New Year! New Goals! But guess what else January brings…That’s right—the unofficial start of tax season, and here at Loeffler Financial Group, we’re gearing up to make it as painless as possible for you! We even made some great improvements to our building to better serve you, and our clients!

We understand tax prep isn’t exactly the most exciting part of the year (trust us, we know!). But fear not, because we’re all in this together, and we’re here to offer you a quick reminder.

It’s time to start gathering those tax documents. Round up your W-2s, 1099s, receipts, and any other relevant paperwork. And if you don’t have everything just yet, no need to stress. You still have almost two months until the deadline comes knocking. But remember, the sooner you start, the smoother the process will be!

Here at Loeffler Financial Group, we’re genuinely thrilled because we’re all set to be your tax season partners! Whether you’re a tax prep pro or a rookie, rest assured, we’ve got your back and can guide you every step of the way.

We’re more than just an accounting firm; we’re family. This year, let’s breeze through tax season together, making the journey as easy and stress-free as possible. Stay tuned for helpful tips, important updates, and gentle reminders along the way.

Let’s tackle tax season head-on, together! Call 717-393-7366, or book right online for an easy and stress-free Tax appointment.

An Enrolled Agent (EA) is a federally-authorized tax practitioner who has technical expertise in the field of taxation and who is empowered by the U.S. Department of the Treasury to represent taxpayers before all administrative levels of the Internal Revenue Service for audits, collections, and appeals.

What does the term “Enrolled Agent” mean?

“Enrolled” means to be licensed to practice by the federal government, and “Agent” means authorized to appear in the place of the taxpayer at the IRS. Only Enrolled Agents, attorneys, and CPAs may represent taxpayers before the IRS. The Enrolled Agent profession dates back to 1884 when, after questionable claims had been presented for Civil War losses, Congress acted to regulate persons who represented citizens in their dealings with the U.S. Treasury Department.

How does one become an Enrolled Agent?

The license is earned in one of two ways, by passing a comprehensive examination that covers all aspects of the tax code or by having worked at the IRS for five years in a position that regularly interpreted and applied the tax code and its regulations. All candidates are subjected to a rigorous background check conducted by the IRS.

How can Enrolled Agent help me?

Enrolled Agents advise, represent, and prepare tax returns for individuals, partnerships, corporations, estates, trusts, and any entities with tax-reporting requirements. Enrolled Agents’ expertise in the continually changing field of taxation enables them to effectively represent taxpayers audited by the IRS.

 

Loeffler Financial Group has a team of Tax Advisors, CPA’s and EA’s to help assist with your taxes each year.  Our team of experts stays up-to-date on all the tax laws and changes for the upcoming tax season.

 

Schedule your tax return appointment online here, or call our office at 717-393-7366!

To read more about our tax office and tax advisors click here.

 

A MUST READ if using digital payment tools or reselling tickets

A recent tax law change by this edition of Congress now requires transaction reporting to the IRS for anyone receiving more than $600 in payments through digital payment tools like PayPal, Venmo, and CashApp. It also impacts anyone using transaction platforms to buy or sell tickets for sporting events and concerts. Here is what you need to know.

What is happening now

They need your Social Security number. If you use digital payment platforms you will now need to provide your Social Security number and a valid name and address to accept digital payments or to buy and sell tickets online.

The IRS will know. Most of these transactions for those receiving funds will now have this activity reported to the IRS if the total for the year exceeds $600. This is true even if you lose money on the transaction. It will be done using Form 1099-K and will be issued to you in January.

Your taxes may be more complicated. If the IRS considers the transaction a business transaction, you will now need to report the transaction on your 2022 tax return, even for casual transactions that lose money. This is often the case when selling event tickets for a loss or taking digital payments at a garage sale.

You may receive many 1099-Ks. You can expect to receive a separate 1099-K from every platform you use where you exceed the $600 threshold.

