IRS grants tax filing extensions to Florida taxpayers due to Hurricane Irma

The IRS on Tuesday reported it was granting filing and installment due date relief for those impacted by Hurricane Irma.

The help is focused to people and organizations in misfortune territories assigned by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). This incorporates parts of Florida.  The specific counties of Florida include: Broward, Charlotte, Clay, Collier, Duval, Flagler, Hillsborough, Lee, Manatee, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Palm Beach, Pinellas, Putnam, Sarasota and  St. Johns Counties.

 

Any individual who lives in one of the impacted locales, or claims a business there, consequently qualifies and won’t have to contact the IRS to ask for the filing relief.

The IRS will grant relief to January 31, 2018 the filing and installment due dates for individual and business that were initially due this year beginning from September 4 in Florida.

For instance, a taxpayer or business that usually needed to file quarterly payments by September 15 this year and January 16 one year from now will get the automatic relief.  In addition Businesses with extensions also have the additional time including, among others, calendar-year entities whose 2016 extensions run out on Sept. 15, 2017 now have until January 31, 2018 to file.

The same goes for individual taxpayers already’s identity given an extension to file their 2016 returns on October 15, 2017. Yet, take note of that any individual who still owes cash on their 2016 expenses won’t be given an expansion to pay what they owe. They’re as of now late on that since all installments on 2016 taxes due were expected by April 18 of this current year.

For more information, see IR-2017-150, Sept. 12, 2017 for the IRS website at www.irs.gov  

Alternative Tax Facts

When Free is another word for Up-sell

Several online tax preparation software programs boasts about being free. They call it something like Absolute Zero. But once you’ve started your return, it doesn’t take long for them to try to push you into something much more expensive. And they do it in a very clever way, too.

For example, there’s something called “Plus” that costs $29.99. It shows up only after you’ve started your “free” return. It’s not on their homepage and we couldn’t find it on the product comparison chart either.

Because Plus isn’t listed on their website, you may think you have to upgrade to the Deluxe product to get those same features. Deluxe costs $34.99 for a federal return – an extra $36.99 to file your state taxes. A filer who isn’t aware Plus is available could easily over pay by more than 40 bucks to file a simple return.

That’s not transparent. We think you deserve better.

www.arisCPA.com

Form 1099-MISC

On the off chance that you get income from a source other than earned wages, you may get a Form 1099-MISC.  For the most part, the salary on this frame is liable to government taxes. The IRS requires businesses that pay others (typically, individuals, single-member LLCs, etc.) miscellaneous income to issue Form 1099-MISC to their payees and requires the payees to incorporate these installments on their tax returns.

A few sorts of wage can be accounted for on Form 1099-MISC, including non-employee remuneration, lease, royalties and fishing proceeds. A standout among the most well-known explanations behind getting a 1099-MISC is performing as a self-employed entity.

Penalties for not issuing

Individuals and organizations that make installments of incidental pay to people must give the payee a Form 1099-MISC by the end (as a rule) of February of the year taking after the assessment year in which the income was paid. Be that as it may, if the installment is for non-employee pay then it should appear in box 7 of Form 1099-MISC, then it is required to be recorded by January 31st. For instance, on the off chance that you got incidental pay in 2016 that is non-worker remuneration, the paying foundation or individual must issue Form 1099-MISC by January 31, 2017. On the off chance that the establishment neglects to do as such, the punishment against the organization fluctuates from $30 to $100 per form ($500,000 most extreme per year), contingent upon to what extent past the due date the organization issues the form. If an organization purposefully ignores the prerequisite to give a right payee explanation, it is liable to a base punishment of $250 per form, with no max.

Managing Your Self-Employment Deductions

It’s tax time once more, and now’s the time to manage your self-employment tax deductions for the year that past and for the upcoming year.

The job of managing  business deductions may be a bit more challenging than it’s for salaried staff since you have got to trace deductions and expenses associated with running your business.

Here square measure tips to manage your self-employment expenses all year and at tax time:

Know Your Deductions

Managing your self-employment tax deductions starts with knowing which deductions you qualify for taking. The business deductions you’ll take for the most part rely upon what business you have got, however you may be stunned at what number deductions you’ll take! As an example, if you have got a product-based business, you’ll take deductions  associated with the assembly  of your merchandise, like the value of inventory, space for storing, handling & delivery, and selling expenses.

If you have got a service-based business, your deductions may be associated with selling, travel, meals and entertainment, automotive expenses, rent or office expenses, and technology.

Some of the self-employment deductions that a lot of folks overlook are the business use of your personal phone and laptop, office in your home, and business use of your personal vehicle.   You can also take an interest deduction paid on loans that were employed in your business, similarly as any varieties of education or categories you participated in, as long because the purpose was directly associated with your business.

Also, don’t miss our on the self-employment medical insurance deduction. you can deduct the total  of premiums for medical insurance, dental insurance, and long care insurance.   You may be surprised that you can take these deductions as associate “above the line,”  which lowers your taxable income, even though you don’t itemize your tax deductions.  The best part is that since you don’t have to deduct those premiums as associated itemized deduction, they aren’t subject to the specified 10% of adjusted gross income (AGI) reduction (7.5% if you’re sixty five or older) that medical expenses are usually subject to if you’re an employee.

