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Home » Business And Finance Articles » The Number One Work At Home Scam Explained

The Number One Work At Home Scam Explained

Working at home is very popular. As with anything that is popular there are people out there who like to try to scam those looking for work at home jobs. Scams can sometimes be hard to recognize, but if a person knows what to look for they can raise their chances of not being caught in a work at home scam. A popular way to get taken by a scam work at home company is when they ask a person to pay them money.

The first key that a work at home opportunity may be a scam is that the company asks for money up front. This is also something that can be confusing because some legitimate companies ask for money, too. The main rule abut paying money is that if the job were not work at home would it be reasonable to pay money up front to work with this company. If it is a job where the person is required to keep an inventory of products than it is reasonable to pay something upfront for the inventory. However, if the payment is for administrative fees that is a red flag. A work at home job is like any other job. Nobody would pay a company to process their employment papers, so it is unreasonable for a work at home company to request payment for this purpose.

What usually happens when a company is running a scam by asking for money up front is that the hopeful work at home employee loses their money and gets no real job in return. Many scam companies try to use the trick that they will refund the money after a person has worked for them for so long. Once a person pays the money and begins working for the company they learn there really is no refund. In these cases the work at home employee usually also finds out the job duties are completely different from what they were originally told. The whole concept is the scam company makes their main income off potential work at home employees, not through a real business.

Almost any good reference on working at home will mention not to ever pay money for a work at home job. It may seem like common sense, but can be confusing for someone who is new to the work at home industry. Many of these scams seem real and also come across as a way to make big money fast. This type of money scam is the biggest of all work at home scams.

And here is another random article you might be interested in...

Payroll Taxes

If you have employees, you are responsible for payroll taxes. This is a term that lumps all the different forms of employment taxes into one category known as "payroll tax". In reality, payroll taxes encompass Federal and state income tax withholding, social security and Medicare taxes (also known as FICA), Federal unemployment tax (FUTA), as well as any state and local unemployment taxes assessed. Payroll taxes are deducted each pay period from an employees gross pay. The remaining money distributed to the employee is what is known as "net pay". Along with any taxes deducted from an employee's wages, there is a social security and Medicare liability incurred by the employer. You must match the social security and Medicare amounts withheld on each employee. This is the employer paid contribution. Until recently, most employers reported and paid payroll taxes quarterly. With the advent of the EFTPS, or Electronic Federal Tax Deposit System, taxes are now paid on a monthly basis by all employers. The payroll taxes may also be paid via a tax coupon that is taken to your bank and presented with the monies to cover the payroll taxes due.

Every quarter, a Form 941 (or 943 for Agricultural employees) must be filed with the IRS. The amounts reported on the 941 should reconcile to the amounts turned in each month via the tax coupon or the EFTPS. At the end of the tax year, a Form 940 or information return must also be filed.

If you are a small business with employees, or you plan to begin operating a business with employees, you need to understand your tax responsibilities as an employer. The IRS provides links to all the relevant Forms and Publications via their internet site at www.IRS.gov . Here you will find definitions and terms associated with employees from the onset of hiring, to termination. W-4's, W-2's, I-9's, all the employment taxes you will be responsible for reporting, all the rates associated with those taxes. The IRS also provides you with information concerning recordkeeping, employment eligibility verification, benefit and retirement plans, and even the definition to be used in order to determine if someone is an employee. There is a tremendous benefit to be had by investing the time and resources necessary to understand and comply with all the federal, state, and local regulations concerned with employees and payroll taxes. However, you should frequently seek the advice of a qualified tax professional, your accountant.