Category Archives: IRS

What Kids Should Know About Summer Jobs And Taxes

Forbes contributor Kelly Phillips Erb always does a great job of taking a complex but important subject and breaking it down into easy-to-digest components. Today she’s back with an article on What Kids And Their Parents Should Know About Summer Jobs And Taxes.

Her basic points:

  1. You may not owe taxes, but you may still need to fill out tax forms.
  2. You may need to file and pay taxes even if you’re paid under the table.
  3. Don’t forget about state and local taxes.
  4. You may be able to claim job-related expenses.
  5. Consider using a tax professional.
  6. Save for a rainy day.

I see a lot of folks forgetting #1 and #4 (sometimes because they’re ignoring #2). Please take a moment to read the article and perhaps consult with a tax professional — if you meet with them in the off-season, they’ll probably be open to a short consultation/ training session, so that you’re armed to file these forms yourself come tax-time. A little investment now will get you a lot of savings (and compliance with tax agencies) in the future.

IRS Releases Draft of New Form 1040 for 2019

Big news yesterday, as the Internal Revenue Service announced it has a draft available of the new Form 1040 for the upcoming tax year. The aim is to consolidate all three previous types of the form into one, so that all individual taxpayers are using the same form. The IRS notes:

The new Form 1040 uses a “building block” approach, in which the tax return is reduced to a simple form. That form can be supplemented with additional schedules if needed. Taxpayers with straightforward tax situations would only need to file this new 1040 with no additional schedules.

The National Association of Tax Professionals predicts that about 30% of taxpayers will file the 1040 alone (with no supporting schedules), and fully 65% will file either the 1040 alone or the 1040 and only one other schedule. The remaining folks will file with more than one schedule.

The IRS is working with the tax community to get feedback on the new form by mid-July, and hopes to release a second draft in August. Tax professionals can submit comments regarding the draft to their tax preparer associations or to WI.1040.Comments@IRS.gov.

Source: IRS Working on a New Form 1040 for 2019 Tax Season | Internal Revenue Service

Business Entertainment Expenses No Longer Deductible

I’ve been meeting with clients lately who are extremely concerned about many of the confusing elements of the new tax law. And it is confusing — many CPAs are holding off on issuing any recommendations that aren’t reversible, waiting for a technical corrections bill and IRS guidance.

But one less confusing provision of the new tax law is clear — entertainment expenses are no longer deductible. Period.

The old law allowed a 50% deduction for entertainment expenses if business was discussed before, during, or afterwards. Starting January 1, 2018, unless the event has a direct business purpose, it cannot be deducted at all.

A few practical takeaways here:

  1. If entertaining a client or sales connection, take them out to dinner instead of an event — and be careful that there is no entertainment component, like live music or theater.
  2. Promotional events are still 100% deductible as marketing and advertising, so make sure your company has branding, signage, program recognition and advertising, etc. as a part of the gig.
  3. There are rare situations where entertainment isn’t “Entertainment”, because a direct business purpose exists. For example, a luthier might take a potential client to hear a performance played on her instrument for the express purpose of illustrating the sound in a concert hall. The IRS might accept situations such as these as having a “direct business purpose” — but proper documentation will be essential.
  4. This doesn’t mean you can no longer make business deals on the golf course or at the ball game — just make sure not to write them off on your tax return. There are other non-deductible expenses that are still a cost of doing business (such as parking tickets or other penalties), and Entertainment expenses should be tracked accordingly.

Source: The party’s over! Businesses can’t write off entertainment expenses under new tax law – MarketWatch

Missed the Tax Deadline? Tips From the IRS to Help

The IRS sent an “outreach” email to professional organizations today asking us to share this information with taxpayers.

