Remember Donations May Cut Tax Bills

As tax filing season approaches, the Internal Revenue Service reminds taxpayers who give money or goods to a charity by Dec. 31, 2016, that they may be able to claim a deduction on their 2016 federal income tax return and reduce their taxes.

Only donations to eligible organizations are tax-deductible. IRS Select Check on IRS.gov is a searchable online tool that lists most eligible charitable organizations. Churches, synagogues, temples, mosques and government agencies are eligible to receive deductible donations even if they are not listed in this database.

Claiming Charitable Donations
Only taxpayers who itemize using Form 1040 Schedule A can claim deductions for charitable contributions.

Monetary Donations
A bank record or a written statement from the charity is needed to prove the amount of any donation of money.

Donating Property
For donations of clothing and other household items the deduction amount is normally limited to the item’s fair market value.

Benefit in Return.
Donors who get something in return for their donation may have to reduce their deduction.

Older IRA Owners Have a Different Way to Give
IRA owners, age 70½ or older, can transfer up to $100,000 per year to an eligible charity tax-free.

Good Records
The type of records a taxpayer needs to keep depends on the amount and type of the donation.

Courtesy of IRS.

For more information contact Neikirk, Mahoney and Smith at 502-896-2999

IRS, Partners Warn of Online Threats

The Internal Revenue Service, states and the tax industry remind you that online threats and annoyances abound. There are viruses, worms, Trojans, bots, spyware and adware – all fall under the malicious programs (malware) umbrella.

How do you protect your computer from hackers and identity thieves? You need security software and to keep it turned on. You also need security on all of your digital devices, including laptops, tablets and mobile phones.

The IRS, state tax agencies and the tax professional industry are asking for your help in their effort to combat identity theft and fraudulent returns. Working in partnership with you, we can make a difference.

That’s why we launched a public awareness campaign that we call Taxes. Security. Together. We’ve also launched a series of security awareness tips that can help protect you from cybercriminals.

Tens of thousands of new malware programs launch each day, making the use of security software essential to safe internet use. These malware programs can disable your computer, install viruses that give cybercriminals control, steal your data, track your keystrokes to give criminals your passwords and many other malicious acts.

Tax Help for Self-Employed and Sharing Economy

As tax filing season approaches, the Internal Revenue Service wants taxpayers who are self-employed or involved in the sharing economy to know about free resources that are available to help them with their taxes.

Sole proprietors and independent contractors can get helpful information from the IRS Small Business and Self-Employed Tax Center. This resource includes online tools such as the Tax Calendar for Businesses and Self-Employed, which has key tax dates and necessary actions for each month of the year.

For those who provide services to consumers, such as rides in personal vehicles for a fee or the use of property, such as apartments or homes for rent, the IRS created the Sharing Economy Resource Center. It has tips such as:

Income is generally taxable, even if the recipient does not receive a Form 1099, W-2 or some other income statement, but some or all business expenses may be deductible.
There are some simplified options available for deducting many business expenses.
People involved in the sharing economy often need to make estimated tax payments during the year to cover their tax obligation.
Alternatively, people involved in the sharing economy who are employees at another job can often avoid needing to make estimated tax payments by having more tax withheld from their paychecks.

Courtesy of IRS

For more information contact Neikirk, Mahoney and Smith at 502-896-2999

Health Care Law’s Rules Around Seasonal Workers

As an employer, your size – for purposes of the Affordable Care Act –  is determined by the number of your employees. If you hire seasonal or holiday workers, you should know how these employees are counted under the health care law.

Employer benefits, opportunities and requirements are dependent upon your organization’s size and the applicable rules. If you have at least 50 full-time employees, including full-time equivalent employees, on average during the prior year, you are an ALE for the current calendar year.  However, there is an exception for seasonal workers.

If you have at least 50 full-time employees, including full-time equivalent employees, on average during the prior year, your organization is an ALE. Here’s the exception: If your workforce exceeds 50 full-time employees for 120 days or fewer during a calendar year, and the employees in excess of 50 during that period were seasonal workers, your organization is not considered an ALE. For this purpose, a seasonal worker is an employee who performs labor or services on a seasonal basis.

The terms seasonal worker and seasonal employee are both used in the employer shared responsibility provisions, but in two different contexts. Only the term seasonal worker is relevant for determining whether an employer is an applicable large employer subject to the employer shared responsibility provisions.

