irs - Linkenheimer LLP CPAs & Advisors

What Tax Documents Can You Safely Shred? And Which Ones Should You Keep?

Once your 2024 tax return is in the hands of the IRS, you may be tempted to clear out file cabinets and delete digital folders. But before reaching for the shredder or delete button, remember that some paperwork still has two important purposes:

Protecting you if the IRS comes calling for an audit, and
Helping you prove the tax basis of assets you’ll sell in the future.

Keep the return itself — indefinitely

Your filed tax returns are the cornerstone of your records. But what about supporting records such as receipts and canceled checks? In general, except in cases of fraud or substantial understatement of income, the IRS can only assess tax within three years after the return for that year was filed (or three years after the return was due). For example, if you filed your 2022 tax return by its original due date of April 18, 2023, the IRS has until April 18, 2026, to assess a tax deficiency against you. If you file late, the IRS generally has three years from the date you filed.

In addition to receipts and canceled checks, you should keep records, including credit card statements, W-2s, 1099s, […]

By Linkenheimer LLP|2025-04-15T18:38:28+00:00April 15th, 2025|audit, irs, taxpayer|0 Comments

Try IRS’s Online Tools for Immediate Assistance

With the busiest time in the tax filing season approaching, the IRS is reminding taxpayers of the online tools available at IRS.gov to get immediate answers. Various options are available at the Let us help you page that include information on filing a tax return, letters from the IRS, tax transcripts, refund status, and more. Self-service options are available at the Tools page where taxpayers can get free help online. Some taxpayers may file their tax returns for free by going to the File your taxes for free page. Step-by-step help for filing a tax return is provided at How to file your taxes: Step by step. Also, individuals with social security numbers or individual taxpayer identification numbers (ITIN) can create (or securely access) their Individual Online Account where they can access their tax records, view, approve and sign authorizations from their tax professional, check refund status, make payments, etc. If you have questions or need assistance, please dont hesitate to reach out to your Linkenheimer CPA.

By Linkenheimer LLP|2025-02-19T21:06:09+00:00February 19th, 2025|irs|0 Comments

IRS, Security Summit Partners Urge People to Watch Out for Bad Tax Advice on Social Media

The Internal Revenue Service and the Security Summit partners issued a consumer alert about the growing threat of bad tax advice on social media that continues to dupe people into filing inaccurate tax returns.

The IRS and the Security Summit partners are spotlighting the wildly inaccurate tax claims that continue building across social media. These scams take many different forms and make outlandish promises to inflate refunds.

“The growth of bad tax advice on social media continues to grow, luring unsuspecting taxpayers into filing bad tax returns,” said IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel. “We urge people to do some research before falling for these scams. Finding a trusted tax professional or visiting IRS.gov is a better way to research a tax issue than relying on someone talking in their car or their kitchen about a non-existent tax hack.”

For years, members of the Security Summit – representing state tax agencies, tax professionals, tax software companies, and the financial industry – have worked to raise awareness about tax-related identity theft and related tax scams. To counter this growing threat of tax scams, many of the Summit members have joined together to launch a related group, the Coalition […]

By Linkenheimer LLP|2024-12-17T19:16:41+00:00December 17th, 2024|irs, IT, Tech|0 Comments

IRS ERC Disallowance Notices: What You Need to Know

The IRS has announced a significant development regarding the Employee Retention Credit (ERC). If you or your business filed an ERC claim, you may receive a disallowance notice or a request for repayment. The IRS is issuing these notices automatically or based on a preliminary calculation that may not fully account for the complexities of the program’s rules. With 840,000 to 980,000 notices expected to be sent in the coming months, here’s what you need to know.

What’s Happening?

The IRS initially projected the ERC program to pay out $77 billion; however, over $230 billion has already been distributed. Additionally, 1.4 million claims remain pending. Of these, 60–70% are expected to receive additional scrutiny or notices.

Using time during the recent moratorium, the IRS digitized its ERC claims process and is now sending automated disallowance notices, including:

Notice 105C
Notice 106C
Notice 6577

Expect waves of 30,000 to 40,000 disallowance notices every 4–8 weeks, affecting both partial and full claims. These notices require swift action as response deadlines are often short—ranging from 15 days to a few weeks.

IRS Investigations and Audits

The IRS is also […]

By Linkenheimer LLP|2024-12-06T04:27:53+00:00December 6th, 2024|irs|0 Comments

IRS Encourages All Taxpayers to Sign Up for an IP PIN for the 2025 Tax Season

As the 2025 tax season approaches, the IRS encourages all taxpayers to take an important step to safeguard their identity by signing up for an Identity Protection Personal Identification Number (IP PIN).

This simple yet crucial step can provide an added layer of security, helping protect against tax-related identity theft.

The IRS encourages taxpayers to sign up for IRS Online Account, which provides a quick and easy way to obtain an IP PIN. Signing up early will ensure taxpayers have extra safety by having an IP PIN to electronically file their returns when the filing season begins in 2025.

The IRS encourages people to sign up for an IP PIN before Nov. 23, 2024. After this date, the IP PIN system will undergo maintenance and will not be available again until early January 2025. Signing up for an IP PIN now will ensure that a taxpayer’s identity is protected when the filing season begins. New IP PINs are generated for the 2025 filing season during this period, so online enrollees must retrieve their new IP PIN starting early January 2025.

An IP PIN is a six-digit number that prevents someone else from filing […]

By Linkenheimer LLP|2024-10-30T14:21:56+00:00October 28th, 2024|irs, Tech|0 Comments