by Taxing Subjects | Oct 27, 2022 | Tax Tips and News
The IRS is spreading the word
The Internal Revenue Service estimates over 9 million people who failed to file a tax year 2021 return could qualify for tax credits. This is not the first time the IRS has notified non-filers that they could be eligible for tax credits: the agency alerted 9 million taxpayers about their potential eligibility for Economic Impact Payments in September 2020.
“The special reminder letters, which will be arriving in mailboxes over the next few weeks, are being sent to people who appear to qualify for the Child Tax Credit (CTC), Recovery Rebate Credit (RRC), or Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) but haven’t yet filed a 2021 return to claim them,” the agency explains. “The letter, printed in both English and Spanish, provides a brief overview of each of these three credits.”
For qualified filers, benefits could be substantial
Legislative packages like the American Rescue Plan Act expanded several tax credits for tax year 2021. While the IRS notes that more information on these benefits can be found in FS-2022-10, the agency also listed information in its news release:
- An expanded Child Tax Credit: Families can claim this credit, even if they received monthly advance payments during the last half of 2021. The total credit can be as much as $3,600 per child.
- A more generous Earned Income Tax Credit: The law boosted the EITC for childless workers. There are also changes that can help low- and moderate-income families with children. The credit can be as much as $1,502 for workers with no qualifying children, $3,618 for those with one child, $5,980 for those with two children, and $6,728 for those with at least three children.
- The Recovery Rebate Credit: Those who missed out on last year’s third round of Economic Impact Payments (EIP3) may be eligible to claim the RRC. Often referred to as stimulus payments, this credit can also help eligible people whose EIP3 was less than the full amount, including those who welcomed a child in 2021. The maximum credit is $1,400 for each qualifying adult, plus $1,400 for each eligible child or adult dependent.
- An increased Child and Dependent Care Credit: Families who pay for daycare so they can work or look for work can get a tax credit worth up to $4,000 for one qualifying person and $8,000 for two or more qualifying persons.
- A deduction for gifts to charity: Most tax-filers who take the standard deduction can deduct eligible cash contributions they made during 2021. Married couples filing jointly can deduct up to $600 in cash donations and individuals can deduct up to $300 in donations. In addition, itemizers who make large cash donations often qualify to deduct the full amount in 2021.
The IRS also reminds that these credits will not affect eligibility for a number of government programs:
- Supplemental Security Income
- Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
- Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
- Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children
Remember, non-filers do not have to wait on their letter to file and claim credits for which they qualify, and there is no penalty for missing the regular April 2022 tax deadline if the return has a refund due.
Source: IR-2022-178
– Article provided by Taxing Subjects.
by Taxing Subjects | Oct 15, 2022 | Tax Tips and News
While Monday, October 17 is the deadline to file tax returns for those who requested an extension earlier this year, some taxpayers may have additional time due to military service or disaster assistance. Additionally, the FBAR deadline has been extended for some due to natural disasters.
What type of military service qualifies taxpayers for additional time to file individual tax returns?
Service rendered in a combat zone by members of the military and others automatically receive additional time to file tax returns. After leaving a combat zone, taxpayers typically have 180 days to file tax returns and pay any taxes due.
Which disasters qualify taxpayers for additional time to file individual tax returns?
States and counties that have been granted emergency status due to nationally declared disasters may qualify for additional time to file.
Taxpayers have until November 15 to file various tax returns (both individual and business) if they are residents of, or operate a business in, Missouri, Kentucky, or the island of St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Members of the Tribal Nation of the Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community also qualify for this deadline extension.
For those who live or operate a business in Florida, Puerto Rico, North Carolina, South Carolina, parts of Alaska and Hinds County, or Mississippi, the individual and business return deadlines have been pushed to February 15, 2023.
For more information and updates, the IRS has a designated disaster relief page available. The IRS also urges taxpayers to file as soon as possible to mitigate processing delays.
Is the October 15 FBAR deadline affected by tax relief for disasters?
Residents of Alaska, Puerto Rico, Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina residents may have a 2021 Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) due-date extension from October 15, 2022, to February 15, 2023.
Taxpayers who received the automatic FBAR extension in April 2022 do not need to request an extension.
