After a natural disaster, people often rally to help victims by donating money to charitable organizations that help disaster victims. Unfortunately, this can allow criminals to prey on them by soliciting donations from fake charities. As such, before donating to charity, people should ensure their money goes to a reputable organization.
Alert: Significant Increase in IRS Texting Scams – Smishing
To date, the IRS has identified and reported thousands of fraudulent domains tied to multiple text scams, known as smishing, targeting taxpayers. Recently, IRS-themed smishing has increased significantly. As such, taxpayers are reminded to be on the lookout for scams and schemes that could put sensitive tax data at risk – especially this latest IRS-themed texting scams aimed at stealing personal and financial information.
Beware Third Parties Promoting Improper ERC Claims
Taxpayers are always responsible for the information reported on their tax returns. Businesses are encouraged to be cautious of advertised schemes and direct solicitations promising tax savings that are too good to be true.
Avoid a Tax Surprise: Check Your Withholding
While tax season may seem far away, the reality is that there are only two months left in the year. Now is the perfect time to review withholding and estimated tax payments to avoid a surprise tax bill next year.
Defeat the $10,000 SALT Cap with the PTE Tax – Part 2
We explained in Part 1, a majority of states now allow pass-through entity (PTE) owners to get around the federal $10,000 state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap on individual taxpayers by having their PTE pay state income tax on its income at the entity level.
Defeat the $10,000 SALT Cap with the PTE Tax – Part 1
Maybe the least popular change brought about by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) was a first-ever cap on the federal personal income tax deduction for state and local taxes (SALT).
Closing a Business for Good
If you’re a small business owner who is thinking about closing your business for good, you should be aware that there is more to closing a business than laying off employees, selling office furniture, and closing the doors – you must also take certain actions as required by the IRS to fulfill your tax obligations. For example, if you have employees, you must file final employment tax returns as well as make final federal tax deposits of these taxes.
Federal Tax Obligations During Chapter 13 Bankruptcy
The most common type of bankruptcy for individuals is Chapter 13, which allows individuals and small business owners in financial difficulty to repay their creditors. Often, it is a last resort for wage earners (individuals and those filing jointly as spouses), the self-employed and sole proprietor businesses to get out of their debts. While the overall bankruptcy rate has been dropping in recent years, Chapter 13 appears to be increasing, according to the US Courts. If you’re considering filing for Chapter 13, here’s what you should know about federal tax obligations:
Lending Money to a Friend? It Pays To Plan Ahead
Lending money to a cash-strapped friend or family member is a noble and generous offer that just might make a difference. But before you hand over the cash, you need to plan ahead to avoid tax complications for yourself down the road.
Early Withdrawals from Retirement Plans
Many people find themselves in situations where they need to withdraw money from their retirement plan earlier than planned. Doing so, however, can trigger an additional tax on top of any income tax taxpayers may have to pay. Here are five things taxpayers should know about early withdrawals from retirement plans: