taxpayer - 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

The New COVID-19 Law Provides Businesses and Employees With More Relief

On March 27, President Trump signed into law another coronavirus (COVID-19) law, which provides extensive relief for businesses and employers. Here are some of the tax-related provisions in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act).

Employee retention credit

The new law provides a refundable payroll tax credit for 50% of wages paid by eligible employers to certain employees during the COVID-19 crisis.

Employer eligibility. The credit is available to employers with operations that have been fully or partially suspended as a result of a government order limiting commerce, travel or group meetings. The credit is also provided to employers that have experienced a greater than 50% reduction in quarterly receipts, measured on a year-over-year basis.

The credit isn’t available to employers receiving Small Business Interruption Loans under the new law.

Wage […]

By Linkenheimer LLP|2020-09-03T20:03:12+00:00March 30th, 2020|business, disaster, employer, filing deadline, gift tax, individuals, irs, New Tax Laws, small business, tax deadlines, tax implications, tax planning, taxpayer|0 Comments

What is Your Taxpayer Filing Status?

For tax purposes, December 31 means more than New Year’s Eve celebrations. It affects the filing status box that will be checked on your tax return for the year. When you file your return, you do so with one of five filing statuses, which depend in part on whether you’re married or unmarried on December 31.

More than one filing status may apply, and you can use the one that saves the most tax. It’s also possible that your status options could change during the year.

Here are the filing statuses and who can claim them:

Single. This status is generally used if you’re unmarried, divorced or legally separated under a divorce or separate maintenance decree governed by state law.
Married filing jointly. If you’re married, you can file a joint tax return with your spouse. If your spouse passes away, you can generally file a joint return for that year.
Married filing separately. As an alternative to filing jointly, married couples can choose to file separate tax returns. In some cases, this may result in less tax owed.
Head of household. Certain unmarried taxpayers may qualify to use this status and potentially pay less tax. The […]

By Linkenheimer LLP|2020-09-03T20:03:27+00:00November 21st, 2019|tax implications, taxpayer|0 Comments

Disabled Veterans in California Get a Tax Break

Disabled veterans in California get a tax break. The California State Board of Equalization has announced increases in the property exemption amounts and the household income limit for disabled veterans’ exemptions for 2020. For the 2020 assessment year, the exemption amounts are $143,273 for the basic exemption (up from $139,437 for 2019) and $214,910 for the low-income exemption (up from $209,156 for 2019). The household income limit for those claiming the low-income exemption is $64,337 (up from $62,6147 for 2019). Contact your Linkenheimer CPA with questions.

By Linkenheimer LLP|2020-09-03T20:03:55+00:00June 3rd, 2019|tax planning, taxpayer|0 Comments

The Chances of IRS Audit are Down But You Should Still be Prepared

The IRS just released its audit statistics for the 2018 fiscal year, and fewer taxpayers had their returns examined as compared with prior years. However, even though a small percentage of tax returns are being chosen for audit these days, that will be little consolation if yours is one of them.

Latest statistics

Overall, just 0.59% of individual tax returns were audited in 2018, as compared with 0.62% in 2017. This was the lowest percentage of audits conducted since 2002.

However, as in the past, those with very high incomes face greater odds. For example, in 2018, 2.21% of taxpayers with adjusted gross incomes (AGIs) of between $1 million and $5 million were audited (down from 3.52% in 2017).

The richest taxpayers, those with AGIs of $10 million and more, experienced a steep decline in audits. In 2018, 6.66% of their returns were audited, compared with 14.52% in 2017.

By Linkenheimer LLP|2020-09-03T20:03:56+00:00June 3rd, 2019|audit, irs, tax planning, taxpayer|0 Comments