irs - Linkenheimer LLP CPAs & Advisors

Valuable Gifts to Charity May Require an Appraisal

If you donate valuable items to charity, you may be required to get an appraisal. The IRS requires donors and charitable organizations to supply certain information to prove their right to deduct charitable contributions. If you donate an item of property (or a group of similar items) worth more than $5,000, certain appraisal requirements apply. You must:

Get a “qualified appraisal,”
Receive the qualified appraisal before your tax return is due,
Attach an “appraisal summary” to the first tax return on which the deduction is claimed,
Include other information with the return, and
Maintain certain records.

Keep these definitions in mind. A qualified appraisal is a complex and detailed document. It must be prepared and signed by a qualified appraiser. An appraisal summary is a summary of a qualified appraisal made on Form 8283 and attached to the donor’s return.

While courts have allowed taxpayers some latitude in meeting the “qualified appraisal” rules, you should aim for exact compliance.

The qualified appraisal isn’t submitted separately to the IRS in most cases. Instead, the appraisal summary, which is a separate statement prepared on an IRS form, is attached to the donor’s tax return. However, a copy of the […]

By Linkenheimer LLP|2022-05-04T18:53:27+00:00May 4th, 2022|charity|0 Comments

Businesses May Receive Notices About Information Returns That Don’t Match IRS Records

The IRS has begun mailing notices to businesses, financial institutions and other payers that filed certain returns with information that doesn’t match the agency’s records.

These CP2100 and CP2100A notices are sent by the IRS twice a year to payers who filed information returns that are missing a Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), have an incorrect name or have a combination of both.

Each notice has a list of persons who received payments from the business with identified TIN issues.

If you receive one of these notices, you need to compare the accounts listed on the notice with your records and correct or update your records, if necessary. This can also include correcting backup withholding on payments made to payees.

Which returns are involved?

Businesses, financial institutions and other payers are required to file with the IRS various information returns reporting certain payments they make to independent contractors, customers and others. These information returns include:

Form 1099-B, Proceeds from Broker and Barter Exchange Transactions,
Form 1099-DIV, Dividends and Distributions,
Form 1099-INT, Interest Income,
Form 1099-K, Payment Card and Third-Party Network Transactions,
Form 1099-MISC, Miscellaneous Income,
Form 1099-NEC, Nonemployee Compensation, and
Form W-2G, Certain Gambling Winnings.

Do you have backup […]

By Linkenheimer LLP|2022-05-02T23:06:07+00:00May 2nd, 2022|business, irs|0 Comments

Fully Deduct Business Meals This Year

The federal government is helping to pick up the tab for certain business meals. Under a provision that’s part of one of the COVID-19 relief laws, the usual deduction for 50% of the cost of business meals is doubled to 100% for food and beverages provided by restaurants in 2022 (and 2021).

So, you can take a customer out for a business meal or order take-out for your team and temporarily write off the entire cost — including the tip, sales tax and any delivery charges.

Basic rules

Despite eliminating deductions for business entertainment expenses in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), a business taxpayer could still deduct 50% of the cost of qualified business meals, including meals incurred while traveling away from home on business. (The TCJA generally eliminated the 50% deduction for business entertainment expenses incurred after 2017 on a permanent basis.)

To help struggling restaurants during the pandemic, the Consolidated Appropriations Act doubled the business meal deduction temporarily for 2021 and 2022. Unless Congress acts to extend this tax break, it will expire on December 31, 2022.

Currently, the deduction for business meals is allowed if the following requirements are met:

The expense is […]

By Linkenheimer LLP|2022-04-05T16:19:46+00:00April 5th, 2022|business, deduction, deductions, expensing|0 Comments

It’s Almost That Time of Year Again! If You’re Not Ready, File for an Extension

The clock is ticking down to the April 18 tax filing deadline. Sometimes, it’s not possible to gather your tax information and file by the due date. If you need more time, you should file for an extension on Form 4868.

An extension will give you until October 17 to file and allows you to avoid incurring “failure-to-file” penalties. However, it only provides extra time to file, not to pay. Whatever tax you estimate is owed must still be sent by April 18, or you’ll incur penalties — and as you’ll see below, they can be steep.

Failure to file vs. failure to pay

Separate penalties apply for failing to pay and failing to file. The failure-to-pay penalty runs at 0.5% for each month (or part of a month) the payment is late. For example, if payment is due April 18 and is made May 25, the penalty is 1% (0.5% times 2 months or partial months). The maximum penalty is […]

By Linkenheimer LLP|2022-03-29T23:24:33+00:00March 29th, 2022|extension, extensions, irs, tax deadlines|0 Comments

2022 Q2 Tax Calendar: Key Deadlines for Businesses and Other Employers

Here are some of the key tax-related deadlines that apply to businesses and other employers during the second quarter of 2022. Keep in mind that this list isn’t all-inclusive, so there may be additional deadlines that apply to you. Contact your Linkenheimer CPA to ensure you’re meeting all applicable deadlines and to learn more about the filing requirements.

April 18

If you’re a calendar-year corporation, file a 2021 income tax return (Form 1120) or file for an automatic six-month extension (Form 7004) and pay any tax due.
Corporations pay the first installment of 2022 estimated income taxes.
For individuals, file a 2021 income tax return (Form 1040 or Form 1040-SR) or file for an automatic six-month extension (Form 4868) and paying any tax due. (See June 15 for an exception for certain taxpayers.)
For individuals, pay the first installment of 2022 estimated taxes, if you don’t pay income tax through withholding (Form 1040-ES).

May 2

Employers report income tax withholding and FICA taxes for the first quarter of 2022 (Form 941) and pay any tax due.

May 10

Employers report income tax withholding and FICA taxes for the first quarter of 2022 (Form 941), if […]

By Linkenheimer LLP|2022-03-28T18:58:27+00:00March 28th, 2022|tax deadlines|0 Comments