The tax filing deadline has come and gone. If you didn’t file a tax return or an extension, but should have, you need to take action now. Here are some tips to help you:
• There is no penalty for filing a late return after the tax deadline if a refund is due.
• If you didn’t file and owe tax, file a return as soon as you can and pay as much as possible to reduce penalties and interest.
• For those who qualify, IRS Free File is still available on IRS.gov through October 15 to prepare and file returns electronically.
• If you don’t qualify for IRS Free File, you can use Free File Fillable Forms to e-file. This option uses electronic versions of IRS paper forms. It does some of the math, and works best for those who are comfortable doing their own taxes.
• You can get fast answers about your refund by using the Where’s My Refund? tool available on IRS.gov and through the IRS2Go mobile app. All you need is your Social Security number, tax filing status and the exact amount of your refund. Where’s My Refund? is updated no more than once every 24 hours, usually overnight, so you don’t need to check the status more often.
• If you owe taxes, you can view your balance, pay with IRS Direct Pay, by debit or credit card or apply online for a payment plan, including an installment agreement. Before accessing your tax account online, you must authenticate your identity through the Secure Access process. Several other electronic payment options are available on IRS.gov/payments. They are secure and easy to use. If you pay electronically, you’ll receive immediate confirmation when you submit your payment. Also, with Direct Pay and EFTPS, you can opt in to receive email notifications about their payments.
• If you need more time to pay your taxes, you can apply for an installment agreement with the IRS. The best way to apply is to use the IRS Online Payment Agreement tool. Once you complete the online process, you’ll receive immediate notification of whether your agreement is approved.
• No matter how or when you file, you should keep a copy of your tax return and all supporting documents.

Register for National Small Business Week Events, April 30-May 4

There’s so much going on for National Small Business Week that you simply don’t want to miss.

For starters, the IRS is preparing a special series of presentations to help people navigate difficult tax issues, including the following National Small Business Week Webcasts. Two 30-minute sessions are available each day: Session 1 at 11 am and Session 2 at 1 pm ET.

April 30th: Can I Deduct This?
Session 1 – https://www.webcaster4.com/Webcast/Page/1148/25449
Session 2 – https://www.webcaster4.com/Webcast/Page/1148/25478

May 1st: Employee versus Independent Contractor 
Session 1 – https://www.webcaster4.com/Webcast/Page/1148/25479
Session 2 – https://www.webcaster4.com/Webcast/Page/1148/25480

May 2nd: Pay Now? Pay Later? Can’t Pay?
Session 1 – https://www.webcaster4.com/Webcast/Page/1148/25481
Session 2 – https://www.webcaster4.com/Webcast/Page/1148/25482

May 3rd: Small Business Resources 
Session 1 – https://www.webcaster4.com/Webcast/Page/1148/25483
Session 2 – https://www.webcaster4.com/Webcast/Page/1148/25485

May 4th: Paycheck Check-Up
Session 1 – https://www.webcaster4.com/Webcast/Page/1148/25486
Session 2 – https://www.webcaster4.com/Webcast/Page/1148/25487

Closed Captioning will be available for Session 2 only.  CE will not be offered. Email SBSE.SL.Web.Conference.Team@irs.gov with any questions.

They are also highlighting particular products that may assist small business owners with questions about taxes and recordkeeping.

In addition, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and SCORE Association will host a free, three-day Virtual Conference during SBA’s 2018 National Small Business Week, May 1-3.The Virtual Conference, which takes place from 12:30-6:30 p.m. ET each day, includes a series of webinars led by private sector employers that give practical advice on current business strategies. Topics for the webinars include discrimination and harassment in the workplace, the U.S. economic outlook and its impact on small businesses, cybersecurity for small businesses and more. The Virtual Conference also includes chat rooms where business owners can network with other owners and aspiring entrepreneurs.

Source: Register Today for National Small Business Week

IRS Adds One Day to Tax Deadline: Now April 18, 2018

The Internal Revenue Service announced today that it is providing taxpayers an additional day to file and pay their taxes following system issues that surfaced early on the April 17 tax deadline. Individuals and businesses with a filing or payment due date of April 17 will now have until midnight on Wednesday, April 18. Taxpayers do not need to do anything to receive this extra time.