For more information and updates, review published FBAR Relief Notices.
Sources: IR-2022-175; IR-2022-174
– Article provided by Taxing Subjects.
by Taxing Subjects | Oct 4, 2022 | Tax Tips and News
IRS extends tax deadlines and lifts dyed diesel fuel penalties for Hurricane Ian victims in Florida.
Hurricane Ian slammed into the Florida coast last week, leaving a trail of destruction that resulted in more than a million without power and 81 confirmed dead. The Internal Revenue Service announced tax relief and dyed diesel fuel penalty relief for storm victims following a disaster declaration for the entire state by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
These relief measures are designed to make disaster recovery easier by delaying upcoming tax-related deadlines and helping emergency workers operate in affected areas. Tax relief is automatically granted to individual residents and business owners in affected areas; dyed diesel fuel penalty relief is available to sellers and emergency-vehicle operators who pay the highway diesel tax.
What deadlines are affected by Hurricane Ian tax relief?
The Florida tax relief delays some individual and business deadlines beginning on September 23, 2022, until February 15, 2023. While the “Disaster Assistance and Emergency Relief for Individuals and Businesses” page on IRS.gov includes information about the affected deadlines, the agency listed the following affected deadlines in its news release:
- October 17, 2022, individual extension filing deadline (does not apply to tax payments due April 18, 2022)
- October 17, 2022, calendar-year corporation extension filing deadline
- October 31, 2022, quarterly payroll and excise tax return deadline
- November 15, 2022, calendar-year tax-exempt organization extension filing deadline
- January 17, 2023, quarterly estimated income tax payment deadline
- January 31, 2023, quarterly payroll and excise tax return deadline
Further, the IRS says that “penalties on payroll and excise tax deposits due on or after September 23, 2022, and before October 10, 2022, will be abated as long as the deposits are made by October 10, 2022.”
While these new deadlines are automatically granted to those with “an IRS address of record located in the disaster area,” some individuals who live out of state may be able to qualify, like relief workers. They will need to call the IRS number used for disaster-related assistance: 866-562-5227.
How does the dyed diesel fuel penalty relief work?
Dyed diesel fuel is typically only approved for usage that is exempt from excise tax, like off-road farm vehicles and heating homes. To help emergency workers responding to the situation in Florida, the IRS lifted the penalty for fuel sellers and highway emergency vehicle operators.
In a Friday news release, the agency outlined specifics of this relief:
- This relief begins on September 28, 2022, and will remain in effect through October 19, 2022
- The relief is available only if the operator or the person selling such fuel pays the tax of 24.4 cents per gallon that is normally applied to diesel fuel for highway use
- The IRS will not impose penalties for failure to make semimonthly deposits of tax for dyed diesel fuel sold for use or used in an emergency vehicle on the highway in the state of Florida during the relief period
For more information about tax reporting and payment, see “Publication 510, Excise Taxes.”
Sources: “Hurricane Ian updates: Florida death toll climbs,” ABCNews.go.com; “Ian recovery efforts in the Southeast will be complicated: Live updates,” NPR.org; IR-2022-168; IR-2022-169
– Article provided by Taxing Subjects.
by Taxing Subjects | Oct 4, 2022 | Tax Tips and News
Identity theft. Just the mere mention of this mayhem masquerade is enough to make the blood of tax professionals everywhere run cold.
As keepers of our clients’ most precious information, we are at once the target to identity thieves, and the solution for our customers’ protection.
Sometimes it seems as if the scammers are winning. But we already have the tools that can help keep the bad guys at bay.
Identity theft is evolving (again)
Historically, most identity theft attacks are phishing emails, though scammers have begun using text messages. Whatever form these scams take, the Internal Revenue Service says they share a few characteristics:
- They appear to come from a known or trusted source, such as a colleague, bank, credit card company, cloud storage provider, tax software provider or even the IRS and other government agencies.
- They create a false narrative, often with an urgent tone, to trick the receiver into opening a link or attachment.
If successful, the “link” could install malware in the background, unknown to the personnel on the receiving end. Many times, a nasty “remote access trojan” (or RAT), is installed, allowing attackers to return to the system and gain ongoing access.
