irs - Linkenheimer LLP CPAs & Advisors

Some California Taxpayers are Receiving Erroneous Late Notices

Some California taxpayers are receiving erroneous late notices. Taxpayers who reside in federally declared disaster areas have been granted extra time to accomplish state tax-related tasks, such as filing tax returns and paying taxes due. The CA Franchise Tax Board (FTB) has reported that, due to a systemic issue, some taxpayers who qualify for this relief have received notices assessing late-filing penalties. While the FTB works to update its system and address this issue, taxpayers can contact the FTB on its homepage and click live chat: https://bit.ly/2MG3HMz

If you have questions, you can also contact your Linkenheimer CPA.

By Linkenheimer LLP|2018-10-02T19:02:24+00:00October 2nd, 2018|disaster, ftb, irs, tax|0 Comments

Be Sure Your Employee Travel Expense Reimbursements Will Pass Muster with the IRS

Does your business reimburse employees’ work-related travel expenses? If you do, you know that it can help you attract and retain employees. If you don’t, you might want to start, because changes under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) make such reimbursements even more attractive to employees. Travel reimbursements also come with tax benefits, but only if you follow a method that passes muster with the IRS.

The TCJA’s impact

Before the TCJA, unreimbursed work-related travel expenses generally were deductible on an employee’s individual tax return (subject to a 50% limit for meals and entertainment) as a miscellaneous itemized deduction. However, many employees weren’t able to benefit from the deduction because either they didn’t itemize deductions or they didn’t have enough miscellaneous itemized expenses to exceed the 2% of adjusted gross income (AGI) floor that applied.

For 2018 through 2025, the TCJA suspends miscellaneous itemized deductions subject to the 2% of AGI floor. That means even employees who itemize deductions and have enough expenses that they would exceed the floor won’t be able to enjoy a tax deduction for business travel. Therefore, business travel expense reimbursements are now more important to employees.

The potential tax benefits

Your business […]

By Linkenheimer LLP|2020-09-03T20:04:28+00:00October 2nd, 2018|employer, expensing, irs, New Tax Laws|0 Comments

What Businesses Need to Know About the Tax Treatment of Bitcoin and Other Virtual Currencies

Over the last several years, virtual currency has become increasingly popular. Bitcoin is the most widely recognized form of virtual currency, also commonly referred to as digital, electronic or crypto currency.

While most smaller businesses aren’t yet accepting bitcoin or other virtual currency payments from their customers, more and more larger businesses are. And the trend may trickle down to smaller businesses. Businesses also can pay employees or independent contractors with virtual currency. But what are the tax consequences of these transactions?

Bitcoin 101

Bitcoin has an equivalent value in real currency and can be digitally traded between users. It also can be purchased with real currencies or exchanged for real currencies. Bitcoin is most commonly obtained through virtual currency ATMs or online exchanges.

Goods or services can be paid for using “bitcoin wallet” software. When a purchase is made, the software digitally posts the transaction to a global public ledger. This prevents the same unit of virtual currency from being used multiple times.

Tax impact

Questions about the tax impact of virtual currency abound. And the IRS has yet to offer much guidance.

The IRS did establish in a 2014 ruling that bitcoin and other convertible virtual currency should be […]

By Linkenheimer LLP|2020-09-03T20:04:39+00:00June 5th, 2018|credit, irs, payments, tax, tax implications|0 Comments

Law Change Affects Moving, Mileage and Travel Expenses

The Internal Revenue Service recently provided information to taxpayers and employers about changes from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that affect:

Move related vehicle expenses
Un-reimbursed employee expenses
Vehicle expensing

Changes to the deduction for move-related vehicle expenses

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act suspends the deduction for moving expenses for tax years beginning after Dec. 31, 2017, and goes through Jan. 1, 2026. Thus, during the suspension no deduction is allowed for use of an automobile as part of a move using the mileage rate listed in Notice 2018-03. This suspension does not apply to members of the Armed Forces of the United States on active duty who move pursuant to a military order related to a permanent change of station.

Changes to the deduction for un-reimbursed employee expenses

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act also suspends all miscellaneous itemized deductions that are subject to the 2 percent of adjusted gross income floor. This change affects un-reimbursed employee expenses such as uniforms, union dues and the deduction for business-related meals, entertainment and travel.

Thus, the business standard mileage rate listed in Notice 2018-03, which was issued before the Tax Cuts and […]

By Linkenheimer LLP|2020-09-03T20:04:40+00:00May 31st, 2018|irs, moving expenses|0 Comments

Do You Need to Adjust Your Withholding?

If you received a large refund after filing your 2017 income tax return, you’re probably enjoying the influx of cash. But a large refund isn’t all positive. It also means you were essentially giving the government an interest-free loan.

That’s why a large refund for the previous tax year would usually indicate that you should consider reducing the amounts you’re having withheld (and/or what estimated tax payments you’re making) for the current year. But 2018 is a little different.

The TCJA and withholding

To reflect changes under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) — such as the increase in the standard deduction, suspension of personal exemptions and changes in tax rates and brackets — the IRS updated the withholding tables that indicate how much employers should hold back from their employees’ paychecks, generally reducing the amount withheld.

The new tables may provide the correct amount of tax withholding for individuals with simple tax situations, but they might cause other taxpayers to not have enough withheld to pay their ultimate tax liabilities under the TCJA. So even if you received a large refund this year, you could end up owing a significant amount of tax when you file […]

By Linkenheimer LLP|2020-09-03T20:04:41+00:00May 11th, 2018|irs, tax, withhold|0 Comments