Source: IRS Adds One Day to Tax Deadline: Now April 18, 2018

IRS E-file & Direct Pay Systems Down on Tax Day

The IRS E-file and Direct Pay systems are both down today, April 17th, Tax Day. It is an unhappy (and slightly grim) reminder to accountants to establish a policy — which I have held for the past 10 years or so — requiring all clients to submit signed e-file signature authorization forms by 6 pm on the day immediately prior to Tax Day. Personally, I insist on submitting all e-files before I go to bed that night (let’s be honest: by 2 or 3 am). I encourage you to do the same… next year!

In the meantime, this advice is being offered by CPA Practice Advisor. They will be posting updates throughout the day.

The credit card payment systems available through the IRS website appear to be functioning, however there is a fee associated with making those payments.
If the website stays down, taxpayers are still responsible for making payment by midnight tonight. An obvious alternative is to head to the Post Office.
The IRS has asked that efilers continue to proceed with their efiling, even if returns aren’t being accepted in short order.
Another bit of advice from my tax software company — usually we send state returns “linked” to the federal return so that if the IRS return is rejected, we have an opportunity to fix the underlying problem before the state return is submitted. However, in today’s case, all state returns should be sent “unlinked” so that they do not get caught up in the IRS system issues.

Source: IRS Direct Pay is Down, Efile System also Down | CPA Practice Advisor

Accountable Plan Webinar May 9

The NSAC Cooperative Learning Network is offering an upcoming webinar that sounds like it would be useful to quite a few accountants, on the topic of Accountable Plans:

The IRS has been finding that many entities are either not familiar with the Accountable Plan rules, or are not following them. As a result the government has been applying more scrutiny to this issue and assessing large amounts of additional taxes and penalties. In this one hour session we will understand how Accountable (and Non‐Accountable) Plans affect reimbursements, allowances and advances ‐ and how to create and operate a respected Accountable Plan.

Presenters are John Denison (Senior Director of Tax at Adams, Jenkins & Cheatham, PC) and Larry Ford (Director of the Tax Resolution Team at Adams, Jenkins and Cheatham, CPAs).

The one-hour seminar is offered at 11:00 AM ET / 10:00 AM CT / 09:00 AM MT / 08:00 AM PT. The session is free to NSAC members and $56 for non-members.

Source: NSAC Cooperative Learning Network – Accountable Plans

Virtual Currency Transactions are Reportable and Taxable

The IRS sent out a notice today reminding taxpayers and tax professionals that income from virtual currency transactions is reportable on income tax returns. From the IRS:

Virtual currency transactions are taxable by law — just like transactions in any other property. The IRS has issued guidance in IRS Notice 2014-21 that addresses transactions in virtual currency, also known as digital currency.

The notice provides that virtual currency is treated as property for U.S. federal tax purposes. General tax principles that apply to property transactions apply to transactions using virtual currency. Taxpayers who do not properly report the income tax consequences of virtual currency transactions can be audited for those transactions and, when appropriate, can be liable for penalties and interest.

Pass-through Entities and Sec 199A

Accounting Today recently wrote up a good article on the challenges of the new Sec 199A — popularly known as the “20% Pass-Through Deduction”. I encourage giving it a read. I think the best takeaway for accountants and others running personal service companies comes from the last paragraph:

“Most accountants that are in a flow-through entity should probably continue that way,” Wheelwright said. “I don’t know any accounting professionals that leave money in the business, and if you’re going to take money out, it doesn’t make sense to be a C corporation,” he said. “Where being a C corporation does make sense is if you’re going to reinvest a large portion of the profits back into the business. Because of the double tax related to C corporations [the corporate tax plus the tax on dividends], most pass-throughs will want to continue to be pass-through entities.”

-Tom Wheelwright, Founder and CEO of ProVision

In a related article, Accounting Today reports:

“The National Society of Accountants wants the Internal Revenue Service to provide a six-month extension for businesses to make an election to be treated as S corporations for this year, arguing the current deadline of March 15 is just not enough time to make a decision given the uncertainty surrounding the new tax law.”

“By allowing a six month extension to Sept. 15, 2018, for a corporation to make an election to be treated as an S corporation for the current calendar year would afford time for all affected parties, as well as their tax adviser, to read and understand any such regulations and how they may impact their tax liabilities.”

-John Ams, NSA Executive Director