The Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2020 generally extends through the end of 2021 four temporary tax changes originally enacted by the CARES Act. Here is a summary of the provisions (more details are available on the IRS site): Deduction for individuals who don’t itemize; cash donations up to $600 qualify Ordinarily, individuals […]
Legislation signed in March allows taxpayers who earned less than $150,000 in modified adjusted gross income to exclude unemployment compensation up to $20,400 if married filing jointly and $10,200 for all other eligible taxpayers. The legislation excludes only 2020 unemployment benefits from taxes. Because the change occurred after some people filed their taxes, the IRS […]
For those having their wages levied by the IRS, the levies are sent to the tax debtor’s employer via Form 668-W, Notice of Levy on Wages, Salary, and Other Income. This form contains six parts. Prior to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), the employer was required to give the employee the Statement of […]
The IRS and state tax authorities have made significant strides in curbing individual identity theft over the last several years. With a decrease in individual identity theft, cyberattacks against businesses are on the upswing now. Here are some simple ways business taxpayers can help protect their data from hackers. Trends in ID Theft In February, […]
Feeling the urge to purge? Summer’s coming, so it’s likely you’re wrapping up your spring cleaning before your summer fun begins. April 17, 2018 was the deadline for individuals and C-corporations to file their federal income tax returns for 2017 (or to file for an extension). Before you throw out your old financial records, however, […]
Payroll processing is a cumbersome but necessary part of operating your business. It includes many tasks such as issuing checks every pay period, comprehensive recordkeeping, making payroll tax deposits, and filing quarterly and annual returns. There are many simple – and tricky! – filing mistakes that can be costly and contribute to the endless details […]
As the summer ends, many students are gearing up to go off to college. It’s an exciting time for recent high school graduates and returning students alike, but as we all know, higher education comes at a price. To help offset some of these expenses, the Internal Revenue Code offers two federal income tax credits […]
Real estate owners who rent their properties often incur tax losses due to depreciation write-offs and other allowable deductions, but the ability to deduct those losses might be postponed indefinitely by changes to PAL rules. In general, these rules limit deductions for rental property PALs to the amount of income that you have from other […]
Several important tax changes happened last year that will affect the federal income tax returns that individuals and business taxpayers will file in 2017. Here’s a quick look at four key changes that you should be mindful of during this tax season. 1. Stand-Alone HRAs On December 13, 2016, President Obama signed the 21st Century […]
Finally the IRS addresses a problem experienced by some employers and not-for-profit organizations: the misclassification of workers in “sheltered workshops” as independent contractors rather than employees. IRS Revenue Ruling 65-165 clarifies the treatment of disabled workers in the following situations: Individuals in training in a rehabilitation program designed to prepare them for placement in private […]