by Daniel Kittell | Accounting News, IRS, News, Retirement, Tax, Tax Planning - Individual
March Madness is upon us, and while that term often refers to college basketball, if you’re like the majority of Americans, it can also apply to tax season. The IRS tax deadline will be here before we know it, and while it might be late in the game to do much about lowering your tax bill or increasing your return, here are a few tips to help make your 2019 tax return as smooth, painless, and advantageous as possible.
Max out your traditional IRA
This is the easiest way to lower your tax bill after the end of the calendar year, and you can make contributions for the 2018 tax year until the April 15 tax deadline. Contributions top out at $5,500, or $6,500 for those 55 years and older, and it’s all deductible on your 2018 tax return. Contact me to see if this strategy will work for you.
Beware of common mistakes
It seems obvious, but common blunders include social security numbers with mixed-up digits, missing signatures, and bad bank account numbers. These mistakes could cost you, literally, so double and triple check your personal information.
To itemize or not to itemize?
Due to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which nearly doubled the standard deduction, itemizing deductions is now obsolete for millions of taxpayers. Unless your financial situation has changed drastically, if you didn’t itemize in the past, you won’t need to do it now. The standard deduction for 2018 is $24,000, so unless your itemizable deductions top that number, itemizing isn’t worth it.
Contribute to your HSA
HSA funds can essentially act as an addendum to your retirement savings because funds can be invested and carried over year after year.
Can’t pay? File anyway
If you owe the IRS money, your unpaid balance will result in a penalty of 0.5% of the unpaid balance per month or partial month. However, failure to file will cost you a lot more: a monthly penalty of 5% of the amount owed. So even if you can’t pay, file your return or request an extension. Read on to find out what to do when you can’t pay the full balance.
Set up an installment plan
The IRS might not have the best reputation, but the agency will work with taxpayers who show that they’re trying to pay their taxes. An installment plan allows you to make monthly payments up to 72 months until the balance is paid in full. This requires a setup fee, but it’s less if you arrange for direct debit from your bank account, and interest on your unpaid balance will still apply.
Request more time if necessary
You can file for an extension before April 15 with Form 4868 for automatic approval, which will give you until October 15 to file your tax return. Keep in mind this extension is just for filing and doesn’t include an extension for payment on taxes owed. If you don’t pay by April 15, your bill will be subject to interest and penalties. However, you can request a 120-day grace period from the IRS to come up with the payment, but you’ll still owe interest and other fees on the balance until it’s paid off.
by Daniel Kittell | Accounting News, IRS, News, Tax
The House recently passed the Retirement, Savings, and Other Tax Relief Act of 2018, which includes the Taxpayers First Act of 2018: legislation created to protect taxpayers from unfair practices as well as improve IRS operations. If the Bill makes it through the Senate, we’ll be seeing a more modernized and simplified IRS.
The bill directs the IRS commissioner to submit a plan for improved customer service within a year and a full plan to completely restructure the agency by September of 2020. The focus of this revamp will include, but not be limited to, the following:
Customer Service
The goal is to enhance customer service by adopting the private sector best practices of customer-service providers, which would mean updating guidance and training materials for IRS customer-service employees as well as developing means for quantitatively measuring the progress of customer service strategy. This would include providing taxpayers with more secure and varied means of communication, such as online and telephone call back services.
Cybersecurity
The IRS would initiate a collaborative effort with the private sector to improve cybersecurity and protect taxpayers from identity theft refund fraud. Along with implementing an information sharing and analysis center, the initiative would include appointing an IRS Chief Information Officer.
Electronic Services
The plan would broaden electronic service assistance, such as creating individualized online accounts and portals for taxpayers to access taxpayer information, make payments of taxes, and share documentation. This includes adding the ability for taxpayers to prepare and file Forms 1099.
Property Seizure
One of the IRS’s most forceful capabilities is property seizure. The new bill would still allow the IRS to pursue the seizure or forfeiture of assets, but only if a) either the property to be seized was derived from an illegal source, or b) the transactions were structured for the purpose of concealing a violation of a criminal law. It also includes new post-seizure procedures to protect taxpayers who had property taken by the IRS for violating the reporting rules. And should a court return funds to a taxpayer whose assets were mistakenly seized, the new bill provides taxpayer exemption for interest liability.
Other areas of improvement covered in the Bill include an independent appeals process for all taxpayers with a legitimate claim, easier access to equitable relief for innocent spouses on a deceptive joint return, and greater restriction on the IRS to issue a John Doe summons for suspected tax code violation.
by Stephen Reed | Accounting News, Audit and Accounting, Business Consulting, News, Tax, Tax Consulting, Tax Planning
As of December 20, 2017, the new tax laws were officially signed into law, ushering in a variety of cuts and changes for individuals and businesses alike. While there has been much talk around how the new laws will impact individual taxpayers and families of all income levels, it is also vital to consider how small businesses, startups and corporations will be affected.
Individual taxpayers will see a decrease in their income tax rate, a reduction of itemized deductions, a doubling of the standard deduction, and changes to elder care, child and business taxes. The Alternative Minimum Tax will remain for individuals and corporations alike, but the affected income bracket has been raised: $70,300 for single filers and $109,400 for joint filers.
So the question remains, will businesses stand to reap tax benefits for the new code? Undoubtedly. The real unknown is what businesses will do with the benefits they may reap.
