One of the most frequent questions we get every year is, “Is my dependent required to file a tax return?” It’s always a complicated response because it requires us to ask more questions to find out the truth. In an effort to help our clients with dependents navigate this easier, these are the filing requirements:
News and Updates
Home > News and Updates
16
Jan
Jan
The New Tax Year is Here!
It doesn’t seem possible but here we are, the beginning of January and the start of another tax year. With calendar year 2022 now in the rear view mirror we bid farewell to all the Covid related law changes like stimulus payments and expanded child tax credits that we’ve had to navigate and we say hello to all the new law changes we have to plan for like expanded retirement savings rules under the SECURE 2.0 bill, 1099-K forms, and also new beefed up energy credits in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA…seriously, couldn’t they have named this something else).
So without further ado, here are some quick reminders:
11
Aug
Aug
Inflation Reduction Act of 2022
If you’ve been following the news the past few weeks you’ve heard about this new bill making its way through the Senate called the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. You’ve also probably heard that it will have tax implications attached to it as well. As this is still only just a bill up on Capital Hill and has not been signed into law yet we’re going to wait and see if there are any additions or subtractions to the tax components. Once it’s official we’ll report back with what the new law is enacting. In the meantime, if you would like to read the bill you can find it here: https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/22128080/inflation-reduction-act-of-2022.pdf
11
Aug
Aug
Mileage Deduction Changes
The IRS recently announced an increase in the standard mileage rate for the last six months of 2022. This change will apply to taxpayers who are self-employed using their automobile for their business as well as rental property owners who travel to their property to perform or oversee maintenance on the property as well as other duties pertaining to the property. It will also apply to individuals who have exceeded the 7.5% AGI floor allowing them to deduct medical expenses as an itemized deduction.
11
Aug
Aug
Get an IP PIN!
For the last seven years or so, if you were a victim of identity theft, meaning some fraudster used yours, or one of your dependent’s, Social Security number to file a false tax return, the IRS would issue you a six digit Identity Protection Personal Identification Number (IP PIN). You would need this number entered on your tax return in order to electronically file the return or even just to paper file.
This feature is now available to everyone and here are two big reasons why you should get one and one caveat for you to keep in mind if you do!
27
Jan
Jan
IRS Expects Complications This Season
The IRS officially opened up the 2021 tax filing season on January 24, 2022 but has already made statements to congress, and the public, that they expect this season to be just as complicated and aggravating as the last two years. Just what we all wanted to hear, right?
The biggest source of frustrations for taxpayers is going to be, without a doubt, delays in refunds. “Normally” (do people even use that word anymore?) the IRS issues federal refunds within a 21 day window of time. However, the IRS has warned us that taxpayers should expect it to take longer due in part to the agency still having roughly 6 million unprocessed 2020 individual returns as of December 23, 2021, that have errors on the return primarily dealing with the Recovery Rebate Credit amounts.
27
Jan
Jan
Power of Attorneys
Matt and Ryan made the decision last summer that we’d like to have all clients provide us with a signed Power of Attorney Form 2848. We saw the writing on the wall and knew this upcoming tax season was going to provide a whole host of challenges and to make life easier on our clients and our staff, it made sense for us to have all possible resources we need to complete your return available to us during tax time.
If you have access to your client portal, a copy of the Power of Attorney was uploaded there for you. If you don’t use our portal then copies would have been mailed to you.
27
Jan
Jan
IRS to Implement New ID Account System
Starting in the summer of 2022, the IRS will require all taxpayers who use the IRS website for things like access to the Child Tax Credit Update Portal, getting their tax transcript, or viewing their payment history to create an account with the third party identity verification company ID.me.
The days of just using a simple username and password are over. Because such sensitive information can now be accessed through the IRS site, you will need to provide a government document with a photo, like your driver’s license, state ID, or passport, AND take a video selfie with your smartphone or computer.
26
Jan
Jan
Matthew Lincoln – Certified Financial Planner™
All of us here at Lincoln Tax Professionals want to congratulate Matt for completing and receiving his Certified Financial Planner™ designation at the end of 2021. It was a long, arduous journey for him and we’re very proud of him for completing it. So the next time you see his name with a CFP® at the end be sure to give him an “atta boy tiger!”
So now that he’s got it, what’s he going to do with it? I’m glad you asked. Later this summer, due to federal and state regulations around financial planning, we’ll be introducing our sibling company, Cadence Planning. We’ll have more information as we get closer to opening up that side of the business but we wanted to let our clients who are looking for more in depth financial planning know who we are. If you have questions about how we’ll operate financial planning, or just want to get on our client wait list, please feel free to reach out to us by phone or email.
18
Aug
Aug
Power of Attorney Form 2848 For All Clients
As we’re sure you’re aware, the past year and a half living under a global pandemic has been unbelievably challenging for everyone. It has been exceptionally difficult for us as preparers navigating complex new tax laws and provisions, incorporated in the middle of tax season no less. One of the biggest challenges we’ve had during this time is dealing with an already under-funded, technologically deprived, and short-staffed IRS. Issues that would, in non-pandemic years, take us a few days to resolve now take weeks or even months. Add to it the US Mail delays affecting tax documents from being delivered and it truly has been a recipe for frustration. At times this season we’ve felt helpless in being able to assist our clients.
