The IRS is warning taxpayers, business owners and tax preparers of a Dangerous W-2 Phishing Scam Evolving; Targeting Schools, Restaurants, Hospitals, Tribal Groups and Others.  If you are a victim of or inadvertently assisted in W-2 information theft, please contact the IRS at once, so they can protect the affected taxpayers from tax-related identity theft.

Tax preparers have additional responsibilities and should read this IRS info on what to do if you suffer a data breach of client information.

Here’s how the scam works: Cybercriminals use various spoofing techniques to disguise an email to make it appear as if it is from an organization executive. The email is sent to an employee in the payroll or human resources departments, requesting a list of all employees and their Forms W-2.

This phishing variation is known as a “spoofing” e-mail. It will contain, for example, the actual name of the company chief executive officer. The following are some of the details that may be contained in the emails:

• Kindly send me the individual 2016 W-2 (PDF) and earnings summary of all W-2 of our company staff for a quick review.
• Can you send me the updated list of employees with full details (Name, Social Security Number, Date of Birth, Home Address, Salary).
• I want you to send me the list of W-2 copy of employees wage and tax statement for 2016, I need them in PDF file type, you can send it as an attachment. Kindly prepare the lists and email them to me asap.

In the latest twist, the cybercriminal follows up with an “executive” email to the payroll or comptroller and asks that a wire transfer also be made to a certain account. Although not tax-related, the wire transfer scam is being coupled with the W-2 scam email, and some companies have lost both employees’ W-2s and thousands of dollars due to wire transfers.

The IRS, states and tax industry urge all employers to share information with their payroll, finance and human resources employees about this W-2 and wire transfer scam. Employers should consider creating an internal policy, if one is lacking, on the distribution of employee W-2 information and conducting wire transfers.

Organizations receiving a W-2 scam email should forward it to phishing@irs.gov and place “W2 Scam” in the subject line. Organizations that receive the scams or fall victim to them should file a complaint with the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3,) operated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Employees whose Forms W-2 have been stolen should review the recommended actions by the Federal Trade Commission at www.identitytheft.gov or the IRS at www.irs.gov/identitytheft.
Employees should file a Form 14039, Identity Theft Affidavit, if the employee’s own tax return rejects because of a duplicate Social Security number or if instructed to do so by the IRS.

The IRS also has a page offers all sorts of helpful security awareness tips for taxpayers as well as tax preparers.

The biggest news for 2017, in the world of tax preparers, came back in 2015, but didn’t make much of a splash outside of our world.

Lady Gaga: They’re changing the due dates for partnership returns, C-corps, and 1099s!

Nancy: THEY’RE CHANGING THE DUE DATES FOR PARTNERSHIP RETURNS, C-CORPS AND 1099S???

Lady Gaga: Yes, that’s what I said! Can you believe it?!!

Nancy: Aaaaaaaaaaaaauuuuuuuuuuuuugggggggggggggggggggaaaaaaaaaaaaaaggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

We were all a-flutter, but no one else really cared. From our perspective, having lobbied for it for so long, it’s seriously one of the most significant pieces of tax legislation for years. So I get that maybe this doesn’t seem like big news to non-tax-preparers, but for us, this is huge. The IRS never changes due dates. I mean, sure — you’ve got your weekends and totally random federal holidays (Emancipation Day, anyone?) here or there, but that just temporarily pushes things forward a day or two. We’re talking about a permanent change for all eternity. Or until the next time. As I said: THIS IS HUGE.

And it’s ultimately a good thing. But it is going to be a major challenge for us this season, so we’re asking you to be patient. And kind. (Please both.)

So what are these huge changes I’m going on about?

The main bits:
1) 1099s used to be due to recipients postmarked January 31, and e-filed with the IRS by March 31. The due date for recipients hasn’t changed, but now they’re due to be efiled with the IRS two months earlier, on January 31.
2) Partnerships used to be due April 15. They’re now due a month earlier, on March 15.
3) C-Corps used to be due March 15. They’re now due a month later, on April 15.

Why? And so what?

I’ll deal with the “why?” first.

The problem with the prior due dates was that it was hard for the IRS to match reported income against the income you said you had on your personal return, and sometimes, it was even hard for you to tell them about it in a timely fashion. For example —

1099s: you’re a freelancer (or more likely, a Chicago landlord) and you get your 1099s from clients (or renters) in early February. You decide to ignore it, because you didn’t really want to report that income anyway. You file in mid-February and get your refund. The IRS receives your 1099 copies on March 31. Now they have to chase you down for the refund that you weren’t entitled to. Make it due two months earlier — problem solved.

Partnerships: so you get a partnership K-1 sent out on April 15. This is a flow-through document that needs to show up on your personal return… ALSO DUE ON APRIL 15. That’s an easy one. Make it due a month earlier — problem solved.

C-Corps: the opposite of above. No flow-through documents. No reason to have it due a month early.

Taxpayers and preparers were struggling with problems created when flowthrough entities’ Schedules K-1 arrived late, sometimes within days (before or after) of the extended due date of their partners’/owners’ personal returns and up to a month after the extended due date of their partners’/owners’ business returns. Late Schedules K-1 made it difficult, if not impossible, to file a timely, accurate return. The Tax Division found that much of the issue related to late Schedules K-1 were a result of the increasing quantity and complexity of flowthrough entities.
Source — http://www.thetaxadviser.com/issues/2016/aug/nex-season-due-dates-have-new-logical-order.html

Much of the issue related to late Schedules K­1 were a result of the increasing quantity and complexity of flowthrough entities. The interconnection of business entities and those that own them demanded a more logical flow of information between parties.
Source — http://www.journalofaccountancy.com/newsletters/2015/oct/new-tax-return-due-date-changes.html

Now, the “so what?”

