Injunction halts BOI reporting

Under the Corporate Transparency Act, the U.S. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) requires small business owners to report certain information. The requirements are intended to help prevent criminals from using businesses for illicit activities. They mandate businesses to provide beneficial ownership information (BOI) about their owners to FinCEN. The deadline to file a BOI […]

Get tax breaks for energy-saving purchases this year because they may disappear

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), enacted in 2022, created several tax credits aimed at promoting clean energy. You may want to take advantage of them before it’s too late. On the campaign trail, President-Elect Donald Trump pledged to “terminate” the law and “rescind all unspent funds.” Rescinding all or part of the law would require action […]

A new School year is coming soon

The start of another year isn’t far off. With it comes a new school semester and possibly new tuition bills. If you’re thinking about helping a grandchild or other student with their college expenses, consider the tax implications. If the amount you give exceeds the annual gift tax exclusion, you might owe gift tax on […]

Is your passport at risk?

Seriously delinquent tax debt (SDTD) could put your passport at risk (unless an exception applies). SDTD is a legally enforceable, unpaid federal tax assessment. In 2024, this debt must exceed $62,000, with a lien filed and other remedies exhausted. In 2025, the threshold will rise to $64,000. These debts include U.S. individual income taxes, trust […]

Self-employment tax: A refresher on how it works

If you own a growing, unincorporated small business, you may be concerned about high self-employment (SE) tax bills. The SE tax is how Social Security and Medicare taxes are collected from self-employed individuals like you. SE tax basics The maximum 15.3% SE tax rate hits the first $168,600 of your 2024 net SE income. The […]

Be wary of online tax advice

Despite IRS warnings, many taxpayers continue to be duped by bad online tax advice. The tax agency and its Security Summit partners are renewing alerts about false social media claims “that promise to magically enrich taxpayers.” In particular, taxpayers are warned about claiming credits, including a nonexistent “Self Employment Tax Credit” and the Fuel Tax […]

Long to be nominated for IRS Commissioner

President-Elect Trump has announced he’ll nominate former Missouri Rep. Billy Long to be IRS Commissioner. Current leader Danny Werfel is scheduled to remain in the position until 2027. But Trump plans to replace Werfel with Long before his term ends. Werfel has overseen some IRS modernization efforts made possible by Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) funds. […]

Chart a course for success with a detailed chart of accounts

A chart of accounts is the foundation of accurate financial reporting, so it needs to be set up correctly. A disorganized chart or one that lumps transactions into broad, undefined “buckets” of data can make it difficult for management to evaluate financial performance and identify unmet customer needs — or open the door to accounting […]

What is an IP PIN?

Do you have an Identity Protection Personal Identification Number (IP PIN) from the IRS? More than 10.4 million taxpayers do. If you don’t have one, the IRS is encouraging you to add an extra layer of protection between your tax return and identity thieves by joining the IP PIN program at the start of the […]

contribution scams are on the rise

Charitable contribution scams are on the rise, according to the IRS. One fraudulent tax scheme is sometimes marketed as “Charitable LLCs.” Unscrupulous promoters encourage high-income taxpayers to create limited liability companies (LLCs), deposit cash or other assets into them, and then donate a majority percentage of non-voting, non-managing membership units to charities. The promoters sometimes […]