Federal Budget Deficit

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has reported that the federal budget deficit for the first six months of fiscal year 2022 was an estimated $667 billion, or about 40% of the shortfall recorded during the same period last year. Revenues jumped by $418 billion (25%) and outlays dropped by $622 billion (18%), the CBO said. […]

Tax Return refund delays

An update from KHOU ; Why are some tax refunds being delayed? – KHOU.com https://bit.ly/3MhfU4u

Extended Due Date

For taxpayers who’ve filed for an extension, highlight this date on your calendar: Monday, Oct. 17. That’s the new deadline to file your tax return with the IRS. Be aware that an extension of time to file will automatically process if taxpayers paid all or part of their taxes electronically by this year’s original due […]

What’s the chance I will be audited?

According to new research, low-income taxpayers were audited by the IRS at a higher rate in fiscal 2021 than the previous year. Those who earned less than $25,000 in gross receipts were “audited at a rate five times higher” than other taxpayers, according to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) at Syracuse University, which received […]

Congress eyes further retirement savings enhancements

In 2019, the bipartisan Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act (SECURE Act) — the first significant legislation related to retirement savings since 2006 — became law. Now Congress appears ready to build on that law to further increase Americans’ retirement security. The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Securing a Strong Retirement Act […]

Collection Due Process

Taxpayers who can’t pay their past-due tax bills may request a Collection Due Process (CDP) hearing. One married couple filed their 2016 tax return in 2019 but didn’t pay the full tax due of $41,678. After the IRS issued a levy notice, the couple requested a CDP hearing. They asked that their account be considered […]

Are you an employee?

Employee or independent contractor? When a court must decide how workers are to be classified, it looks at various factors. In one case, the U.S. Tax Court found that a provider of private duty nurses failed to classify 99 nurses as employees during 2016–2018. The factors considered included: the degree of control the company exercised […]

Tax issues to assess when converting from a C corporation to an S corporation

Operating as an S corporation may help reduce federal employment taxes for small businesses in the right circumstances. Although S corporations may provide tax advantages over C corporations, there are some potentially costly tax issues that you should assess before making a decision to switch. Here’s a quick rundown of the most important issues to […]

Can you hear me now?

The Taxpayer Advocacy Panel (TAP) is a group of volunteers that makes recommendations to the IRS about issues that affect ordinary taxpayers. As TAP’s website proudly states, “We’re the voice between the IRS and you.” The IRS isn’t obligated to act on every suggestion, nor does it. However, of the 126 items submitted to the […]

Update for energy production credits

The IRS has just published new inflation adjustment factors and reference prices for determining Code Sec. 45 energy production credits. This credit generally is available to qualified renewal electricity producers. For 2022, the inflation adjustment factor for qualified energy resources is 1.8012 and the reference price for facilities producing electricity from wind is 4.09 cents […]