The IRS has announced that Monday, January 29, 2024 is the official start date of the nation’s 2024 Tax Season. It is when the agency will begin accepting and processing 2023 tax returns. However, people can start working on their taxes prior to that, either with a tax professional or software company. January 29th is the first day that the 2023 individual tax returns can be electronically filed with the IRS.
The filing deadline for most taxpayers to submit 2023 individual tax returns, pay any taxes or file an extension is Monday, April 15, 2024. Because of the Patriots’ Day holiday on April 15 in Maine and Massachusetts and the Emancipation Day holiday on April 16 in the District of Columbia, taxpayers who live in Maine or Massachusetts have until April 17, 2024 to file their returns.
The income tax filing deadline is now July 15. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced in a tweet that all taxpayers and businesses will have additional time to file income tax returns and make any payments, without facing interest on payments or penalties for late filing.
Taxpayers may delay filing and paying 2019 Federal income taxes that would have been due on April 15. The new due date is July 15, 2020. This delay applies to taxes due of up to $1 million. This relief applies to all taxpayers, including trusts and estates. Corporations may also delay paying taxes of up to $10 million. Many states, including Massachusetts, have announced that they will follow Federal relief guidelines.
On the MA DOR website, it says: “In the event the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issues tax relief to taxpayers with federal filing obligations, DOR is prepared to follow the IRS in offering similar relief for taxpayers with Massachusetts tax filing obligations. “
The due date for Federal estimated tax payments that would have been due on April 15 for 2020 is also postponed to July 15.
These measures are being enacted to help Taxpayers navigate through the economic effects of COVID-19 (coronavirus). Individual Taxpayers and Businesses will be able to use the money they would have paid to the IRS to meet other needs during the economic crisis related to COVID-19 containment measures.
Due to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, we want to keep you safe and minimize your risk of exposure to the virus. One way to do this is to provide you with great client service by using our secure portal, mail, phone, conference calls or email, instead of having you come to our office location.
The health of our clients, our team, all of our families and the community is of utmost importance to us. Therefore, we are implementing the recommendations and restrictions from our local, state, and federal government, as much as possible, while still delivering personal service and attention to our clients and providing professional and quality accounting, tax, financial and consulting services. We strive to be trusted advisors and consultants to all our clients, even in these difficult times.
Our challenge is to continue to meet the needs of our clients while limiting in-person contact and following social distancing and public health recommendations. Thankfully much of our work can be done using mail, email, secure portal and teleconferences. As a precaution and to limit the possibility of transmittal while meeting the needs of our clients, we are not having any in-person meetings. This meeting policy will remain in effect until further notice.
We believe that these reasonable and responsive steps are the best way to protect our clients, our team, their families, and the community at large. If you have any questions or concerns about our new policy feel free to reach us by email or phone.
Stay safe and healthy!
Included as part of a government spending bill that was signed into law December 20, 2019, The Setting Every Community up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (the Secure Act) changes the age at which individuals must begin taking the required minimum distributions (RMDs) from retirement accounts. The SECURE Act increases the age at which individuals must begin taking RMDs to 72 from 70 1/2. However, the new law only applies to people who turned 70 1/2 after December 31, 2019. If a person turned 70 1/2 in 2019, or have already been required to take RMDs, the law does not apply.
The IRS issued a Tax Tip (Issue Number 2020-25) on reasons taxpayers should electronically file (e-file) their taxes.
The IRS top reasons why taxpayers should file electronically are:
It’s safe and secure.
E-file is often free.
It’s available through many convenient options.
It’s accurate and easy.
People who e-file get faster refunds.
It can be used whether a taxpayer is getting a refund or needs to make a payment.
See the IRS Issue Number: Tax Tip 2020-25 for more details.
The filing deadline to submit 2018 tax returns is Monday, April 15, 2019 for most taxpayers. Because of the Patriots’ Day holiday on April 15 in Maine and Massachusetts and the Emancipation Day holiday on April 16 in the District of Columbia, taxpayers who live in Maine or Massachusetts have until April 17, 2019 to file their returns.
The Internal Revenue Service has announced that the tax season will officially begin Monday, January 28, 2019. This is the day that the IRS will begin accepting electronic tax returns and processing paper tax returns. Most software companies and tax professionals will be accepting tax returns before January 28, and then will submit the returns when IRS systems open.
To prepare for filing your tax return, as you receive your 2018 tax documents, please collect them and keep them with your tax organizer. These documents include such items as your W-2s, Form 1099s, K-1s, brokerage statements, health insurance tax documents, etc. Your check register may also include pertinent information. When you have gathered all your tax information, please set-up an appointment or mail/submit the tax organizer, along with your various tax forms to us.
