tax - Linkenheimer LLP CPAs & Advisors

Smooth Sailing: Tips To Speed Processing And Avoid Hassles This Tax Season

The IRS began accepting 2021 individual tax returns on January 24. If you haven’t prepared yet for tax season, here are three quick tips to help speed processing and avoid hassles.

Tip 1. Contact us soon for an appointment to prepare your tax return.

Tip 2. Gather all documents needed to prepare an accurate return. This includes W-2 and 1099 forms. In addition, you may have received statements or letters in connection with Economic Impact Payments (EIPs) or advance Child Tax Credit (CTC) payments.

Letter 6419, 2021 Total Advance Child Tax Credit Payments, tells taxpayers who received CTC payments how much they received. Since the advance payments represented about one-half of the total credit, taxpayers who received CTC payments need to file a return to collect the rest of the credit. Letter 6475, Your Third Economic Impact Payment, tells taxpayers who received an EIP in 2021 the amount of that payment. Taxpayers […]

By Linkenheimer LLP|2022-01-28T21:03:23+00:00January 28th, 2022|New Tax Laws, tax planning, tax time|0 Comments

There’s a Deduction For Student Loan Interest … But Do You Qualify For It?

If you’re paying back college loans for yourself or your children, you may wonder if you can deduct the interest you pay on the loans. The answer is yes, subject to certain limits. The maximum amount of student loan interest you can deduct each year is $2,500. Unfortunately, the deduction is phased out if your adjusted gross income (AGI) exceeds certain levels, and as explained below, the levels aren’t very high.

The interest must be for a “qualified education loan,” which means a debt incurred to pay tuition, room and board, and related expenses to attend a post-high school educational institution, including certain vocational schools. Certain postgraduate programs also qualify. Therefore, an internship or residency program leading to a degree or certificate awarded by an institution of higher education, hospital or health care facility offering postgraduate training can qualify.

It doesn’t matter when the loan was taken out or whether interest payments made in earlier years on the loan were deductible or not.

By Linkenheimer LLP|2022-01-03T22:58:51+00:00January 3rd, 2022|deduction, deductions, New Tax Laws|0 Comments

Thinking About Participating In Your Employer’s 401(k) Plan? Here’s How It Works

Employers offer 401(k) plans for many reasons, including to attract and retain talent. These plans help an employee accumulate a retirement nest egg on a tax-advantaged basis. If you’re thinking about participating in a plan at work, here are some of the features.

Under a 401(k) plan, you have the option of setting aside a certain amount of your wages in a qualified retirement plan. By electing to set cash aside in a 401(k) plan, you’ll reduce your gross income, and defer tax on the amount until the cash (adjusted by earnings) is distributed to you. It will either be distributed from the plan or from an IRA or other plan that you roll your proceeds into after leaving your job.

Tax advantages

Your wages or other compensation will be reduced by the amount of pre-tax contributions that you make — saving you current income taxes. But the amounts will still be subject to Social Security and Medicare taxes. If your employer’s plan […]

By Linkenheimer LLP|2021-10-28T22:01:03+00:00October 28th, 2021|401k, employer|0 Comments

California Tax Updates for 10/28

Update 1:

Required supplemental paid sick leave (SPSL) related to COVID-19 expired in California on Sept. 30, 2021. Specifically, that leave was required of employers with at least 26 employees. However, a number of CA localities continue to require some form of SPSL. They include Long Beach (for employers with at least 500 employees); Los Angeles city and county (also for employers with 500 or more employees); and Oakland (for employers of 50 or more workers). Sonoma County has a pending extension to a prior law.

Update 2:

California’s 529 college savings plan conforms to recent changes in the federal tax law. Those changes expanded allowable withdrawals from 529 plans to include expenses associated with participation in a registered apprenticeship program and student loan repayment, for taxable years beginning Jan. 1, 2021 or after. Also, for the same period, CA legislation disallows the deduction available on qualified education loan interest to the extent such interest is paid as a tax-free distribution from a […]

By Linkenheimer LLP|2021-10-28T17:25:37+00:00October 28th, 2021|ca, CA tax, california, college tax credit|0 Comments

Employers: The Social Security Wage Base is Increasing in 2022

The Social Security Administration recently announced that the wage base for computing Social Security tax will increase to $147,000 for 2022 (up from $142,800 for 2021). Wages and self-employment income above this threshold aren’t subject to Social Security tax.

Background information

The Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) imposes two taxes on employers, employees and self-employed workers — one for Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance, which is commonly known as the Social Security tax, and the other for Hospital Insurance, which is commonly known as the Medicare tax.

There’s a maximum amount of compensation subject to the Social Security tax, but no maximum for Medicare tax. For 2022, the FICA tax rate for employers is 7.65% — 6.2% for Social Security and 1.45% for Medicare (the same as in 2021).

2022 updates

For 2022, an employee will pay:

6.2% Social Security tax on the first $147,000 of wages (6.2% of $147,000 makes the maximum tax $9,114), plus
1.45% Medicare tax on the first $200,000 of wages ($250,000 for joint returns; $125,000 for married taxpayers filing a separate return), plus
2.35% Medicare tax (regular 1.45% Medicare tax plus 0.9% additional Medicare tax) on all wages in excess of […]

By Linkenheimer LLP|2021-10-28T16:19:50+00:00October 28th, 2021|social security|0 Comments