Penalty Upheld

The U.S. Tax Court upheld trust fund recovery penalties imposed on a part-time bookkeeper for an urgent care center. He argued that as a part-time employee he wasn’t a “responsible person” for payroll taxes that weren’t paid over to the IRS. He claimed that the IRS settlement officer acted arbitrarily in assessing the penalty against […]

COVID tax breaks

Is your organization passing up COVID-19 related tax breaks? Possibly. Even as the pandemic wanes, Sec. 139 of the Internal Revenue Code remains in effect. It allows employees to exclude from gross income payments made by employers to cover “reasonable” personal, family, living or funeral expenses related to COVID-19 (and other declared disasters). However, employers […]

IRS notice pause for Tax-Exempt & Government entities

As the IRS continues to work through a backlog of unprocessed returns, Congress and tax professionals have pressured it to stop sending delinquent return and collection notices. Many taxpayers receiving such notices have already filed tax returns but the IRS hasn’t processed them yet. On March 25, the IRS announced it will temporarily suspend the […]

An Update on the New Madrid Earthquake Zone

Just a reminder, if you live near the New Madrid Zone you need Earthquake Insurance, and that’s no April fool joke. Here is the latest going on with the fault. There Have Been Over 40 New Madrid Quakes in March, But It’s OK – KHMO News-Talk-Sports https://bit.ly/372m1dC

Biden Proposes Taxes on Wealthy

In the 2023 budget, President Biden is expected to propose a new tax requiring households worth more than $100 million to pay at least 20% of their income in taxes. This would include taxing gains on unsold investments. The White House stated the tax would apply to 0.01% of American households and that more than […]

Required Minumum Distribution from IRA

Time’s nearly up for some retirees to take a required minimum distribution (RMD) from certain retirement accounts, to avoid harsh penalties. For those who turned 72 in the last half of 2021, your first year RMD must be taken by April 1, 2022, so act fast. This applies to those with IRAs, 401(k)s and similar […]

IRS Backlog

It’s no secret that the IRS has had a huge backlog of unprocessed returns, a problem made worse by COVID-19. A recent audit by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) found there were 7.8 million cases in accounts management inventory as of Nov. 21, 2021, with 56.8% being over-aged. To improve service, TIGTA […]

Senate votes to Proceed

On March 23, the U.S. Senate voted to proceed with the America COMPETES Act of 2022, which the U.S. House of Representatives already passed. The proposed legislation provides grants for chipmakers and research. The semiconductor industry is pushing for a 25% investment tax credit to be added to the $50 billion bill that’s intended to […]

Crypto Reporting

Cryptocurrency and nonfungible tokens (NFTs) are far from interchangeable from a tax perspective. A lack of IRS guidance has left tax experts to speculate on the nuances of how various digital assets may be treated. NFTs are cryptographic tokens that exist on a blockchain. They can represent real world items, such as real estate or […]

Bill to Increase Retirement Savings Opportunities

The Securing a Strong Retirement Act, a bipartisan bill intended to increase retirement savings and simplify retirement plan rules, is set to receive a full vote by the U.S. House of Representatives the week of March 28. It’s often referred to as SECURE 2.0, which references the 2019 SECURE Act that made numerous retirement plan […]