Yardley CPA

Does Tax Dome offer website templates? I currently do not have a website but have been considering it. The site I am looking to create will have updated features similar to what CPASiteColutions.com offers. Updated information and data that automatically populates the site. Tax tips and other informative data. Does Tax Dome offer that? I am going to reach out to them but was hoping to hear from individuals who use the offer first. Thanks!

I received monthly solicitations advising of the waning discounts that they were offering over their initial renewal option. Haven't received one in a while. With that said, after nearly 25 years of using ATX / Saber, I made the switch to ProSeries. I couldn't justify the rising cost of ATX. So far, so good with ProSeries and I find that many of the features I paid extra for with ATX (advanced calculations and portal access) are part of my package price for ProSeries. I received their 2021 program update last week and will begin the process of transferring my existing ATX clients into ProSeries. I recognize there will be a bit of a learning curve and I'll have a better sense whether my choice was a good one or not after tax season, but I'm excited to move forward.

You have to smile when you hear these types of responses from "professionals". When was the last time the IRS randomly accessed an individuals account electronically just because?? I think that preparers approach is a disservice to his clients. Processing returns electronically is more efficient and I believe more secure as well. I would never inform a client they should not efile, I actually encourage it and it's been quite a while since I prepared a paper return. There isn't much you can do to sway the opinion of some people, you just have to grin and move on.

Can someone please verify that Thursday, November 11 is the last day that a 2020 1040 can be efiled with ATX? Thank you.

I just renewed. One less thing to do in December.

The Wall Street Journals position on this proposal: OPINION REVIEW & OUTLOOK The IRS Wants to Look at Your Bank Account Its quest for missing revenue would threaten taxpayer privacy. By The Editorial Board Oct. 4, 2021 6:43 pm ET On your next trip to the ATM, imagine that Uncle Sam is looking over your shoulder. As if your annual tax filing wasn’t invasive enough, the Biden Administration would like a look at your checking account. Charles Rettig, commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, wants banks to report annual cash flows for ordinary account holders. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is promoting the plan, and the House Ways and Means Committee is debating whether to include this mandate in the Democrats’ $3.5 trillion spending bill. Ms. Yellen says the reporting will help to catch wealthy tax dodgers. In a recent letter to the committee she said the plan would reveal “opaque income streams that disproportionately accrue to the top.” Treasury and congressional Democrats hope taxpayers will report income more accurately if they know the feds have their account information. Yet the IRS plans to review every account above a $600 balance, or with more than $600 of transactions in a year. So every American with a job could get looked over. A group of 41 industry groups recently warned congressional leaders that the plan “is not remotely targeted” to detect major tax avoidance. It’s also a privacy breach waiting to happen. Not long ago the confidential tax records of Jeff Bezos, Mike Bloomberg and other wealthy Americans were exposed by ProPublica. Whoever leaked or hacked those records committed a crime, but the IRS has revealed nothing from its promised investigation. Adding bank account info to the IRS trove would risk the disclosure of savings and spending information of political adversaries in the same way. Twenty-three state treasurers and auditors signed a letter last month opposing the plan, calling it “one of the largest infringements of data privacy in our nation’s history.” Nebraska Treasurer John Murante says his state won’t comply if the reporting rule takes effect. Casting a wide net over personal finances is a longstanding aim for Democrats and the political left. President Obama in 2009 formed a panel to discuss closing the “tax gap,” arguing that widespread underreporting of income costs the government hundreds of billions a year. The House continues to debate the bank account proposal, but the spending bill already includes $80 billion for the IRS to hire thousands of new staffers. Treasury estimates that these changes would collect $700 billion in revenue over the coming decade. But Rep. Kevin Brady, the top Republican on Ways and Means, points out that the tax gap is murkier than Democrats admit. “The IRS will admit their data is seven years old,” Mr. Brady told CNBC in July, noting that the agency’s estimates don’t account for the 2017 federal tax reform that limited many loopholes. “What they’re saying is give us a ton of money, let’s hire a bunch of auditors and we think this will create revenue.” Overestimating the results of greater enforcement lets the Biden Administration attach a higher revenue number to its multi-trillion-dollar spending proposal. That’s bad enough. But the bigger threat of giving the IRS access to the details of your bank account is that politicians will eventually find a way to control how you save and spend your own money. This is a bad idea that deserves to die. Copyright ©2021 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8 Appeared in the October 5, 2021, print edition as 'The IRS and Your Bank Account.'

I'm having a complete brain freeze this morning. Client sold rental property that was originally purchased in 2005. Sale price was $253,000. Purchase price was $170,000. Land was valued at $100,000 at the time, so $70,000 was depreciated. Entering the information in the Fixed Asset schedule, Disposition tab. How is the land value of $100,000 handled?? Is it included as a basis adjustment? I appreciate any input...I seem to be fogging up on this one.

This has the potential to turn into a record keeping / reporting nightmare for banks and other financial institutions. I'm sure it will impact us as tax preparers also. Time will tell. Under Biden Plan, The IRS Would Know A Lot More About Your Bank Accounts (Forbes.com) President Biden announced the American Families Plan today, which is designed to “grow the middle class and expand benefits of economic growth to all Americans.” The American Families Plan includes a lot to like, no matter what side of the aisle you are on. By any measure, the amount of benefits being proposed is staggering, which begs the question, how will we pay for all of this? By increasing IRS enforcement, by increasing reporting obligations for financial institutions, and by raising taxes on the wealthy. Each aspect of this plan is worthy of its own column. This column will focus what a senior administration official called one of the “significant steps” designed to make “sure that [ ] taxpayers are paying the taxes they already owe”: increased reporting obligations for financial institutions. Simply put, the American Families Plan calls for banks and other financial institutions to report more than just a taxpayer’s interest earned, capital gains and losses. Banks and other financial institutions would also be required to report “aggregate account outflows and inflows.” In other words, the IRS will know about all of your bank accounts, whether you earned income on that account or not, how much is in the account in a given year, and how much was transferred in and out of the account. It is unclear how this would work, but what is clear is that this new reporting obligation will create a massive compliance effort on the part of financial institutions, and eliminate a massive blindspot that the IRS is currently enduring. As things stand today, most taxpayers don’t have an obligation to report how much money they have in their bank accounts, how much they deposited, or how much they withdrew. Self-employed taxpayers who - like all Americans - self-report their income and deductions to the IRS are on the honor system. W-2 Wage earners, on the other hand, have their amount of wages reported to the IRS on their behalf. The IRS’s lack of information about the balance of the business bank account, how much was deposited, and how much was withdrawn allows the self-employed taxpayer to lie (or make an honest mistake) about gross receipts or gross revenue. For some self-employed taxpayers, this temptation is hard to resist. Cheating on taxes by taking outlandish deductions is likely to end up in an IRS audit, but under-reporting revenue is harder to track or identify. By requiring banks to report highest balances and aggregate deposits and withdrawals, the American Families Plan will effectively close off the option of underreporting gross receipts or revenues for businesses and self-employed taxpayers. It may create problems, however, that should be considered and addressed as this plan works its way through Congress. For example, consider a young couple saving up to buy a home. All savings are put into the “dream home” savings account. Then, when it comes time to make the down payment, the $50,000 dream home savings goes into the regular checking account, which is then wired to the seller’s escrow account. Buying a home is not a taxable event (at least for federal income tax), selling one is. Will the IRS receive information from the financial institutions that leads to an audit? Conversely, say the young couple receives the down payment as a gift from their parents. If the parents gifted $50,000 to the adult children to make a down payment, that must be reported on a gift tax return, even though no gift tax is due. This type of gift is frequently made, and in my practice as a tax controversy lawyer, rarely reported as it should be. The increased financial reporting obligation would likely increase compliance with gift tax reporting rules. If the proposal to require financial institutions to increase reporting to include account balances, inflows and outflows, is passed there is no question it will increase taxes collected. Both self-reporting and audit outcomes will likely be improved. However, defending against an IRS exam is stressful and can be costly. The Biden administration and Congress should work together to ensure that taxpayers who simply move funds between accounts are not audited solely as a result of the proposed increased financial reporting obligations for financial institutions.

Wondering who here is a member of the NATP? Do you feel the membership is useful to your practice? What type of information does the association provide and how often? I am considering a membership but wanted to get some feedback first. Thank you!