Courtesy of IRS

For more information contact Neikirk, Mahoney and Smith at 502-896-2999

Small Business Tax Tips

Tax Tip #1: Home Office
Make sure that your office is distinct from your living area. Whether it is a room of its own or a part of a larger space, there should be a clear line between your workspace and the rest of the home
If you only have one computer, claiming it as the office computer will be difficult. No auditor will believe that it is not utilized for personal use as well. The burden of proof will be up to you, so either dedicate a computer solely to work, or omit the computer area from your office space.

Tax Tip #2: Technology Purchases
Up-and-coming businesses need to be up-to-date on their technology, and Uncle Sam does not hinder this. Under Section 179 of the tax code, equipment expenses such as computers, printers, and even company vehicles are tax-deductible, up to a certain amount. Depending on the item, you can deduct the full cost on the year of purchase, or split it between several years.
Business-related software also qualifies under section 179. So don’t be afraid to get the technology you need to perform necessary business tasks. Just be aware of the amount you can deduct under section 179 because it changes yearly.

Tax Tip #3: Travel Costs
Since travel can be necessary for business success and expansion, many of the expenses are completely tax deductible.
Feel free to take your family with you, but only the costs for you, and only those that are business-related, can be deducted.

If you’re taking clients out for a meal, those costs are 50% deductible, just make sure to write on the bill/receipt the reason for the meal.
Conference fees are deductible as long as the conference is directly useful for your business. If it’s a conference related to your industry or will help you run your business more smoothly, then it probably qualifies.

As always with finances, especially taxes, it’s important to keep your receipts and details about the reason for purchases. While doing this for every purchase may seem over-the-top, it’s easy once you get into the habit of it. It will also save you a lot of grief if you get audited, and it will help you keep peace of mind that your finances aren’t going to get your business in trouble.

Courtesy of LessAccounting

For more information contact Neikirk, Mahoney and Smith at 502-896-2999

5 Ways to avoid Audit

While audits are rare, most Americans would probably like to avoid them altogether. The percentage of people who actually are audited is extremely small, according to the Internal Revenue Service, but the number has risen slowly since 2008. If the IRS does decide to audit you, there is little you may do to stop it. You may, however, reduce the odds that you will be singled out for that extra attention in the first place.

1. Check your figures

One of the most common red flags for auditors – erroneous data entry – is also one of the most preventable. It seems simple enough to follow the advice to “double-check your return,” but surprisingly, people often are too careless regarding their taxes. Correctly reporting dependents and exemptions, as well as ensuring that the numbers match, is important because the IRS's automated system will easily detect discrepancies. And they don’t know if that is a mistake or purposeful.

2. Honesty is the best policy

Perhaps it’s common sense, but being 100 percent truthful on your tax return is an absolute must to reduce the chances of an audit. Realistically reporting income, deductions, credits and other figures can help keep the tax man at bay. Not reporting all your income is a surefire way to attract attention.

3. Go vanilla

The largest pool of filers – which consists of individuals or joint filers who earned less than $200,000 but more than the lowest earners – tends to avoid overt scrutiny. Taxpayers who make more than $1 million a year and those in very low income brackets are most likely to be audited.

4. Realistic deductions

Unusual or unrealistic itemized deductions, either for individuals or small business owners, may raise a red flag for auditors.

For a sole proprietor who files Schedule C, which details profits and business expenses, reporting losses for three years or more could encourage an auditor to request proof that the filer is actually in business.

5. E-filing helps

The Internal Revenue Service maintains that filing returns electronically can “dramatically reduce errors,” lowering the odds of an audit. The error rate for a paper return, the IRS reported, is 21 percent. The rate for returns filed electronically is 0.5 percent.

Courtesy of TurboTax

For more information contact Neikirk, Mahoney and Smith at 502-896-2999

Limited Penalty Relief for Filers of Form 1098-T

Announcement 2016-42 provides notice that the IRS will not impose penalties under section 6721 or 6722 on eligible educational institutions with respect to Forms 1098-T, Tuition Statement, required to be filed and furnished for the 2017 calendar year under section 6050S if the institution reports the aggregate amount billed for qualified tuition and related expenses on Form 1098-T instead of the aggregate amount of payments received as required by section 212 of the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015 (Public Law 114-113 (129 Stat. 2242 (2015)).

Announcement 2016-42 will appear in IRB 2016-49  dated December 5, 2016.