Starting with tax year 2023, if your business has 10 or more W2s and/or 1099s to prepare, you must file them electronically with the IRS.
Tag: Accounting
President Trump recently signed the tax reform bill into law which resulted into major changes to the code for both individuals and corporations. Here is a brief summary of the changes that will affect most of you.
- Tax Brackets – Same number of brackets, different tax rates and different ranges. If your taxable income is the same in 2018 as was 2017, you will pay less federal taxes. A lot of the difference are in the changes leading to “taxable income”.
- The marriage penalty is almost gone. – Under the old law the combined income for a married couple was taxed at a higher rate than the same total income for 2 individuals. For example: a single person with taxable income of $90K would be in the 25% bracket. A couple with $180k in taxable income is in the 28% bracket. Under the new law, both cases are in the 25% bracket.
- New Standard Deductions
| Filing Status | Old Law | New Law |
| Single | $6,500 | 12,000 |
| MFJ | 13,000 | 24,000 |
| MFS | 6,500 | 12,000 |
| HOH | 9,350 | 18,000 |
- Capital Gains (stock sales and sales of other appreciated assets)
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- Short term gains are taxed as ordinary income (no difference)
- Long term rates are as follows:
| Single | MFJ | HOH | MFS | |
| 0% up to: | $38,600 | $77,200 | $51,700 | $38,600 |
| 15% up to: | 425,000 | 479,000 | 452,400 | 239,500 |
| 20% over | 425,000 | 479,000 | 452,400 | 239,500 |
- Tax Breaks for Parents. The child tax credit is increased from $1,000 per child to $2,000 per child. Of that amount $1,400 is refundable. In addition, the phase out for eligibility is expanded.
| Tax Status | Old Law | New Law |
| MFJ | $110,000 | $400,000 |
| Individuals | $75,000 | $200,000 |
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- If children are 17 years and older or you care for elderly relatives, you can claim a nonrefundable credit of $500 each.
- Home mortgage interest can only be taken for mortgage balances up to $750,000. This was previously $1 million. This applies to loans taken after Dec. 15, 2017. Interest on home equity debt can no longer be deducted.
- State and Local Tax Deduction (SALT) is now limited to $10,000.
- Deductions that are disappearing:
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- Casualty and theft losses
- Unreimbursed employee expenses
- Moving expenses
- Pass-through income from sole proprietorship, LLCs, partnerships, and S corporations will be able to deduct 20% of the profit. There are phaseout income limits that apply to “professional services” business owners. They are $157,500 and $315,000 for individuals and married couples respectively.
- Corporate tax rates have been reduced for most corporations, but not for all. A corporation with profit below $50,000 will pay more in taxes. The new rate is 21% for all profits. The old rates were:
| From | To | Rate |
| $0 | $50,000 | 15% |
| 50,000 | 75,000 | 25% |
| 75,000 | 100,000 | 34% |
| 100,000 | 335,000 | 39% |
- Interesting: If in 2017 your corporate profit was $50,000; your federal tax was $7,500 (50K * 15%). That tax increases under the new law to $10,500 (50K * 21%). Let’s hope this is corrected soon.
If you are self-employed, one advantage is the ability to employ family members.
This summer save on taxes by employing your child under the age of 18.
Your children are not subject to social security and Medicare taxes if the trade or business is a sole proprietorship or a partnership in which each partner is a parent of the child.
For more information, refer to the “Covered services of a child” section at IRS.gov
The IRS and state governments are combating identity theft and tax fraud this tax year. Beginning this filing season all tax payers are required to have identity verification. Please include with your tax documents a copy of your state driver’s license or other state ID. If you’re married, both individuals must meet the requirement.
Sincerely,
BYB
If you are moving due to Job relocation, you can deduct moving expenses.
In order to deduct moving expenses, your move must meet three requirements:
- The move must closely relate to the start of work
- Your move must meet the distance test
- You must meet the time test
After meeting these requirements, the #IRS has plenty of tips to show you what expenses are deductible.
For more information click here. Be sure to update your address with the IRS and Post Office.
Miscellaneous Income should be reported. Payments for services performed for your trade or business is reflected on form 1099-Misc.
If the following four conditions are met, you must generally report a payment as nonemployee compensation.
1. You made the payment to someone who is not your employee;
2. You made the payment for services in the course of your trade or business (including government agencies and nonprofit organizations);
3. You made the payment to an individual, partnership, estate, or in some cases, a corporation; and
4. You made payments to the payee of at least $600 during the year.
For more information, click the link below to read more!
A few of our clients have fallen victim to fraudulent phone calls received by scammers impersonating to be Tax Agents.
These callers are calling in attempt to steal your money. They will call with variations of IRS issues and even show up on the caller ID as the IRS. They will either claim that you’re due for a huge refund or you owe the IRS money. They threaten that legal actions are in place and demand immediate payment.
Don’t be fooled! If you receive a phone call, do NOT give out any information and hang up immediately. The IRS does not call, certified mail is the most common form of communication.
For more info, read what the IRS has to say below.
Several different things can alert the IRS to issue an audit. Keeping your books and records in order can help to avoid a stressful situation. Making large charitable contributions and failing to report all of your income can trigger an audit.
If you have multiple sources of income it can become hard to keep track of all the income year earned, and the more likely you are to leave out a payment. To avoid missing a 1099 keep track of all work you complete and the agreed payment. Not getting a form is not an excuse for not reporting the income.
Read more by clicking link below:
When the IRS processes your tax return and approves your refund, you can see your actual personalized refund date. Even though the IRS issues most refunds in less than 21 days after we receive your tax return, it’s possible your tax return may require additional review and take longer.
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