New client going through a divorce that has not yet been finalized. No returns were filed for 2019 or 2020 as the husband indicated "we're only going to owe, so why file". They lived apart in 2018 and 2019. They have two children, both in school but both claimed themselves in 2020 on their respective returns. One did not claim themselves in 2019 but made above the wage amount. They received one stimulus payment in early 2020 of $2,900. They indicated that is $1,200 for the husband, wife and $500 for one child. I prepared the 2019 and 2020 returns, claiming MFS. She had wages of $21K in 2019 and only withheld $26. She owes over $1,200. For 2020, I indicated she received a stimulus of $1,200. Based on that, the return is showing she is due $600 in additional stimulus. Questions: - I don't think this is possible but would appreciate your input since maybe I missed something...can she file the 2019 return without any payment and have them net any stimulus against it? - For 2020, Is claiming $1,200 as the amount she received as stimulus the correct amount? - Anything I'm missing? Thanks for reviewing this.

It was a challenging tax season for many of us. Normally, during this time of year, calls and emails from clients are few and far between. Not this year. I've been busy answering questions about "where's my refund", "what's this letter from President Biden", "what is this direct deposit I just received" and so on. I suspect the coming season will offer it's share of challenges as well. I hope everyone is well and enjoying the waning days of summer. Before you know it, a new season will be upon us.

Does he trust you???

Where did I lower the percentage?

Congratulations...all the best in your "semi retirement". Maybe suggest a 35% the first year, 30% the second, and 25% the final...assuming it's for 3 years. This affords you a bit more income in year 1 and allows you to determine if you like working for the new owner. If you do, great. If you don't maybe you retire earlier than originally thought. Whatever you decide, good luck.

I went into the portal to opt out myself. Initially it did not take my drivers license. That offended me. I think I'm fairly handsome. I figured, let me scan the license in color...that did the trick. Not sure if it's the answer for everyone or not, but it worked for me. Ultimately, I did not opt out since I would have had to register my wife as well since we file MFJ. If I opted out and she didn't she would receive half the entitlement.

What an awesome video. It's a nice way to start my Friday! Have a good weekend!

Is that part of the July 15 payments?

Head of Household client has a disabled daughter who is greater than 24 and takes her as a dependent on her return. This is stipulated in the divorce decree. I don't believe the client qualifies for any type of ACTC, since the daughter does not qualify for the Child Tax Credit to begin with. Is my understanding correct?

If the IRS was aware they would be incapable of handling the incoming calls to verify taxpayer identifications, why send the notice in the first place? They have to realize the potential angst this can cause individuals...maybe that isn't taken into consideration?? Certainly, the IRS may need more funding, they may deserve more funding. With that said, it's doesn't excuse them from poorly planned and implemented initiatives. I agree, Sara...notifying your representative in this case is a prudent move. They should be made aware of the issues their constituents are dealing with. Crazy.

There is an option to view Venmo Statements which contains all of your payment history, both payments made and payments received. It includes the, date, name of the individual making the payment along with whatever reason entered for the payment ie, "2020 Tax Return Payment". The statement option offers you the ability to download to a .csv file and contains years worth of information.

The responses for this post seems to have individuals on one side of the topic or the other...either for or against. There aren't too many in-between. I've never had an issue with Venmo. I choose to be private on the platform. No one can see who I pay or who pays me except for the person who I pay or the person who pays me. Obviously, Venmo sees the transaction and can use it for their internal needs, marketing etc. Once I receive payment on PayPal or Venmo, I transfer the balance to my bank account. Never, ever an issue. Today's younger clients want to pay via this platform or some other online platform. I'm happy to offer it.

I also heard from a client that she received her deposit from the IRS. Happy to know it is happening and a bit ahead of schedule.

