reduced capacity, look for a little more lag time.

• Please do let us know if you have urgent situations as we have the ability to focus resources to accomplish.

Thanks, hope everyone is staying safe & warm, and expecting things should be normalized by end of week/ Monday!

An unsettling number from a recent Gusto report:

Since 2019, the share of small businesses unable to make payroll on time has surged by more than 50 percent, rising from about 1.5 percent to 2.3 percent. That shift may sound small, but across roughly six million employer small businesses, it translates to about 774,000 in 2024—up from 543,000 six years ago.

Their extensive analysis points to a growing vulnerability, one we’ve anecdotally seen across various segments we work with as well:

Small businesses are the backbone of U.S. employment, accounting for nearly 60 million jobs. When they falter, the impact ripples quickly. Between 2020 and 2025, small firms faced overlapping pressures: pandemic disruptions, persistent inflation, and sharply higher interest rates.

Read their post for additional charts and breakdowns.

Our mission remains laser-focused on helping small business entrepreneurs continually design & update their business model and profit model so they can adapt to the changing landscape and build the strength to be successful for many years to come!

Gov. Moore released his proposed 2027FY Maryland budget this week, a first take at attempting to bridge the $1.4b deficit

With a stated intent to avoid any new taxes or fees this year (on the heels of notable ones last year), there’s a mixed bag on income tax policy:

• $100m in tax savings for businesses by allowing certain new federal deductions to also be claimed at the MD level (such as R&D expenses equipment expensing)

• But these are expected to be offset by $132m in disallowing certain new federal deductions to be claimed on the state return

Of course, the budget is now in the hands of the Maryland General Assembly, and there’s a 90-day run until session ends April 13, so we’ll be watching to see what happens.

(More info via Maryland Matters coverage)

📢To all Elements Circle Members:

• All of the Tax Interviews have been triggered via digital invite,

• All of the tax kick-off packets & checklists are in member e-Cabinets (saved to the ‘2026’ folder)

Hopefully you’ve seen yours and just let our team know if any questions – Tax season here we come! 😀

A toast to the entrepreneurs we serve, their families, and communities: May the new year bring for you prosperity in mind, body, & soul! –> Here’s to 2026! 🍾🥂

(We’ll be closed Thu, Jan 1 in celebration and return Fri, Jan 2 to kick-off the new year!)

Joy to the world, the Lord is come! 👶🏾

We’ll be closed Thu, Dec 25 in celebration, and return Fri, Dec 26 ->

From all of us here, have a very Merry Christmastide!! 🌟

Really enjoyed this week’s e-newsletter installment from David Kuzma, CPFA at Aquilo Wealth Advisors – It included reflections on the need for entrepreneurs to protect their health along with practical ways to accomplish –>

One of the ones I really liked:

Time-Block Non-Negotiable Recovery Windows – Treat recovery with the same sanctity as board meetings. Schedule three types weekly:

Micro-recovery: 10-minute breathing exercises between meetings Meso-recovery: 90-minute blocks at least twice weekly for exercise or complete disconnection Macro-recovery: Quarterly 3-5 day periods with zero business communication

Protect these blocks as fiercely as you’d protect a meeting with your largest client. These are targets that you can build up to. Start with something small and implement these over time."

If you’d like to subscribe to his e-newsletter or learn more about his company, just visit Aquilo Wealth Advisors or reach out and we’re happy to make an introduction!

The IRS released a statement about the impact of the federal shutdown, now in Day 37 (the longest on record) – Some highlights:

• Tax obligations remain unchanged

• Tax refunds are essentially limited to e-filed returns with direct deposit information provided on which no automated errors arise (so if you opted for paper check, or the IRS computers raises a question, the refund is paused)

• Payments still being processed

• Limited phone service

• Appeals & Taxpayer Advocate cases postponed

Additional areas are described in the official press release, and we’ll keep hoping the impasse gets lifted soon and IRS operations can return to normal.

TIP: For most service business, the bottom 5-10% of your customers are not ‘breakeven’.

Illustrated in what’s known as the ‘whale curve’, 80% of customers generate around 170% of your profit, while the last 20% reduce profit to 100%.

Knowing this can help you pursue changes to your Business and Profit Model that’ll help strengthen its position and brighten its future.

