On Tuesday, September 17, 2019, Tropical Storm Imelda made landfall in Texas. Over the course of a few days, several cities in the Gulf Coast region endured heavy rain, which left various areas, streets and highways underwater. The PKF Texas office and our team members were safe, however, other Texans unfortunately were impacted by Imelda.
Are You Ready for September 16 Tax Deadline?
If you’re self-employed and don’t have withholding from paychecks, you probably have to make estimated tax payments. These payments must be sent to the IRS on a quarterly basis. The third 2019 estimated tax payment deadline for individuals is Monday, September 16.
Even if you do have some withholding from paychecks or payments you receive, you may still have to make estimated payments if you receive other types of income, such as Social Security, prizes, rent, interest and dividends.
How to Handle “No-Match” Letters from SSA
In the past few months, many businesses and employers nationwide have received “no-match” letters from the Social Security Administration (SSA). The purpose of these letters is to alert employers if there’s a discrepancy between the agency’s files and data reported on W-2 forms, which are given to employees and filed with the IRS. Specifically, they point out that an employee’s name and Social Security number (SSN) don’t match the government’s records.
According to the SSA, the purpose of the letters is to “advise employers that corrections are needed in order for us to properly post” employees’ earnings to the correct records. If a person’s earnings are missing, the worker may not qualify for all of the Social Security benefits he or she is entitled to, or the benefit received may be incorrect. The no-match letters began going out in the spring of 2019.
Your Not-for-Profit Receives an IRS Audit Letter… Now What?
The IRS’s staffing shortages have been well publicized and audits of individuals have decreased in the past several years. But it’s a mistake to assume that the agency has stopped scrutinizing not-for-profits and conducting audits when it deems necessary. If your organization receives an IRS audit letter, you need to know what the process involves and how you can help resolve it as quickly as possible.
How Associations Can Preserve Tax-Exempt Status by Avoiding Certain Activities
Not-for-profit trade associations, or 501(c)(6) organizations, exist to promote their members’ common interests and improve business conditions or “one or more lines of interest.” Whether the association is a local chamber of commerce, a real estate board or a large professional group, associations’ tax-exempt status is contingent on their sponsoring certain types of activities — and avoiding others.
When they fail to do so, the IRS may take action.
Chances of IRS Audit May be Down but 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.
Find Out Why the IRS Might Not Send Your Refund
It’s that time of year when many people who filed their tax returns in April are checking their mail or bank accounts to see if their refunds have landed. According to the IRS, most refunds are issued in less than 21 calendar days.
However, it may take longer — and in rare cases, refunds might not come at all.
Questions You May Have After Filing Your Tax Return
Once your 2018 tax return has been successfully filed with the IRS, you may still have some questions.
Here are brief answers to three questions that we’re frequently asked at this time of year.
File Your 2018 Income Tax Return Sooner Rather Than Later…
The IRS opened the 2018 income tax return filing season on January 28. Even if you typically don’t file until much closer to the April 15 deadline, this year you should consider filing as soon as you can. Why? You can potentially protect yourself from tax identity theft — and reap other benefits, too.
What is tax identity theft?
In a tax identity theft scheme, a thief uses your personal information to file a fraudulent tax return early in the filing season and claim a bogus refund.
You discover the fraud when you file your return and are informed by the IRS that the return has been rejected because one with your Social Security number has already been filed for the same tax year. While you should ultimately be able to prove that your return is the legitimate one, tax identity theft can cause major headaches to straighten out and significantly delay your refund.
Filing early may be your best defense: If you file first, it will be the tax return filed by a would-be thief that will be rejected — not yours.
Best Practices – Financials for Religious Congregations
Churches, synagogues, mosques and other religious congregations aren’t required to file tax returns, so they might not regularly hire independent accountants. But regardless of size, religious organizations often are subject to other requirements, such as paying unrelated business income tax (UBIT) and properly classifying employees.
Without the oversight of tax authorities or outside accountants, religious