The Surface Transportation Act of 2015 (“the Highway Act”) revised filing deadlines for partnership tax returns, C corporation tax returns, and foreign information reporting (FinCen 114/FBAR) effective for 2016 tax returns.
The Highway Act accelerates the due date to March 15 (from April 15) for filing partnership tax returns and issuing Schedules K-1 to partners for calendar year filers.
Calendar year C corporations filing date changes to April 15 (from March 15). With this extra 30 days, C corporations have additional time for final information gathering and reporting, which may allow more companies to timely file their tax returns.
Under the Highway Act, the annual foreign bank account reporting (FBAR) on Form FinCEN 114 will be due on April 15, the same due date for filing individual income tax returns. Additionally, taxpayers will be able to request an extension of time to file their Form FinCEN 114 until October 15. It is important for U.S. taxpayers to properly file and report their foreign bank and financial accounts and any income earned, as large penalties can be assessed for failures to report assets and income. The U.S. Treasury has increased scrutiny of U.S. taxpayers holding investments in foreign accounts and the reporting of income earned on those accounts.
Individual Implications of the Partnership Deadline Changes
By having partnerships due on March 15th, instead of April 15th, individuals will have more time to include any Schedule(s) K-1 income and/or loss on their personal income tax returns and are more likely to be able to file their individual return by April 15. It is more convenient to file the FBAR returns at the same time as individual returns, as opposed to the prior June 30th date.
See Original and Extended Tax Return Due Dates for a printable schedule of due dates for the 2016 tax returns prepared during the 2017 tax filing season..
Be aware of these phishing and phone scams and do not fall for them!
Phishing schemes lead the IRS “Dirty Dozen” List of Tax Scams for 2017. The Internal Revenue Service warned taxpayers to watch out for fake emails or websites looking to steal personal information. See IR-2017-15.
In these email schemes, criminals pose as a person or organization the taxpayer trusts or recognizes. They may hack an email account and send mass emails under another person’s name. They may pose as a bank, credit card company, tax software provider or government agency. Criminals go to great lengths to create websites that appear legitimate but contain phony log-in pages. These criminals hope victims will take the bait and provide money, passwords, Social Security numbers and other information that can lead to identity theft.
The IRS saw a big spike in phishing and malware incidents during the 2016 tax season. New and evolving phishing schemes have already been seen this month as scam artists work to confuse taxpayers during filing season. The IRS has already seen email schemes in recent weeks targeting tax professionals, payroll professionals, human resources personnel, schools as well as average taxpayers.
Form W-2 scam targeting Payroll and Human Resource departments is one of the known phishing scams
This email scam uses a corporate officer’s name to request employee Forms W-2 from company payroll or human resources departments.
The IRS already has received new notifications that the email scam is making its way across the nation for a second time. The IRS urges company payroll officials to double check any executive-level or unusual requests for lists of Forms W-2 or Social Security number.
The W-2 scam first appeared in 2016. Cybercriminals tricked payroll and human resource officials into disclosing employee names, SSNs and income information. The thieves then attempted to file fraudulent tax returns for tax refunds.
This phishing variation is known as a “spoofing” e-mail. It will contain, for example, the actual name of the company chief executive officer. In this variation, the “CEO” sends an email to a company payroll office or human resource employee and requests a list of employees and information including SSNs.
The following are some of the details that may be contained in the emails:
Kindly send me the individual 2016 W-2 (PDF) and earnings summary of all W-2 of our company staff for a quick review.
Can you send me the updated list of employees with full details (Name, Social Security Number, Date of Birth, Home Address, Salary).I want you to send me the list of W-2 copy of employees wage and tax statement for 2016, I need them in PDF file type, you can send it as an attachment. Kindly prepare the lists and email them to me asap.
Phone scams are a serious threat and remain on the IRS “Dirty Dozen” List of Tax Scams for 2017. Aggressive and threatening phone calls by criminals impersonating IRS agents remain a major threat to taxpayers. See IR-2017-19.
An aggressive and sophisticated phone scam targeting taxpayers, including recent immigrants, has been making the rounds throughout the country. Callers claim to be employees of the IRS, but are not. These con artists can sound convincing when they call. They use fake names and bogus IRS identification badge numbers. They may know a lot about their targets, and they usually alter the caller ID to make it look like the IRS is calling.
Victims are told they owe money to the IRS and it must be paid promptly through a pre-loaded debit card or wire transfer. If the victim refuses to cooperate, they are then threatened with arrest, deportation or suspension of a business or driver’s license. In many cases, the caller becomes hostile and insulting.
Or, victims may be told they have a refund due to try to trick them into sharing private information. If the phone isn’t answered, the scammers often leave an “urgent” callback request.
The IRS will never: