In an effort to help close the "tax gap," the IRS has launched a new compliance program targeting the underreporting of income by business taxpayers that receive Form 1099-K information returns from credit card companies and third-party transaction networks. If your business receives a Form 1099-K because it accepts payment cards from customers, you may receive IRS letters and notices for underreported gross receipts. Starting in 2011, Form 1099-K reports the gross amount of reportable transacti...
December 10, 2012 12:00 am
2012 Roth IRA Conversions The IRS made significant changes to conversion rules starting in 2010. In the past high income earners with incomes over $100,000 were not allowed to convert to a Roth IRA. Their incomes also kept them from contributing to a Roth IRA.
December 10, 2012 12:00 am
Accelerate income and defer deductions. If your business operates as a flow-through, accelerate your income to 2012 to take advantage of the lower rates. Accelerate itemized deductions.
December 10, 2012 12:00 am
Millions of taxpayers would see their filing season upended unless Congress enacts a legislative fix to the Alternative Minimum Tax by the end of the year. But if the patch does not happen; an extra 28 million households would get hit with the AMT, an alternative system that is supposed to take aim at wealthy taxpayers legally avoiding taxes. The last legislative fix expired at the end of 2011, making the AMT one of the more immediate threats in the looming “fiscal cliff.” More than 60 million t...
December 3, 2012 12:00 am
Beginning on Jan. 1, 2013, the standard mileage rates for the use of a car (also vans, pickups or panel trucks) will be: 56.5 cents per mile for business miles driven 24 cents per mile driven for medical or moving purposes 14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations
December 3, 2012 12:00 am
If you have one or more traditional IRAs set up in your name and will be age 70 1/2 or older at year-end. You must comply with the so-called required minimum distribution (RMD) rules or face a stiff penalty. These rules force older account owners to take annual withdrawals from their IRAs and pay the resulting extra federal income tax.
December 3, 2012 12:00 am
The basic mechanism for a taxpayer to alert the IRS about the existence of a foreign financial account is Form TD F 90-22.1 (Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts) (FBAR). FBAR filing requirement. Under 31 U.S.C.
November 26, 2012 12:00 am
As the end of the year approaches, it's time to consider strategies that can help you reduce your tax bill. Review withholdings If you project that you'll owe a substantial amount when you file this year's income tax return, ask your employer to increase your federal income tax withholding amounts. If you have both wage and consulting income and are making estimated tax payments, there's an added benefit to doing this: Even though the additional withholding may need to come from your last few pa...
November 26, 2012 12:00 am
S Corporations with Prior C Corporation E&P Because of the advantageous treatment afforded S corporation distributions, there is tremendous motivation for a C corporation with substantial E&P to convert to an S corporation prior to making a distribution, so that the distribution will be treated as a tax-free return of shareholder stock basis rather than a taxable dividend. Recognizing this potential loophole, the statute provides that a C corporation’s accumulated E&P survives the S ...
November 19, 2012 12:00 am