⏰Reminder for Md. businesses ->

If your business doesn’t use MarylandSaves BUT you have your own small business retirement plan,

Be sure to certify your compliance by Dec 31 to have your $300 Md. Annual Report fee waived next year 💸

Did you hear: the IRS is phasing out paper payments? – both for sending & receiving!

The transition starts with next year’s tax filing season, but essentially the IRS will be slowing the issuance of paper refund checks as much as 6 weeks …

AND at some point (likely past next tax filing season), the IRS will no longer accept paper checks either.

We’ve been recommending for years using the various IRS online payment options like DirectPay or your IRS Account, and if you haven’t been using these tools, you may want to start getting familiar with them

Some additional tips & resources in the graphic below ->

Reminder to Individuals & C-corps: The Oct 15 extended deadline is approaching —> To guarantee your return by then, we’ll need the last piece of missing info by Sep 19

Just upload to your e-Cabinet or reply in your Xero Ask query 📥

/StressFreeTax

Reminder that federal Tax Credits for energy efficiency expire Sep 30 and Dec 31 – this includes:

• Electric vehicles on Sep 30,

• Home improvement projects on Dec 31, and

• Solar panels on Dec 31.

Additional details in this IRS FAQ.

Reminder to S-corps & Partnerships: The Sep 15 extended deadline is approaching —> To guarantee your return by then, we’ll need the last piece of missing info by Aug 22

Just upload to your e-Cabinet or reply in your Xero Ask query 📥

/StressFreeTax

Relay Bank, one of our preferred banking partners, just released a powerful new spend approval feature for team debit or credit cards ->

Imagine: Your team members can request spend authorizations seamlessly through the bank platform for digital approval

To learn about this or other ways Relay Bank is specially designed for entrepreneurs, reach out to our Design Team – We can also easily get you on the banking platform as a Relay-certified Partner

Our team wishes you a 🎆 happy 4th of July!

We’ll be closed today in honor of our nation’s birth, then back on Monday to continue helping power the creativity of the entrepreneurs we collaborate with! ⚡ > 🔌 > 🎨 > 🖼

Save $300 in Maryland Annual Report filing fees!

Does your small business have its own retirement plan? // Or does your business offer a free retirement plan through the State’s MarylandSaves program?

Both qualify your business to have its annual $300 filing fee waived – But if your business has its own retirement plan (like a company 401k), you have to self-certify each year to get the fee waiver the following year: Here’s the link to claim your 2026 SDAT filing fee waiver now.

Adrian had the pleasure of being interviewed for the local TV show “Around Town”, hosted by Laurel Board of Trade’s Mike Mondy ->

Check out his 9-minute interview describing the basics of who ElementsCPA is and a couple of the ways we’re different from your traditional small business accounting firm:

The *2025 Md. Legislative Session resulted in a number of tax changes including:

• New individual income tax brackets
• Changes to how Md. standard & itemized deductions work
• New Md. level capital gains surtax
• New Md. sales tax on data & IT services, among others

You can get a summary of the key changes from the Comptroller’s webinar slide deck , and certainly reach out to our Tax Design Team with any questions as they relate to your returns

Simplify your small business bill paying process ->

Xero has partnered with BILL to provide integrated bill-paying right within the Xero platform: Tap into BILL’s longstanding solution to:

• Pay multiple bills at once in just a few clicks.
• Access BILL’s network of over 7.1M members, making it easy to find and pay your vendor
• Authorize payments prepared by your team so you maintain full control over your cash flow.
• Track the status of your payments without needing to log into a bank, so you always know who’s been paid and when.
• Reduce manual work with automatic reconciliation. The bills are marked as paid and payments are reconciled automatically, ensuring your records are always up-to-date.

Check out Xero’s blog post for a video demonstration & more details, and make paying the bills even easier with this automation!

The Maryland Comptroller has released the first guidance around the new Sales Tax on Data & IT Services –

Additional info also available from the Comptroller’s page dedicated to Tax Updates from the 2025 Legislative Session

DC licensing is about to get a whole lot easier ->

The DC Department of Labor & Consumer Protection (DLCP) is in the process of:

• Consolidating more than 100 business license categories into just 11,
• Introducing a revenue-based fee structure, &
• Lowering upfront licensing costs
• Making it easier for new businesses to get started and for established ones to stay compliant.

It’s all part of the BEST Act passed in 2023 and starting to take effect, so look for the continued rollout of the new changes!