Upgrade needed

The IRS desperately needs an IT upgrade. That, in a nutshell, was IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig’s recent message to a U.S. House subcommittee. As Rettig testified, the agency still uses some technology placed in service in the 1960s and 1970s. This means staffers can only slowly work their way through the IRS’s much-criticized backlog of […]

Thinking about converting your home into a rental property?

In some cases, homeowners decide to move to new residences, but keep their present homes and rent them out. If you’re thinking of doing this, you’re probably aware of the financial risks and rewards. However, you also should know that renting out your home carries potential tax benefits and pitfalls. You’re generally treated as a […]

IRS Customer Service

Groups representing tax lawyers and accountants have repeated calls for the IRS to act immediately to improve customer service, including the suspension of automated notices. As you may know, the agency is struggling to process a huge backlog of returns. One group, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), said the IRS should discontinue […]

Miss the deadline?

The IRS is encouraging individuals who missed last Monday’s tax filing deadline to file as soon as possible. If you’re due a refund, you won’t receive a penalty for filing late. If you owe the IRS and missed the deadline without requesting an extension, filing sooner can limit the amount of penalties or interest assessed. […]

Tax considerations when adding a new partner at your business

Adding a new partner in a partnership has several financial and legal implications. Let’s say you and your partners are planning to admit a new partner. The new partner will acquire a one-third interest in the partnership by making a cash contribution to it. Let’s further assume that your bases in your partnership interests are […]

Early withdrawal penalty for IRAs

At tax time, age matters. Taxpayers under age 59½ who take distributions from their retirement plans must generally pay an added tax penalty, equal to 10% of the distribution. Exceptions exist, including the need to pay documented medical bills (subject to statutory limitations). When one taxpayer under age 59½ lost his job, he took a […]

IRS notices on 1099s coming soon

If your business issued Forms 1099 for 2021, you may soon hear from the IRS. Twice a year, the IRS sends notices (CP2100 and CP2100A) informing financial institutions, businesses and other payers that issued Forms 1099 about errors or omissions. If the names and/or taxpayer ID numbers (TINs) on the 1099s are missing or don’t […]

Goodwill in a bad economy

In today’s volatile economy, many businesses and nonprofits have been required to write down the value of acquired goodwill on their balance sheets. Others are expected to follow suit — or report additional write-offs — in 2022. To the extent that goodwill is written off, it can’t be recovered in the future, even if the […]

Penalty relief for Employee Retention Credit

Relief is available to businesses if they owe penalties for additional income tax due to retroactive employee retention credit (ERC) claims. The ERC is a refundable credit claimed on employment tax returns. The IRS requires employers to reduce the income tax deduction for “ERC qualified wages” by the amount of ERC the employer received for […]

Child and Dependent Care Credits

The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) has weighed in on the IRS’s implementation of the expanded Child and Dependent Care Credit (CDCC). The CDCC was expanded temporarily by the American Rescue Plan Act for Tax Year 2021 for certain taxpayers. But TIGTA, which provides independent oversight of the IRS, issued 11 alerts to […]