Taxpayers aged 65 or older now have the option to use Form 1040-SR, U.S. Tax Return for Seniors, thanks to the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, which required the IRS to create a tax form for seniors. Here are six facts you should know:
Tax Filing Season Begins | New Form 1040
January 27, 2020, marked the start of this year’s tax filing season. Complicating matters is a newly revised Form 1040, U.S. Individual Income Tax Return. With more than 150 million individual tax returns expected to be filed for the 2019 tax year, here’s what individual taxpayers can expect:
Reminder: Use Correct Forms to Pay Employment Taxes
Small business owners are reminded to review the rules for filing two commonly-used employment tax returns: Form 944, Employer’s Annual Federal Tax Return and Form 941, Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return.
A small business files one or the other; these two forms are not interchangeable and the employer should never flip-flop between the two forms on their own. They should always file in accordance with their designated filing requirements. Let’s take a look at the differences between these forms.
Tax Breaks for Taxpayers Itemizing Deductions
Many taxpayers opt for the standard deduction because it is easier, but sometimes itemizing deductions is the better choice — often resulting in a lower tax bill. Whether you bought a house, refinanced your current home, or had extensive gambling losses, you may be able to take advantage of tax breaks for taxpayers who itemize. Here’s what to keep in mind:
Opportunity Zone Guidance Finalized
Final regulations were recently issued regarding details about investment in qualified opportunity zones (QOZ) that modified and finalized proposed regulations for QOFs and QOZ businesses that were previously issued on October 28, 2018, and May 1, 2019.
The final regulations provide additional guidance for taxpayers who are eligible to make an election to temporarily defer the inclusion in gross income of certain eligible gain. The final regulations also address the ability of such taxpayers’ eligibility to increase the basis in their qualifying investment equal to the fair market value of the investment on the date that it is sold, after holding the equity interest for at least 10 years.
Tax Planning Includes Keeping Good Records | Seven Helpful Tips
It’s January and tax season is right around the corner. For many people that means scrambling to collect receipts, mileage logs, and other tax-related documents needed to prepare their tax returns. If this describes you, chances are, you’re wishing you’d kept on top of it during the year so you could avoid this scenario yet again. With this in mind, here are seven suggestions to help taxpayers like you keep good records throughout the year:
Watch Out for Gift Card Scams and Taxpayer Fraud
There’s never an off-season when it comes to scammers and thieves who want to trick people to scam them out of money, steal their personal information, or talk them into engaging in questionable behavior with their taxes. While scam attempts typically peak during tax season, taxpayers need to remain vigilant all year long. For example, gift card scams are currently on the rise and there are many reports of taxpayers being asked to pay a fake tax bill through the purchase of gift cards.
Updated Rules: Deductible Business & Other Expenses
Taxpayers using optional standard mileage rates in computing the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical or moving expense purposes should be aware of an updated set of rules. The updated rules reflect changes to certain deductible expenses resulting from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA).
Employer Benefits of Using the EFTPS
Small business owners who are also employers should remember that the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS) has features that make it easier to meet their tax obligations – whether they prepare and submit payroll taxes themselves or hire an outside payroll service provider to do it on their behalf.
Got Crypto? New IRS Ruling Requires You to Do 3 Things
In mid-October 2019, the IRS released new rulings regarding how virtual currency is viewed in light of tax law.
The main takeaway is this: If you’ve got crypto, the IRS is keeping a close eye on you. There’s no need to panic! Here at Robert Russo CPA, we’ve put together 4 things you need to understand about taxes on cryptocurrency – and how the new October ruling impacts you.