Category Archives: TipOffs

TipOffs

IRS issues new Strategic Plan; five-year plan’s goal to help taxpayers

From IRS Latest Issue ( Issue Number: IR-2018-123) referring to the new strategic plan to help taxpayers. Here it is…

WASHINGTON –– The Internal Revenue Service today released a new five-year Strategic Plan outlining goals to improve taxpayer service and tax administration.

The Fiscal Year 2018-2022 IRS Strategic Plan will serve as a roadmap to help guide the agency’s programs and operations. The plan will also help meet the changing needs of taxpayers and members of the tax community.

“Providing service to taxpayers is a vital part of the IRS mission, and the new Strategic Plan lays out a vision of ways to help improve our tax system,” said IRS Acting Commissioner David Kautter. “The plan is part of an ongoing effort by the IRS to work with the tax community and find ways to improve our work for taxpayers and for the nation.” Continue reading →

About Employer Identification Number (EIN) and apply for it

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An Employer Identification Number (EIN) is also known as a Federal Tax Identification Number, and is used to identify a business entity. Generally, every businesses need an EIN to electronically report their taxes with the IRS. Employer Identification Numbers are issued for the purpose of tax administration and are not intended for participation in any other activities (e.g., tax lien auction or sales, lotteries, etc.). If you don’t have one for your business, apply for it today and allow upto 15 days to get one in your preferred name.

Check here: Do You Need an EIN?

Determine Your Eligibility

You may apply for an EIN online if your principal business is located in the United States or U.S. Territories.
The person applying online must have a valid Taxpayer Identification Number (SSN, ITIN, EIN).
You are limited to one EIN per responsible party per day.

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Can we just get along?

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I recently attended a conference for warehouse professionals. I was intrigued by one of the sessions titled, “Managing Carrier Friendly Warehouses” and decided to attend. The facilitator asked the audience how many were from the warehouse industry and how many were from the carrier side.

Apparently, I was the only person in the room interested in how these executives were working on becoming more “carrier friendly.” I was asked to give them some ideas on how they could better accommodate drivers.

My list included a nice lounge with fresh fruit and snacks, comfortable chairs to sit in and showers and rest rooms for both men and women. I suggested they include free wi-fi and make available a “courtesy car” if the driver wants to leave the facility while he or she is waiting for a load. Continue reading →

Annual exempt organization return: Due date is May 15

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Extension of Time to File Exempt Organization Returns

Use Form 8868, Application for Extension of Time To File an Exempt Organization Return, to request a 6-month automatic extension of time to file any of the following returns:

Form 990, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax
Form 990-BL, Information and Initial Excise Tax Return for Black Lung Benefit Trusts and
Certain Related Persons
Form 990-EZ, Short Form Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax
Form 990-PF, Return of Private Foundation
Form 990-T, Unrelated Business Income Tax Return
Form 1041-A, U.S. Information Return – Trust Accumulation of Charitable Amounts
Form 4720, Return of Certain Excise Taxes on Charities and Other Persons under Chapter 41
and 42 of the Internal Revenue Code
Form 5227, Split Interest Trust Information Return
Form 6069, Return of Excise Tax on Excess Contributions to Black Lung Benefit Trust under
Section 4953 and Computation of Section 192 Deduction
Form 8870, Information Return for Transfers Associated with Certain Personal Benefit Contracts

An organization will only be allowed an extension of 6 months for a return for a tax year. Continue reading →

Just a week left to complete your Quarterly Federal Excise Tax Returns

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The Federal Excise Tax returns are reported at the end of a quarterly with the IRS through the Tax Form 720. This excise tax return is now due for the 1st Quarter of 2018, April 30th is the last date to report it. You could prepare and report it online through http://TaxExcise.com, the only website that supports electronic filing for all the federal excise tax returns.

Along with the Federal Excise Tax returns, IFTA Fuel Tax returns reports on your heavy motor vehicles for the 1st Quarter is also due in this April, 30. Prepare it online, print them to file it manually with your state authorities.

Why TaxExcise.com?

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IRS Provides Additional Day to File and Pay for Taxpayers Through Wednesday, April 18; IRS Processing Systems Back Online

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The Internal Revenue Service announced that it is providing taxpayers an additional day to file and pay their taxes following system issues that surfaced early on the April 17 tax deadline. Individuals and businesses with a filing or payment due date of April 17 will now have until midnight on Wednesday, April 18. Taxpayers do not need to do anything to receive this extra time.

