Archived Posts: IRS

Tax Tips for December 2021

Tax Tips for December 2021

Click on the links below to jump to each section in this article: Retirement Contributions Limits Announced for 2022 Small Business: Deducting Startup Costs Reminder: Deferred Payroll Taxes Due in December Important Information About Charitable Giving This Year Tax Credit for Hiring Long-Term Unemployed Workers Retirement Contributions Limits Announced for 2022 Cost of living adjustments affecting dollar limitations for pension plans and other retirement-related items for 2022 are as follows:...

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Tax Tips for December 2021

Tax Tips for November 2021

Click on the links below to jump to each section in this article: IRS Charges Fee for Estate Closing Letters Shared Custody and Advance Child Tax Credit Payments Tips To Avoid Fraud and Scams After a Disaster Deferred Tax on Gains From Forced Sales of Livestock Advertising and Marketing Costs May Be Tax Deductible IRS Charges Fee for Estate Closing Letters Starting October 28, a new $67 user fee will apply to any estate that requests an estate tax closing letter for its federal estate tax...

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Verifying Your Identity When Calling the IRS

Verifying Your Identity When Calling the IRS

Sometimes, taxpayers need to call the IRS about a tax matter. If this is the case, they should know that IRS phone assistors take great care to only discuss personal information with the taxpayer or someone the taxpayer authorizes to speak on their behalf. As such, the IRS will ask taxpayers and tax professionals to verify their identity when they call.

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Settling Tax Debt With an IRS Offer in Compromise

Settling Tax Debt With an IRS Offer in Compromise

An offer in compromise (OIC) is an agreement between a taxpayer and the Internal Revenue Service that settles a taxpayer’s tax liabilities for less than the full amount owed. That’s the good news. The bad news is that not everyone can use this option to settle tax debt; the IRS rejected nearly 60 percent of taxpayer-requested offers in compromise. If you owe money to the IRS and wonder if an IRS offer in compromise is the answer, here’s what you need to know.

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Avoiding an IRS Tax Audit

Avoiding an IRS Tax Audit

Just 0.45 percent of taxpayers were audited in fiscal year 2019. Still, with taxes becoming more complicated every year, there is an even greater possibility of confusion turning into a tax mistake and an IRS audit. Avoiding "red flags" like the ones listed below could help. Red Flags That Trigger IRS Audits Claiming Business Losses Year After Year When you operate a business and file Schedule C, the IRS assumes you operate that business to make a profit. Claiming losses year after year...

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Tax Filing Season Starts February 12

Tax Filing Season Starts February 12

Although tax season usually starts in late January, this year, the tax filing season is delayed until February 12, 2021. The delayed start date for individual tax return filers allowed the IRS time to do additional programming and testing of IRS systems following the December 27, 2020, tax law changes that provided a second round of Economic Impact Payments and other benefits to many taxpayers. This programming work is critical to ensuring IRS systems run smoothly to minimize refund delays and...

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Identity Protection PIN Available To All Taxpayers

Identity Protection PIN Available To All Taxpayers

What You Need to Know Starting in January 2021, the IRS Identity Protection PIN Opt-In Program will be expanded to all taxpayers who can properly verify their identity. Previously, IP PINs were only available to identity theft victims. What is an Identity Protection PIN? An identity protection personal identification number (IP PIN) is a six-digit number assigned to eligible taxpayers to help prevent their Social Security number from being used to file fraudulent federal income tax returns....

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IRS Repeats Warning About Phone Scams

We don't want you to be the next victim of the recent surge in phone scams by individuals claiming to be calling from the IRS. To date, more than 90,000 complaints have been reported to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration and its estimated that $5 million has been lost from these scams. The IRS has provided some helpful information about its contact with taxpayers as well as characteristics of these scams. From the IRS's website: It is important for taxpayers to know that the...

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