Well, I’ll tell you what.

1099s: DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW HARD IT IS TO GET W-9 INFO (what you need to file a 1099) FROM PEOPLE WHO DON’T WANT TO GIVE IT TO YOU??? DO YOU???

No, you probably don’t. But try owning a business or consulting with business owners, and you’ll find out fast. People are either actively trying to avoid taxation of income, or they are simply not super-responsible about reading emails and following up with requests. Either way, getting W-9 info from folks by the due date of January 31 is nearly freaking impossible. (Which is why I STRONGLY suggest that small business owners get W-9s before they give vendors their initial check. See my blog post on the topic, here.)

So. Someone doesn’t get their info to you on time and their 1099 goes out late. The only way you’ll be penalized for this is if THEY report it to the IRS. Now… why would they report it to the IRS if THEY are the ones who didn’t respond to the request for a W-9 in a timely manner? Yes, that’s my point. In effect, if someone were impeding your ability to send them a 1099, you really sort of had an extra two months to follow up and argue with them about it — or rather, provide a persuading picture of what will happen if they DON’T respond. Furthermore, let’s say you’re in the rare situation of having a recipient’s W-9 info in a timely fashion, and you send them their 1099 on time… and it’s wrong, and they notice it! You have time to go back and fix the 1099 before it even gets filed with the IRS.

No longer. Now you are required to e-file those 1099s with the IRS on the same day you put them in the mail to recipients. Not only are we going to see a lot of late-filed 1099s, but we’ll also see a lot of amendments. This is all going to increase the burden on accountants during a time of year when they’re already trying desperately to help close out client books (and in my case, implement new Point-Of-Sale systems for clients who end up making the transition in January; don’t ask).

Partnerships: Okay, I’ll admit, I really do like this new due date, in theory. I’ve often been delayed in filing a client’s personal tax return by lingering K-1s, or I’ve filed their return and a K-1 gets submitted after the return is filed. This is a great change, in theory.

But I’m a small business accountant, and I’m the only one in my firm that does taxes! NOW ALL MY S-CORPS AND PARTNERSHIPS ARE DUE ON THE SAME DAY!

I no longer get to take a 5-day vacation at the begining of February. I deal with 4th-quarter taxes in the first two weeks of January, 1099s all-month-long, and launch straight into tax prep before the end of the month. By March 15th, I will be a shell of my former self.

Send help.

C-Corps: Oh, yay. We get an extra month. I’m sorry… are there actually non-fiscal-year small businesses who file as C-Corps? I think I have two. Yeah, this does not help me at all.

In summary — I may die, but it’s okay. These changes are ultimately a good thing. They make sense. I just don’t know how we’re going to deal with them as a firm without my completely losing it.

RESOURCES:

LOVE this chart that summarizes many of the new due dates and compares them to the old ones; one-stop shopping —
http://www.aicpa.org/interestareas/tax/resources/compliance/downloadabledocuments/due-dates-summary-chart.pdf

http://www.journalofaccountancy.com/newsletters/2015/oct/new-tax-return-due-date-changes.html

http://www.thetaxadviser.com/issues/2016/aug/nex-season-due-dates-have-new-logical-order.html

I’m getting a lot of questions from clients right now about whether or not they should set up a Health Savings Account.  The answer — for most — is that it’s a moot question.  They probably aren’t eligible.

Just a high deductible isn’t enough. Health insurance plans must meet other criteria to become HSA-eligible.

As this article from The Finance Buff puts it, “a high-deductible health plan is not necessarily a High Deductible Health Plan” (HDHP): Not All High Deductible Plans Are HSA Eligible.

According to IRS Publication 969, to be an eligible individual and qualify for an HSA, you must meet the following requirements:

• You must be covered under a high deductible health plan (HDHP) on the first day of the month.
• You have no other health coverage.
• You are not enrolled in Medicare.
• You cannot be claimed as a dependent on someone else’s tax return.

The IRS defines a high deductible health plan as any plan with a deductible of at least $1,300 for an individual or $2,600 for a family, but as we just noted, not all plans that have a high deductible are eligible.  Value Penguin explains:

In actuality, few are HSA-eligible, because the IRS specifies—deep in its guidelines—that “except for preventive care, [the] plan may not provide benefits for any year until the deductible for that year is met.”

If you aren’t sure if your health insurance qualifies you for an HSA, call the insurer and ask. If you purchase a plan through the federal Marketplace, the answer should be in the plan information available through the exchange website.

My favorite blogger is back again with his list of New Year’s Resolutions for Tax Pros. In his characteristically disarming comedic style (“…while being able to speak confidently about the tax law will undeniably make you more appealing to the opposite sex, that’s not my main motivation here…”), he walks us through some suggestions for making 2017 a better year as tax planners and preparers.

As Nitti explains, “the five resolutions discussed below share a common theme — each one will help you adjust to the changing landscape we’re sure to face as 2017 unfolds.”

1. Learn the Trump Tax Plan
2. Be Able to Explain the Difference Between Static and Dynamic Scoring
3. Understand the Tax Consequences of Entity Conversions
4. Learn the Ins-and-Outs of Section 1202
5. Understand How to Compute and Minimize S Corporation Built-In Gains

Read the full article here: The Five New Year’s Resolutions Every Tax Pro Should Make-2017