The IRS encountered system issues Tuesday morning. Throughout the system outage, taxpayers were still able to file their tax returns electronically through their software providers and Free File. Taxpayers using paper to file and pay their taxes at the deadline were not affected by the system issue.

“This is the busiest tax day of the year, and the IRS apologizes for the inconvenience this system issue caused for taxpayers,” said Acting IRS Commissioner David Kautter. “The IRS appreciates everyone’s patience during this period. The extra time will help taxpayers affected by this situation.” Continue reading →

What Taxpayers Should do When They Need More Time to Pay

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From the IRS latest issue (Issue Number: Tax Tip Number 2018-58), IRS shares a most important tax tip about getting more time to pay the tax liabilities.

All taxpayers should file their taxes on time, even if they can’t pay what they owe. This saves them from a potential failure-to-file penalty. While taxes are due by the original due date of the return, some taxpayers are unable to pay them by the deadline.

Here are some tips for those who can’t pay their taxes in full by the April 17 deadline:

File on Time and Pay as Much as Possible. Taxpayers can pay online, by phone, by check or money order, or with their mobile device using the IRS2Go app.
Get a Loan or Use a Credit Card to Pay the Tax. The interest and fees charged by a bank or credit card company may be less than IRS interest and penalties.
Use the Online Payment Agreement tool. Taxpayers should not wait for the IRS to send a bill before setting up a payment plan. The best way to do this is to use the Online Payment Agreement tool. Taxpayers can also file an Installment Agreement Request with their return and set up a direct debit agreement, eliminating the need to send a check each month.
Don’t Ignore a Tax Bill. The IRS may take collection action against taxpayers who don’t respond to notices. Taxpayers should contact the IRS right away by calling the phone number on their bills to talk about options. The IRS will work with taxpayers suffering financial hardship.

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Showing appreciation…

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“Those who have the ability to be grateful are the ones who have the ability to achieve greatness,” Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free.

When was the last time you received a hand written thank you note, or a card just to let you know someone was thinking of you? If you’re like most people, it’s probably been too long. When was the last time you wrote a thank you note?

If you know me personally, you’ll know that I am a firm believer in writing thank you notes. Apparently, I instilled that same conviction in my children, as the thank you notes from both my son and daughter are sure to follow a gift, party or act of kindness. I keep them to remind myself of the good times we shared.

Most people use the excuse that they either don’t have the materials handy or they don’t have the time to write out and mail a thank you note. Both excuses are just a reflection of your priorities. Keep notes, pens and stamps in plain sight so you can take a moment to send your thoughts without much effort. Continue reading →

Tax deadline just days away; nearly 40 million to file by April 17

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In the recent IRS issue (IR-2018-92, April 13, 2018), highlighted the April 17 deadline for filing tax returns and if you’re not ready then file for extension, the automatic extension tax pushes your due date to October 15.

IRS YouTube Videos: Extension of Time to File – English | Spanish | ASL

As the April 17 tax filing deadline approaches, the Internal Revenue Service is reminding the nearly 40 million taxpayers who have yet to file their tax returns that there are a variety of options to help them in the final days of the tax filing season.

IRS tax help is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week on IRS.gov. Whether filing a tax return, requesting an extension or making a payment, the IRS website can help last-minute filers on just about everything related to filing taxes.

Information about free e-file options, such as FreeFile, how to request an automatic six-month filing extension or fast and easy ways to pay any tax due using IRS Direct Pay are available online at IRS.gov.

The busiest part of tax season begins this week, with millions of people planning to file. Through April 6, the IRS has processed more than 101 million tax returns and issued more than 79.1 million tax refunds totaling $226.6 billion. The average refund to date is $2,864.

Additional filing season numbers: Continue reading →

Tax Time Tips from the IRS

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Tax Time! IRS has issued a Tax Tip (Issue Number: Tax Tip 2018-56), here it is…

The tax filing deadline is Tuesday, April 17 this year. This is because April 15 falls on a weekend and the following Monday is a holiday in the District of Columbia. Even with an extra two days, the IRS urges taxpayers to avoid waiting until the last minute to file their taxes.

For those who have yet to file, the IRS has five quick ideas to help:

1. Gather Records. Good recordkeeping is important. It helps to ensure that nothing gets overlooked. Records such as receipts and cancelled checks also provide expense documentation.

2. Use IRS Online Tools. The IRS has many useful online tools, including the Interactive Tax Assistant, which provides answers to many tax questions. It gives the same answers that an IRS representative would give over the phone. Continue reading →