Keep Track of Your Deductions

The easiest way is to use a checking account and credit card for all business-related expenses thus all transactions are in one place, and to often record them in an accounting system/ledger.

But if you don’t use an accounting system, or if you frequently run business expenses through your personal accounts, the task could also be tougher. Some credit cards can give you with a year-end outline that tallies up all of your expense classes.  However with personal checking accounts, you got to review your monthly statements for the whole year to see precisely what represents business income and expenses.

If you can, it’s best to use a business -only checking account thus you don’t got to worry concerning co-mingling business and private income and expenses.

Retirement Plans for the Self-employed

One of the easiest ways that to extend your self-employment deductions is by using a retirement savings plan.  Typically, the deductions out there for these plans are generous than they’re for salaried folks with a similar income levels.

Here are samples of the most freelance retirement plans that are available:

  • Solo 401(k). This arrangement (i.e. The Plan) allows you to contribute the maximum amount of $54,000 each year in 2017 (or $60,000 if you’re fifty or older).  After you establish a solo 401(k) arrangement, you’re the employee and employer for Plan.  As an employee, you may contribute up to $18,000 to the Plan (or $24,000 if you’re fifty or older).  However as employer, you may contribute up to twenty five percent of your business income to the Plan, which means that if you have got a business income of $100,000, you’ll contribute $18,000 to the Plan as associated worker, plus $25,000 ($100,000 X 25%) as the company, for a complete tax-deductible contribution of $43,000.
  • SEP IRA. A SEP is an IRA, however one with even higher contribution limits. For 2016, you’ll contribute up to $53,000 to the SEP (scheduled to rise to $54,000 for 2017) or twenty five percent of your net business income to the SEP, which suggests $25,000 on a net business income of $100,000.

Taxes don’t have to be an enormous expense if you are self-employed.  If you find out how to manage your self-employment expenses all year, you’ll simplify the process for your CPA when doing your taxes and save cash for your business in a very major way.

New Affordable Care Act Fraud: what you have to know

Consistently trick specialists devise new plans to dupe a huge number of individuals. As of late, it appears to be a standout amongst the most prominent frameworks to target is the IRS.

Shockingly, fraudsters are grinding away at the end of the day – acting like the IRS trying to take citizens’ well deserved cash.

To keep your financial balance and private data protected, this is what you have to think about the most recent Affordable Care Act (ACA) scam/trick.

Not all messages can be trusted 

On Thursday, the IRS reported another trick including fake CP2000 notices, the most widely recognized notice sent by the organization.

An authentic CP2000 is sent by the IRS when pay reported from a business or other outsider source isn’t a match with the wage covered a salary expense form. Fraudsters are making false CP2000 notices and messaging them to citizens alongside a bill for unpaid 2015 expenses identified with the ACA.

The email gives off an impression of being issued from an Austin, Texas address and incorporates a connection of the fake CP2000, a demand for data in regards to their 2014 ACA scope and an installment voucher that rundowns the letter number as “105C.”

The frame requests that citizens compose a check to the “I.R.S.” and mail it to an “Austin Processing Center” at a P.O. Box address. The email additionally contains a connection to make an immediate installment.

What to do if this transpires 

In the event that you get one of these messages, don’t react, open the connection or tap on any connections/links.

Instantly forward the email to [email protected] and after that erase it.

Tell your loved ones about the trick so they can avoid potential risk.

When you know it’s fake 

Consistently, we get various messages, telephone calls or records asking for data. It can rapidly get to be distinctly hard to recognize an imposter – particularly on the off chance that you don’t realize what a genuine notice resembles.

With regards to figuring out whether you’ve gotten a genuine notice or demand for data from the IRS, remember the accompanying.

The IRS won’t speak with a citizen or communicate something specific about an assessment account through email. All correspondence is sent through the U.S. Postal Service.

The IRS will never request individual or money related data, similar to a PIN, secret key or a charge card and ledger number.

The address of the official IRS site closes in .gov. Try not to be deceived by a site asserting to be the IRS, yet it’s address closes in .com or another assignment.

In this particular case, you can likewise look at what a genuine CP2000 see looks like by going by the IRS page, “Understanding Your CP2000 Notice”.

If all else fails, get it out 

In case despite everything you’re thinking about whether a notice you got is legitimate, don’t be reluctant to get the telephone and ask the IRS straightforwardly. The office can let you know whether they have motivation to get in touch with you.

On the off chance that the notice is a trick, make sure to report it to the IRS. Thusly, you can keep others from being misled.

About Us

arisCPA™ and AER Enterprises, LLC

CPA practice adept at identifying and understanding key drivers of growth and structuring solutions to fulfill customer needs through business process improvement, human capital management, and technology enablement.  Our Managing Director, Aris Rogers is an experienced, down-to-earth, finance executive that loves improving processes that run a business.  He served 20 years as the CFO for a multinational entity which afforded him a vast exposure to many business issues…and great travel opportunities globally.  He has traveled to over 15 countries.

Whether you’re a small business or a middle-market enterprise,  arisCPA™ can help you run and grow your operations by employing a host of services from business entity set-up, ERP selection and implementation, business process improvement, tax strategy and preparation, to out-sourced CFO services.  Call today at +1.813.369.0479 or by email at [email protected] for a free 1 hour consultation.

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