What tax deductions can businesses expect then? A main provision of the plan is the lowering of the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21% in 2018, as well as lowering the income tax at almost every level for now. Corporations will be able to deduct state and local taxes, and estate tax exemptions will double, assisting the 1% who pay estate taxes while providing roughly 17 billion in taxes. For small business owners, they will be able to deduct the cost of depreciable assets in a single year rather than amortizing them over several years, which will hopefully stimulate investment and growth.
Under our current tax system, multinational taxpayers are taxed on any income earned overseas when those profits are brought back to the United States. But, the new system will not tax foreign profit. The intent here is to motivate those business owners to bring that money back overseas, reinvesting it in the US economy rather than allowing it sit overseas and aid another nation’s economy.
The new code is operating under a supply-side economics theory, which strives to invigorate economic growth across the nation for both consumers and businesses. The objective is to provide various tax deductions, placing more money in consumer’s wallets and ideally stimulate spending. The combination of lower taxes and a swell in spending on products and services is designed to allow employers to strengthen their workforce and create more jobs.
If business owners do reap benefits from the changes, any increased income or an improvement in sales should be viewed as an opportunity to develop, diversify and enhance their businesses, which would support the greater American economy and our nation.
by Jean Miller | Accounting News, News, Resources, Tax, Tax Planning - Individual, Tax Preparation - Individual
Beginning in 2018, the new tax laws are officially implemented, which could spell a shift in take home pay for many workers. And, if your employer has begun using the new withholding tables, you could see a change in pay this month. The Congressional Budget Office has approximated that employers could withhold around $10-15 billion less from employees each month by utilizing the new withholding tables.
Many taxpayers may be wondering if they will actually see any of that $10-$15 billion on their regular paychecks? An increase in take-home pay will be based on the number of allowances you take, how often you are paid and if you file jointly or are a single filer. So, for the average single filer who makes between $46,000-$162,000 and is paid bi-weekly, your paycheck will likely increase between $40 and $190. For married filers who make between $61,000-$167,000, you could see a bi-weekly pay increase between $30 and $172.
However, there are other factors in play that could offset any pay increases taxpayers might see. While the federal tax cuts might increase take-home pay for the average workers, other changes in deductions might counteract a boost in pay. Although the federal tax rates changed, some state or local taxes may have increased for some workers. Many companies make health benefits or other benefit changes at the start of a new year as well, which would ultimately influence a worker’s final take-home amount.
Whether you see a pay increase or not, all employees should consider re-evaluating their withholding allowances. Why? Withholding tables are intended to provide a ballpark figure of how much tax should be taken from your pay, but this year’s estimation could be a bit looser than previous years.
The new tax laws change elements that affect how many allowances workers claim. For example, some personal exemptions have been eliminated, itemized deductions have been reduced and tax credits have been altered. The new withholding tables do incorporate the tax code changes, but taxpayers were not required to fill out a new W-4 form. Therefore, the number of allowances selected when your last W-4 was filed could be rather inaccurate now.
How do you know if your allowances need to be modified? Taxpayers can speak with a tax adviser to decide the correct withholding amounts. Another option is to use the new withholding calculator the IRS plans to release at the end of February, which is designed to help employees calculate if they are claiming too little or too much in light of the tax changes. If you do decide to change withholding amounts, you will need to submit new instructions to your employer.
by Stephen Reed | Accounting News, Bookkeeping, Construction, CPA, IRS, Resources, Tax Consulting, Tax Planning - Individual, Technology
In response to the new requirements imposed by the Foreign Account Taxpayer Compliance Act (FATCA) and the proposed regulations promulgated thereunder, the IRS has prepared two new withholding certificates:
Form W-8BEN, Certificate of Foreign Status of Beneficial Owner for United States Tax Withholding (Individual).
Form W-8BEN-E, Certificate of Status of Beneficial Owner for United States Tax Withholding (Entities).
While the withholding forms provide a first look at the actual new reporting requirements that FATCA ultimately will impose on virtually all non-US persons receiving passive income from US sources, the IRS has not yet published draft instructions for the new certificates. As a result, certain important implementation issues raised under the Proposed Regulations and FATCA generally remain unanswered.
For now . . .
Until the new withholding forms are released in final form by the IRS in December, you should continue to use the existing Form W-8BEN where required under current law.
The new withholding certificates effectively divide the information reporting requirements between two classes of payees: nonresident alien individuals and all foreign entities other than individuals.
New W-8BEN will simplify the declarations required to be made by foreign individuals. It will only require basic identifying information, declarations with respect to treaty status (as relevant), and a general certification as to foreign status.
New W-8BEN-E will require each foreign entity to make two distinct declarations:
The foreign entity’s status for purposes of the US outbound withholding tax regime (e.g., the 30 percent withholding tax generally imposed on US-source dividends paid to non-US persons unless reduced by an applicable income tax treaty). This will be the same as the declaration required in the current IRS Form W-8BEN, as last revised in 2006.
The FATCA-related declaration, which will require an entity to provide substantial detail by declaring its overall status for FATCA purposes from among twenty-four different categories (all described in detail in the Proposed Regulations).
In addition, new W-8BEN-E will require a foreign entity to provide its Foreign Financial Institution Employer Identification Number and FATCA ID, as applicable (both are discussed in the Proposed Regulations).
Full Article: http://www.accountingweb.com/article/irs-posts-draft-revised-withholding-forms-conforming-fatca/219273
