IRS to offer small-business tax workshop

The Internal Revenue Service is sponsoring a tax workshop for small-business owners or prospective owners in the Charleston area.

The workshop will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday at the USC Small Business Development Center, 5900 Core Drive, Suite 104, in North Charleston.

The workshop will provide information and instruction about business taxes, tax benefits and obligations connected with starting a business. The session also will review tax responsibilities for new employers, tax record-keeping and tax-filing deadlines.

The morning portion of the workshop will cover federal tax requirements. The afternoon session will cover state tax and employment security obligations.

To register for the workshop or to get more information, call 740-6160.

Co-sponsors of the workshop include the state Department of Revenue, the S.C. Society of Enrolled Agents, the S.C. Employment Security Commission and the Small Business Development Center.

The IRS sponsors the event, but the classes are conducted by local certified public accountants or enrolled agents, said IRS spokesman Mark Hanson. IRS representatives are not present.

House and home

The South Carolina Department of Insurance has given out the sixth round of awards in the S.C. Safe Home grant program.

Yet again, the awards hit a record high. In fact, there were more awards given out this time than during any other single round.

In round six, 108 homeowners were awarded grants of up to $5,000 to help strengthen their homes against high winds and other natural disasters. That brings the total number of awards to 317 totaling more than $1.5 million.

Among the 108 recipients, 56 live in Horry County. I hear the number is so high along the Grand Strand because a contractor is literally going door-to-door telling homeowners about the program. Ah, free enterprise.

The remaining awards were as follows: 12 in Beaufort County; 11 each in Berkeley and Charleston counties; two in Colleton County; seven in Dorchester County; eight in Georgetown County; and one in Marion County.

To qualify for the program, homeowners must earn less than 80 percent of the median household income for the county in which they live. In Berkeley, Charleston and Dorchester counties, the income limit is $45,120 per household. In Colleton County, the limit is $32,480.

Among the improvements for which the grant money can be used are bracing roof trusses and studs, reinforcing roof and wall connections, and installing hurricane-rated doors.

Owners first must get an assessment from a state-certified inspector before applying for a grant. If the application is approved, the work must be carried out by a licensed contractor. The Insurance Department will then pay the grant money to the contractor, not the property owner.

For grant applications, call 803-737-6117 or visit the program's Web site at scsafehome.com.

Reach Peter Hull at 937-5594 or phull@postandcourier.com.