Don’t Get Hit with IRS Underpayment Penalties
Article Highlights: Pay-as-You-Earn System Withholding and Payment Forms IRS On-line Withholding Estimator Situations Triggering Underpayments Safe Harbor Payments True Safe Harbor Under federal law, taxpayers must pay taxes during the year as they earn or receive income, or they can find themselves falling victim to substantial underpayment penalties. Even worse, they may have spent the […]
Not Required to File a Tax Return? Reasons You May Want to Anyway!
Article Highlights: Filing Thresholds Tax Withholding Tax Credits Earned Income Tax Credit Child Tax Credit American Opportunity Tax Credit Generally, individuals are required to file a tax return for a year if their income exceeds the standard deduction for their filing status for that year. But even if they are not required to file it […]
Video Tips: Different Ways to Pay Your Taxes
Anyone who needs to pay their federal tax bill has several ways to send a payment to the IRS quickly and securely. Knowing the options to make payments helps taxpayers meet their tax obligations.
Failing to Report Gifts from Overseas under Form 3520 Can Result in Large Penalties
Failing to Report Gifts from Overseas Can Result in Large Penalties Background. The law is well settled that the recipient of a gift or bequest is not required to pay income taxes when he or she receives the gift or bequest. For example, if John receives a gift of $200,000 from his good friend Jane, […]
Benefits of Qualified Opportunity Funds Waning
Article Highlights: Qualified Opportunity Fund Qualified Opportunity Zones Deferred Gains 5- and 7-Year Holding Periods 2026 End of Deferral 0-Year Holding Period A Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF) is an investment vehicle which is organized as a corporation or a partnership for the purpose of investing in qualified opportunity zone property acquired after December 31, 2017. […]
Ask The Taxman: I Have a Contractor That Will Not Provide Their Tax ID Number for The 1099M; What Should I do?
Ask The Taxman: I Have a Contractor That Will Not Provide Their Tax ID Number for The 1099M; What Should I do? According to the IRS instructions, you should document the attempts you made to obtain the ID number, mail the 1099, file the 1096 with no number and provide the IRS a summary […]
I Have an Independent Contractor Who Refuses To Provide A Form W-9, What Do I Do?
I Have an Independent Contractor Who Refuses To Provide A Form W-9, What Do I Do? Who is a “U.S. person?” The term “U.S. persons” doesn’t just refer to “people.” In legal terms, a U.S. person can, of course, be an individual, as long as he is a U.S. citizen or legal resident. It could […]
When Can You Dump Old Tax Records?
Article Highlights: General statute is 3 years Some states are longer Fraud, failure to file and other issues can extend the statute Keeping the actual return Taxpayers often question how long records must be kept and the amount of time IRS has to audit a return after it is filed. It all depends on the […]
How To Complete Form 911 | Request For Taxpayer Advocate Service Assistance
How To Complete Form 911 | Request For Taxpayer Advocate Service Assistance This form is used for requesting assistance from the Taxpayer Advocate’s Office (TPA) in your local area. Taxpayer Advocate’s can be helpful when you are trying to work with the IRS but are not getting anywhere. This does not mean that the TPA’s office can […]
What is the Difference Between an HSA and a Health FSA?
Article Highlights: Flexible Spending Accounts Common Features of an FSA FSA Allowable Medical Expenses Unused Amounts (Use It or Lose It) HealthSavings Accounts Enrolled in Medicare Covered Under a High-deductible Health Plan HSAContributions and Contribution Limits HSA as a Supplemental Retirement Vehicle FSA-HSA Comparison Table The tax code provides two tax advantageous plans for taxpayers […]