Business owners can simplify things by filing payroll taxes electronically. E-file software performs calculations and populates forms and schedules using a step-by-step process. It will also alert the filer if they are missing information which reduces the chances of receiving an IRS notice.
Homeowner Records: What to Keep and How Long
Keeping full and accurate homeowner records is not only vital for claiming deductions on your tax return, but also for determining the basis or adjusted basis of your home. These records include your purchase contract and settlement papers if you bought the property, or other objective evidence if you acquired it by gift, inheritance, or similar means. You should also keep any receipts, canceled checks, and similar evidence for improvements or other additions to the basis.
Penalty Relief for Certain 2019 and 2020 Tax Returns
Penalty relief for struggling taxpayers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic is now available to most people and businesses who file certain 2019 or 2020 returns late. Eligible income tax returns must be filed on or before September 30, 2022, to qualify for this relief. Furthermore, the nearly 1.6 million taxpayers who have already paid these penalties will automatically receive more than $1.2 billion in refunds or credits. Many of these payments will be completed by the end of September.
Requesting a Tax Transcript From the IRS
Filing an error-free tax return is key to taxpayers getting any refund they are due as soon as possible. Using Online Account on the IRS website is the fastest and easiest way to see account information such as estimated tax payments, prior year adjusted gross income, and economic impact payment amounts. Taxpayers who don’t have an account will need to create one.
Roth IRAs: Put Your Child’s Summer Earnings to Work
With plentiful opportunities for teen employment this year, now is the perfect time to consider opening a Roth IRA for your minor child. Here’s what you need to know.
Got Cash? What To Do With a Windfall
A cash windfall is any amount of money that you didn’t expect to receive and is over your regular income. Most would consider it to be any amount over $1,000 – and quite often, the amount of money is much more than that. For example, you may have received a bonus at work, an inheritance, a legal settlement, a profit from selling a property or business, or won the lottery.
Applying for Tax-Exempt Status as a Nonprofit
To be tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, an organization must be organized and operated exclusively for any of these purposes: charitable, religious, educational, scientific, literary, testing for public safety, fostering national or international amateur sports competition or preventing cruelty to children or animals.
Understanding Your Rights as a Taxpayer
By law, all taxpayers have fundamental rights when interacting with the IRS, and all taxpayers should know and understand their rights. Ten categories of rights are presented in the Taxpayer Bill of Rights. Here’s an overview:
Dirty Dozen Tax Scams and How to Protect Yourself
The “Dirty Dozen” is a list of common tax scams compiled by the IRS for more than 20 years to alert taxpayers and the tax professional community about tax scams and other fraudulent schemes. Designed to raise awareness among taxpayers and others who may not always be aware of developments involving tax administration, it includes potentially abusive arrangements that taxpayers should avoid. Let’s take a look at this year’s “Dirty Dozen” tax scams:
Standard Mileage Rates Increase for Remainder of 2022
The optional standard mileage rate, which taxpayers may use to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business and certain other purposes, increases to 62.5 cents per mile, effective July 1, 2022. The new mileage rate is up 4 cents from the rate effective at the start of the year.