This software can take over a tax pro’s office system, identifying and completing pending tax returns, then e-filing them after changing the banking information to steal the refund.
Similar scenarios can be used to employ ransomware that holds an office’s data hostage until a ransom is paid.
Use multi-factor authentication to protect your accounts
Even the safest platforms can put data at risk when used improperly, and identity thieves are adaptable. Lately, the IRS has seen evidence that cloud-computing systems are being targeted by identity thieves. These breaches are often suffered by smaller tax offices that don’t take advantage of security measures like multi-factor authentication.
Multi-factor authentication requires additional user-provided information to access an account, like a remotely generated code or answers to questions. This additional layer of security can stymie identity thieves attempting to log in fraudulently as office employees.
The Security Summit, a panel of IRS officials, state and local taxing agency representatives, and tax industry partners, has some recommendations about how multi-factor authentication should be constructed to be most effective.
First, whenever two-factor (2FA) or multi-factor (MFA) options are offered by storage providers or other cloud providers, use it. Either option could protect client accounts – even in the event that passwords become compromised.
Second, never use email as one of the additional methods of validating the user. Email is less secure and can be an easier nut to crack for the attacking identity thief. Text, phone calls or tokens are all a better choice.
Other good practices to follow include using encryption on critical drives and backing up files regularly. Don’t forget to update your anti-virus software on a regular basis.
As tax professionals, it’s up to us to secure our systems to protect the sensitive customer data.
For more information on protecting your office from scammers and identity thieves, see Publication 4557, Safeguarding Taxpayer Data and Small Business Information Security: The Fundamentals.
Other resources include Publication 5293, Data Security Resource Guide for Tax Professionals and the Identity Theft Central webpages on the IRS website.
Source: Security Summit warns tax pros of evolving email and cloud-based schemes to steal taxpayer data
– Article provided by Taxing Subjects.
by Taxing Subjects | Sep 15, 2022 | Tax Tips and News
The US coastline is about to face the worst of the 2022 hurricane season, and many businesses within a day’s drive are taking steps to prepare. While weatherproofing buildings and fueling generators is important, for tax professionals, there are a few more simple steps to be sure your business is ready to weather the storm.
What steps should you take before a storm?
The first step is to protect your data. Back up your electronic files to flash drives or DVDs. Once complete, store the backup media in a waterproof container in a secure area. It is reasonable to make a second copy of your data and store in a safe, secondary location, just in case of catastrophic damage to your physical office.
Despite the electronic revolution, income tax preparation businesses generate a lot of paper documents and these, too, need to be stored in the waterproof containers – both on-site and offsite.
Keep in mind, though, that paper documents do not always have to remain on paper; you can scan them and keep those digital images in a lot less physical space than their paper equivalents. (Tools like Drake Documents, Drake Portals, and GruntWorx can help you smoothly make the transition to a practically paperless office.)
Other than client tax returns, what else should you save?
Property-specific documents such as deeds, titles, and insurance policies are a good choice, as are receipts for computers and other major office machine purchases that could be expensive to replace if they are damaged in a storm.
You’ll want to build a detailed inventory of the furniture and office machines in your office, detailing the various items, along with their model and serial numbers.
Remember, if your tax preparation office or its contents are damaged by a hurricane or other natural disaster, you’ll need these numbers to prove there has been a loss and pave the way for getting replacements.
If you’d like some help building your inventory, check out the IRS’s disaster preparation workbook: Publication 584-B.
What should you do after a storm?
The ability to access documents after a natural disaster is an essential part of the rebuilding process, highlighting the importance of reliable data backups. Depending on the level of damage to your business, rebuilding records could be your first and biggest job.
Your records will also be valuable when applying for federal assistance or insurance claims; some may come from companies or vendors you’ve dealt with. To check out what the process involves, review Reconstructing Records from the IRS.
More information is available!
For more information on disaster preparation and recovery for your income tax prep business, see these resources courtesy of the IRS:
September is National Preparedness Month. To learn more, visit Ready.gov.
Source: September is National Preparedness Month; IRS urges everyone to update and secure their records to prepare now for natural disasters
– Article provided by Taxing Subjects.