The IRS watchdog approach. Prior to 2022, the reporting threshold was $20,000 AND more than 200 transactions. But with the perceived under-reporting of income by those in the gig economy, the transaction threshold was eliminated and the dollar threshold was lowered to $600. Now the IRS will use their computer auditing to compare your 1099-Ks with what you report on your tax return and audit you if they do not match.

What to do now

Coach your friends. Whenever you exchange money with friends in a digital format like Venmo, have them mark the transaction as non-business. Each application will handle this differently, but it is critical you do this to avoid getting a 1099-K in error.

Use cash or check. When receiving payments from friends, if there is potential for error ask for a check or cash. This will avoid the 1099-K reporting mess.

Split payments. When splitting a bill at a restaurant, do not have one person pay and then get reimbursement. Instead, ask the restaurant to split the bill and everyone pay their share. You can make this easy on your server if you are willing to split the bill evenly.

Understand the problem. When receiving a digital payment, you are relying on the person paying you to code the transaction correctly. Unfortunately, you cannot make them do it correctly, so you now need to keep track of digital money received, who it was from, and for what purpose.

True business transactions. For those of you in the gig economy, you have a different problem. Many reporting platforms are inconsistent on reporting. Some will report your income twice, once on a 1099-K and again on another tax form (1099-MISC or 1099-NEC). You must actively monitor this information. Plus, you need to know whether the amount reported is gross proceeds (required) or whether they netted out their fees.

Casual users of seller platforms are now in business. Infrequent users of places like E-Bay, Etsy and Amazon are now in business when payments received are more than $600. Be prepared to create a business tax return on Schedule C of your Form 1040.

This seemingly simple change in the tax code is having a wide-reaching impact. It will further complicate filing taxes AND processing taxes for the IRS. Given the level of public outcry, a roll back of this new rule is possible, but given the nature of Congress, do not plan on it.

The IRS issues most refunds in fewer than 21 days for taxpayers who file electronically and choose direct deposit. However, some returns have errors or need more review and may take longer to process. The IRS works hard to get refunds to taxpayers quickly, but taxpayers shouldn’t rely on getting a refund by a certain date.

Things that can delay a refund:

The IRS will contact taxpayers by mail if it needs more information to process their returns.

The fastest way to get a tax refund is by filing electronically and choosing direct deposit.

Taxpayers can check the status of their refund online.

To check the status of a refund, taxpayers should use the Where’s My Refund? tool on IRS.gov. If taxpayers file electronically, they should wait twenty-four hours before checking the status of their refund. If taxpayers file a paper return, they should wait four weeks before checking the status.

Loeffler Financial Group, along with the IRS representatives on the phone and at Taxpayer Assistance Centers can only research the status of a refund if:

  • It’s been 21 days or more since the taxpayer filed the return electronically.
  • It’s been six weeks or more since the taxpayer mailed the return.
  • The Where’s My Refund? tool tells the taxpayer to contact the IRS.

 

Taxpayers should file their tax return by the deadline even if they cannot pay their full tax bill. Taxpayers who owe tax and don’t file on time, maybe charged a failure-to-file penalty. This penalty is usually five percent of the tax owed for each month, or part of a month that the tax return is late, up to 25%.

If an individual taxpayer owes taxes, but can’t pay in full by April 18, 2022, deadline, they should:

File their tax return or request an extension of time to file by the April 18 deadline.

  • People who owe tax and do not file their return on time or request an extension may face a failure-to-file penalty for not filing on time. Loeffler Financial Group can file your extension for you per your request.
  • Taxpayers should remember that an extension of time to file is not an extension of time to pay. An extension gives taxpayers until October 17, 2022, to file their 2021 tax return, but taxes owed are still due April 18, 2022.

To get an extension to file, taxpayers must do one of the following:

Pay as much as possible by the April 18 due date.

Set up a payment plan as soon as possible.

Interest is based on the amount of tax owed and for each day it’s not paid in full. Interest rates are determined every three months and can vary, based on type of tax; for example, individual or business-tax liabilities. Loeffler Financial Group is here to assist you with any tax questions you have.

Need to file your tax return still? Call 717-393-7366 to book your appointment with one of our tax experts.

 

What taxpayers should do if they have incorrect or missing documents?

Taxpayers should make sure they have all their documents before filing a tax return.

Taxpayers who haven’t received a W-2 or Form 1099 should contact the employer, payer or issuing agency and request the missing documents. This also applies for those who received an incorrect W-2 or Form 1099.

If they can’t get the forms, they must still file their tax return on time or get an extension to file. To avoid filing an incomplete or amended return, they may need to use Form 4852, Substitute for Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement or Form 1099-R, Distributions From Pensions, Annuities, Retirement or Profit-Sharing Plans, IRAs, Insurance Contracts, Etc.

If a taxpayer doesn’t receive the missing or corrected form in time to file their tax return, they can estimate the wages or payments made to them, as well as any taxes withheld. They can use Form 4852 to report this information on their federal tax return.

If they receive the missing or corrected Form W-2 or Form 1099-R after filing their return and the information differs from their previous estimate, they must file Form 1040-X, Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return.

Most taxpayers should have received their documents near the end of January, including:

• Forms W-2, Wage and Tax Statement
• Form 1099-MISC, Miscellaneous Income
• Form 1099-INT, Interest Income
• Form 1099-NEC, Nonemployee Compensation
• Form 1099-G, Certain Government Payments; like unemployment compensation or state tax refund
• Letter 6419, 2021 Total Advance Child Tax Credit Payments
• Letter 6475, Your 2021 Economic Impact Payment

Incorrect Form 1099-G for unemployment benefits
Many people received unemployment compensation in 2021. Unemployment compensation is taxable and must be reported on the recipient’s tax return.

Taxpayers who receive an incorrect Form 1099-G for unemployment benefits they did not get should contact the issuing state agency to request a revised Form 1099-G showing their correct benefits. Taxpayers who are unable to obtain a timely, corrected form from states should still file an accurate tax return, reporting only the income they did receive.

Reconciling advance child tax credit or economic impact payments
People who need to reconcile advance child tax credit payments or claim the recovery rebate credit will need information about 2021 payments when they file.

These individuals must have the total amounts of advance child tax credit payments to receive the remainder of their child tax credit and the amount of their third Economic Impact Payment to claim a recovery rebate credit. Taxpayers should check their online account or review Letter 6419, 2021 Total Advance Child Tax Credit Payments, and Letter 6475, Your 2021 Economic Impact Payment, for their total payment amounts. This will help them file an accurate return. If they have lost or misplaced these letters, they can check their online account. Married spouses who received joint payments will need to log into their own online account or review their own letter for their portion of the total payment. If filing a 2021 return as married filing jointly, they should add the payments together to provide the total amount.

Loeffler Financial Group is here to help. Schedule a tax appointment with one of our expert tax advisors today, 717-393-7366.

 

September 10, 2021

Employees Who Work for Tips – If you received $20 or more in tips during August, report them to your employer. You can use Form 4070.

September 15, 2021

Individuals – Make a payment of your 2021 estimated tax if you are not paying your income tax for the year through withholding (or will not pay in enough tax that way). Use Form 1040-ES. This is the third installment date for estimated tax in 2021.

Partnerships – File a 2020 calendar year income tax return (Form 1065). This due date applies only if you were given an additional 6-month extension. Provide each shareholder with a copy of Schedule K-1 (Form 1065) or a substitute Schedule K-1.

S corporations – File a 2020 calendar year income tax return (Form 1120S) and pay any tax due. This due date applies only if you made a timely request for an automatic 6-month extension. Provide each shareholder with a copy of Schedule K-1 (Form 1120S) or a substitute Schedule K-1.

Corporations – Deposit the third installment of estimated income tax for 2021. A worksheet, Form 1120-W, is available to help you make an estimate of your tax for the year.

Employers – Nonpayroll withholding. If the monthly deposit rule applies, deposit the tax for payments in August.

