How to identify Scams and Avoid Becoming a Victim
It’s natural for thieves to use the IRS and other government entities to ply their scams against the public through email and phone scams in order to steal your money. They can trick you into giving out your date of birth, account numbers, passwords and even your Social Security number!
These scams have reached epidemic proportions and this article will hopefully provide you with the knowledge to identify scams and avoid becoming a victim.
It’s the holiday season and that means it’s that time of year when the majority of charities start soliciting for year-end donations. And that means that it’s the perfect time of year when fake charities start showing up in force hoping to convince you to give them a monetary donation.
Take Advantage of Tax Breaks Now!
Once again, this year is similar to the last few years when it comes to year-end tax planning due to the uncertainty over whether Congress will extend any of the many expired or expiring tax provisions. However, this is not a reason to wait as tax savings can still be realized by taking advantage of tax breaks that are still on the books for 2015. The following tax breaks apply to both individuals and small businesses:
In 2014, Benjamin Miller from Indiana posted a tweet that included a picture of notice he received from the IRS indicating that he owes a penalty of $2,344 because he didn’t have health insurance. Needless to say, his tweet went viral and ignited a firestorm.
If you’re thinking about retiring or leaving your current employer, you would be required to take a distribution from your employer’s retirement plan. Depending upon the terms of the plan as well as your age, a distribution may not be required immediately. However, it is important that when you do have to take the distribution that you are aware of a potential number of tax pitfalls that you might incur.
No doubt you’ve attended charity functions that have auction events where you can bid upon and purchase items. If so, questions often arise as to whether the money you spent on the items purchased would be considered as a charitable donation.
Did you file a tax extension for your 2014 tax return? Remember, this one and only tax extension will expire on October 15, 2015. If you don’t file before this date, you are subject to late filing penalties so please contact our office so we can assist in meeting this filing deadline.
If you are an owner of a small business it is extremely important for you to be aware of your company’s financial status and the best way to do that is to have an accurate balance sheet. If this information is kept up to date on a quarterly basis, the balance sheet will help you avoid future surprises. It’s simple accounting – assets must be balanced by and equal to the liabilities plus the owner or shareholder’s equity.
It’s that time again – September 15, 2015, is the extended due date for filing those returns.
Pass-through entities such as Partnerships, S-corporations, and fiduciaries (trusts, estates) pass their income, deductions, credits, etc., through to their investors, partners, or beneficiaries, who in turn report the various items on their individual tax returns. Partnerships file Form 1065, S-corps file Form 1120-S, and Fiduciaries file Form 1041, with each partner, shareholder, or beneficiary receiving a Schedule K-1 from the entity that shows their share of the reportable items.
How Much Other Income You Have Can Affect What you Owe
Normally, Social Security benefits that you receive are not taxable. However, that will depend on your total income – the higher the income, the more taxes you’ll have to pay on your benefits.
