Whether you’re a casual or professional gambler, your winnings are taxable. However, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration reports that gambling income is vastly underreported. Failing to report winnings accurately can lead to back taxes, interest, and penalties. Here’s what you need to know to stay compliant and potentially minimize your tax liability.
Tax Season Cleanup: Which Records Can You Toss?
If you’ve filed your 2024 tax return, you may be eager to do some spring cleaning, starting with tax-related paper and digital clutter. The documentation needed to support a tax return may include receipts, bank and investment account statements, K-1s, W-2s, and 1099s. How long must you save these records? Three years is the general rule. But don’t be hasty: Failure to keep a paper trail for the information reported on a tax return could lead to problems if the IRS audits it.
Don’t Believe the Refund Myths
The IRS has posted a list of common refund myths on its website. For example, if the online Where’s My Refund tool or automated hotline doesn’t specify when a refund will be approved, there’s no point in calling the IRS. The tax agency won’t have additional details yet.
Your Business Tax Information at Your Fingertips
The IRS Business Tax Account provides information to sole proprietors, partners of partnerships, and shareholders of S corporations and C corporations. Eligible business taxpayers who set up an account can use the hub to make electronic payments, schedule or cancel future payments, and access other tools. They can also view their current balances, payment history, other business tax records, and digital copies of select IRS notices.
Tax Refunds: Factors Affecting Refund Timing
As the tax filing season concludes, taxpayers may anticipate receiving their refund by a certain date, especially if they plan on making major purchases or paying bills. While some tax returns are processed quickly, others may require additional review, so those refunds may take longer.
April 2025 Tax Due Dates
April 15
Employers: Deposit nonpayroll withheld income tax for March if the month deposit rule applies.
Employers: Deposit Social Security, Medicare and withheld income taxes for March if the monthly deposit rule applies.
Calendar-year corporations: Pay the first installment of 2025 estimated income taxes, using Form 1120-W.
The Qualified Small Business Stock Exclusion
As the driving force in today’s economy, small businesses benefit from numerous tax breaks in the tax code. One of these, the Qualified Small Business Stock (QSBS), was made permanent by the PATH Act (Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015). If you’re a small business investor, here’s what you need to know about this often-overlooked tax break.
Fringe Benefit Deductions Change and Affect Business
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act included a number of tax law changes that affect small businesses, such as deductions for fringe benefits, which can affect both a business’s bottom line and its employees’ deductions. Here’s a summary of what these are:
5 Steps to Creating a Pay Transparency Strategy
Today’s job seekers and employees have grown accustomed to having an incredible amount of information at their fingertips. As a result, many businesses find that failing to adequately disclose certain things negatively impacts their relationships with these parties.
File Your FBAR on Time to Avoid Penalties
Any U.S. person with a financial interest in or authority over foreign financial accounts may be required to file a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR). An FBAR is required if the aggregate value of the accounts exceeds $10,000 at any time during the calendar year. FBARs are due April 15 of the following calendar year, though an automatic extension is allowed.