Employers – Social Security, Medicare, and withheld income tax. If the monthly deposit rule applies, deposit the tax for payments in August.

 

Questions? Call one of Loeffler Financial Group Tax Advisors at 717-393-7366.

 

 

Avoid These Small Business IRS Audit Mistakes

Businesses that are slowly emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic should now keep their eye on another looming obstacle: IRS audits. In late 2020, the IRS announced that it will increase tax audits of small businesses by 50 percent in 2021. Here are several mistakes to avoid if you do get audited by Uncle Sam.

  • Mistake: Missing income. A long history of investigating has led IRS auditors to focus on under-reported income. If you’re a business that handles cash, expect greater scrutiny from the IRS. The same is true if you generate miscellaneous income that’s reported to the IRS on 1099 forms. Be proactive by tracking and documenting all income from whatever source. Invoices, sales receipts, profit and loss statements, bank records—all can be used to substantiate income amounts.
  • Mistake: Higher than normal business losses. Some small businesses struggle in the early years before becoming profitable. If your company’s bottom line never improves, the IRS may view your enterprise as a hobby and subsequently disallow certain deductions. As a general rule, you must earn a profit in three of the past five years to be considered a legitimate business.
  • Mistake: Deductions lacking substantiation. Do you really use your home office exclusively for business? Does your company earn only $50,000 a year but claim charitable donations of $10,000? Do you write off auto expenses for your only car? The key to satisfying auditors is having clear and unequivocal documentation. They want source documents such as mileage logs that match the amount claimed on your tax return and clearly show a business purpose. If you can’t locate a specific record, look for alternative ways to support your tax return filings. In some cases, a vendor or landlord might have copies of pertinent records.
  • Mistake: No expense reports. If you use your credit card for business, create an expense report with account numbers and attach it to each statement. Then attach copies of the bills that support the charges. This is an easy place to blend in personal expenses with business expenses and auditors know it.
  • Mistake: No separate books, bank accounts or statements. Never run personal expenses through business accounts and vise versa. Have separate bank accounts and credit cards. A sure sign of asking for trouble is not keeping the business separate from personal accounts and activities.
  • Mistake: Treat the auditor as an enemy. Auditors have a job to do, and it’s in your best interest to make their task as painless as possible. Try to maintain an attitude of professional courtesy. If you’re called to their office, show up on time and dress professionally. If they come to your place of business, instruct staff to answer questions honestly and completely.

Please call Loeffler Financial Group if you either need help preparing for an upcoming IRS audit or would like to know how to audit-proof your financial records.

 

Tax filing time is an ideal time to review your financial affairs. You have to gather information to prepare your tax return at this time. Why not take one more step and do something positive for your financial well-being?

The following suggestions will get you started on your financial review:

Hold a discussion with your family. Spouses and children need to share and prioritize their financial aspirations.

  • Write down your financial goals. How much money will you need to meet each goal? When will you need the money, and how will you get it?
  • Construct a net worth statement (a list of your assets and debts), and compare it to last year’s statement. Are you gaining or losing ground?
  • With your goals (and the effects of inflation) in mind, review the performance of your investments.

Take steps to protect what you already have. Goals may become instantly unobtainable if you lose your present assets or your income potential.

  • Do you have adequate disability insurance coverage to replace take-home pay if you become incapacitated?
  • Do you have enough life insurance if you or your spouse should die?
  • Do you have replacement value property insurance on your home?
  • Do you have adequate insurance for calamities such as automobile accidents or lawsuits? Note: Make sure that you need all of the insurance that you have. Do not duplicate employer-provided coverage. Review your coverage annually; do not just automatically renew policies.

Review your will and your estate plan. Did your situation change during the year (marriage, divorce, births, deaths, move to another state, for example)? If so, make appropriate changes to your will and estate plan.

Review your credit use. Keep your credit card bills current. If you’re finding that hard to do, it’s probably time to cut up some of those credit cards and get your debt under control.

Organize your records. If you had trouble assembling data for your financial review, you need a better system. Set one up.