Most taxpayers think they have to itemize their deductions to claim them on their tax return. However, that is not entirely true. There are certain deductions that can be claimed while still using the standard deduction.
As tax time approaches, here are some tax issues that taxpayers frequently overlook, ranging from obscure deductions to overlooked tax credits and benefits. Of course, not everything can be included since the tax law has grown significantly in complexity, and it would take a thick book to list everything. But besides what you are probably accustomed to, here are over 20 issues you may not be aware of and that can save you tax dollars.
Congress passed, and former President Trump signed, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021. Included in its approximately 5,600 pages is a second draw of forgivable Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans. The first round allowed loans to businesses with 500 or fewer employees and to certain businesses with multiple locations, for which each location could not have more than 500 employees. Unfortunately, this opened the door to some large businesses gobbling up the allocated funding and shutting out the smaller businesses that the loans were intended to help until additional funding was authorized.
In the past, the IRS has assigned verification numbers to victims of identity theft to file their tax returns, if requested by the victimized individual. These numbers are referred to as identity protection (IP) PINs. The IP PIN is a six-digit code known only to the taxpayer and the IRS. It helps prevent identity thieves from filing fraudulent tax returns using a taxpayer’s personally identifiable information.
Tax time can be one of the most hated times of the year. Just preparing the forms is enough to be an irritant, and if you owe the government money there’s a good chance that you’re downright annoyed. But neither of those things compare to the feeling that accompanies an envelope bearing an IRS return address, alerting you to the fact that your taxes are about to be audited.
There are few things that can send a chill down your spine more than mail from the IRS. Just seeing the agency’s name on an envelope’s return address creates anxiety. If you find yourself in that position and open the mail to find a CP2000 notice inside, you don’t need to panic — but you do need to know what to do.
Here are some of the key tax-related deadlines affecting businesses and other employers during the first quarter of 2021. Although this list isn’t all-inclusive, there may be additional tax deadlines that apply to you.
This is a frequently misunderstood taxation issue, and the answer can be complicated. When someone passes away, all of their assets (their estate) will be subject to estate taxation, and whatever is left after paying the estate tax passes to the decedent’s beneficiaries.
When Congress initially authorized the Paycheck Protection Program, its intent was to provide loans that would be partially or completely forgiven if used for the intended purposes of helping businesses affected by COVID-19 stay afloat and to help those businesses maintain payroll. As part of the Small Business Administration’s (SBA’s) loan application, Form 2483 or lender’s equivalent form, borrowers had to certify under penalty of imprisonment and monetary penalties to the following:
Some folks have been tapping or suspending their retirement savings to make ends meet during this COVID-19 pandemic, and although understandable, it is important that they continue making contributions to their savings as quickly as financially possible.
