irs - Linkenheimer LLP CPAs & Advisors

IRS Audit Techniques Guides Provide Clues to What May Come Up If Your Business is Audited

IRS examiners use Audit Techniques Guides (ATGs) to prepare for audits — and so can small business owners. Many ATGs target specific industries, such as construction. Others address issues that frequently arise in audits, such as executive compensation and fringe benefits. These publications can provide valuable insights into issues that might surface if your business is audited.

What do ATGs cover?

The IRS compiles information obtained from past examinations of taxpayers and publishes its findings in ATGs. Typically, these publications explain:

The nature of the industry or issue,
Accounting methods commonly used in an industry,
Relevant audit examination techniques,
Common and industry-specific compliance issues,
Business practices,
Industry terminology, and
Sample interview questions.

By using a specific ATG, an examiner may, for example, be able to reconcile discrepancies when reported income or expenses aren’t consistent with what’s normal for the industry or to identify anomalies within the geographic area in which the taxpayer resides.

What do ATGs advise?

ATGs cover the types of documentation IRS examiners should request from taxpayers and what relevant information might be uncovered during a tour of the business premises. These guides are intended in part to help examiners identify potential sources of income that could otherwise slip through the cracks.

Other issues […]

By Linkenheimer LLP|2020-09-03T20:04:41+00:00May 9th, 2018|audit, irs|0 Comments

IRS Reminds Retirees of April 1 Deadline to Take Required Retirement Plan Distributions

The Internal Revenue Service today reminded taxpayers who turned age 70½ during 2017 that, in most cases, they must start receiving required minimum distributions (RMDs) from Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) and workplace retirement plans by Sunday, April 1, 2018.

The April 1 deadline applies to all employer-sponsored retirement plans, including profit-sharing plans, 401(k) plans, 403(b) plans and 457(b) plans. The RMD rules also apply to traditional IRAs and IRA-based plans such as SEPs, SARSEPs, and SIMPLE IRAs, however, they do not apply to ROTH IRAs.

The April 1 RMD deadline only applies to the required distribution for the first year. For all subsequent years, including the year in which recipients were paid the first RMD by April 1, the RMD must be made by Dec. 31. A taxpayer who turned 70½ in 2017 and receives the first required distribution (for 2017) on April 1, 2018, for example, must still receive the second RMD by Dec. 31, 2018.

Affected taxpayers who turned 70½ during 2017 must figure the RMD for the first year using the life expectancy as of their birthday in 2017 and their account balance on Dec. […]

By Linkenheimer LLP|2020-09-03T20:04:41+00:00March 15th, 2018|irs, retirement|0 Comments

IRS Releases Updated Withholdings Calculator and 2018 W-4 Form

The IRS has completed updating its online withholding calculator that individual taxpayers can use to determine how many withholding allowances they should claim for 2018. The IRS also issued a new 2018 Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate. The IRS had previously announced that taxpayers could use the old 2017 Form W-4, as modified in Notice 2018-14, until 30 days after the new form was issued.

The calculator and new Form W-4 are designed to implement changes made by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (passed earlier this year), which increased the standard deduction, removed personal exemptions, increased the child tax credit, limited or discontinued certain deductions, and changed the tax rates and brackets, among many other changes.

To use the calculator, taxpayers should have certain information available, including an estimate of their 2018 income and other items that affect their taxes, including the number of children claimed for the child tax credit and the earned income tax credit. The IRS emphasized that the calculator is used to compute the amount of tax to be […]

By Linkenheimer LLP|2020-09-03T20:04:42+00:00March 2nd, 2018|irs, New Tax Laws, withhold|0 Comments

IRS FAQ on Casualty Tree Loss

We’ve had a number of clients ask us questions since the wildfires on tree loss and what that means in terms of determining a casualty loss on property. Below is an FAQ from the IRS which should hopefully provide some good information. If you have any questions, feel free to ask your Linkenheimer CPA.

Q: How does a taxpayer determine a casualty loss from damaged trees and other landscaping on personal-use residential property when that loss is attributable to a disaster?

A: In determining the amount of a casualty loss from damage to personal-use residential property, trees and other landscaping are considered part of the entire residential property, and are not valued separately or assigned a separate basis, even if purchased separately.

To compute your casualty loss:

Determine your adjusted basis in the entire residential property before the casualty. Your basis is generally the cost of the property, adjusted for improvements and certain other events. For more information on determining your adjusted basis, see Publication 530, Tax information for First-Time Homeowners, and Publication 551, Basis of Assets

Determine the decrease in fair market value of the entire residential property as a result of the casualty.

From the smaller of these […]

By Linkenheimer LLP|2020-09-03T20:04:48+00:00December 7th, 2017|casualty loss, Community, irs|0 Comments

Tax Relief for Victims of California Wildfires

As the local fires near containment and our community looks to band together in the rebuilding process, we wanted to send out a brief update the IRS released today providing an overview of the tax relief and extensions they are offering. We will continue to put out pertinent information as it becomes available. Over the next 24 hours, we will also provide a detailed guide related to tax relief for victims of the fires. If you have any questions, please feel free to call or email your Linkenheimer CPA.

The IRS has provided tax relief for the victims of wildfires affecting parts of California. Currently, the IRS is providing relief to seven California counties: Butte, Lake, Mendocino, Napa, Nevada, Sonoma, and Yuba. The tax relief postpones various tax filing and payment deadlines that occur starting on 10/8/17. Affected individuals and businesses now have until 1/31/18 to file returns and pay any taxes that are originally due during the relief period. This includes quarterly estimated tax payments, extended 2016 income tax returns, and quarterly payroll and excise tax returns. The IRS noted that tax payments related to 2016 individual tax returns were originally due […]

By Linkenheimer LLP|2020-09-03T20:04:51+00:00October 18th, 2017|Community, disaster, Fire Relief Info, irs, relief|0 Comments