Any time I've transferred my Venmo balance into my bank account, it's been successful everytime. Never an issue with Venmo or PayPal. My younger clients want that type of payment option...I'm happy to offer it.

https://www.thetaxadviser.com/news/2021/may/president-biden-budget-contains-many-tax-proposals.html?utm_source=mnl:taxinsider&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=03Jun2021&SubscriberID=281755092&SendID=368664 President’s budget contains many tax proposals By Alistair M. Nevius, J.D. May 28, 2021 President Joe Biden’s administration unveiled its proposed budget for fiscal year 2022 on Friday. Treasury says the $6 trillion proposed budget focuses on infrastructure, clean energy, and research and development, and among its many provisions are a host of proposed tax changes affecting individuals and corporations. One set of tax and revenue proposals, named the American Families Plan, would increase taxes on high-income individuals, make permanent various recent tax credit expansions, further limit like-kind exchanges, and address various tax administration issues, including regulation of paid tax return preparers. Other proposals are grouped under the name American Jobs Plan, and they include a variety of corporate tax changes, including raising the corporate tax rate and imposing a minimum tax on corporations, tax incentives to support housing and infrastructure, and clean energy incentives. Along with the proposed budget, Treasury released its General Explanations of the Administration’s FY2022 Revenue Proposals (Greenbook), which explains the budget’s revenue proposals. In a prepared statement, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen described the budget’s tax proposals as “fair and efficient tax reform.” American Families Plan The proposed budget would make three changes to the taxation of high-income individuals: Increasing the top marginal income tax rate for high earners from 37% to 39.6% for taxpayers with taxable income over $509,300 for married taxpayers filing jointly and over $452,700 for single filers; Taxing capital gains of high-income individuals (with adjusted gross income over $1 million) at a 37% rate; Imposing capital gain tax on property transferred by gift and on property owned at death; and Rationalizing the net investment income and Self-Employment Contributions Act (SECA) taxes so that all passthrough business income of high-income individuals is subject to either the net investment income tax or SECA tax. Other proposed changes include: Making permanent the expansion by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), P.L. 117-2, of premium assistance tax credits; Making permanent the expansion of the earned income tax credit (EITC) for workers without qualifying children; Making permanent ARPA’s changes to the child and dependent care tax credit; Extending ARPA’s child tax credit increase through 2025 and making permanent its full refundability; Increasing the employer-provided child care tax credit for businesses to 50% of the first $1 million of qualified care expenses; Taxing carried interests as ordinary income for partners with taxable income over $400,000; Limiting the deferral of gain from like-kind exchanges to $500,000 per taxpayer ($1 million for married taxpayers filing jointly) per year; Making permanent the Sec. 461(l) excess business loss limitation for noncorporate taxpayers. To improve compliance and tax administration, the budget proposes: Providing the IRS a multiyear appropriation to address tax evasion; Introducing comprehensive financial account reporting, which would apply to all business and personal accounts from financial institutions, including bank, loan, and investment accounts above a $600 threshold; Increasing oversight of return preparers by providing Treasury with explicit authority to regulate paid preparers of federal tax returns, including establishing minimum competency standards; Enhancing accuracy of tax information by expanding Treasury’s authority to require e-filing and improving information reporting; Expanding broker information reporting with respect to cryptoassets; Addressing taxpayer noncompliance with listed transactions by extending the statute of limitation and imposing liability on shareholders to collect unpaid corporate income taxes; Modifying various tax administration rules; and Authorizing limited sharing of business tax return information to measure the economy more accurately. American Jobs Plan The proposed budget calls for the following corporate tax changes: Raising the corporate income tax rate to 28% from its current 21%; Revising the global minimum tax regime, disallowing deductions attributable to exempt income, and limiting inversions; Repealing the global intangible low-taxed income (GILTI) exemption for foreign oil and gas extraction income; Repealing the deduction for foreign-derived intangible income (FDII); Replacing the Sec. 59A base-erosion and anti-abuse tax (BEAT) with a new “stopping harmful inversions and ending low-tax developments” (SHIELD) rule; Limiting foreign tax credits from sales of hybrid entities; Restricting deductions of excessive interest of members of financial reporting groups for disproportionate borrowing in the United States; Imposing a 15% minimum tax on book earnings of large corporations; and Providing a 10% tax credit as an incentive for locating jobs and business activity in the United States and removing tax deductions for expenses incurred in connection with moving jobs overseas. To support housing and infrastructure, the budget proposes: Expanding the low-income housing tax credit; Providing a new neighborhood homes investment tax credit; Making permanent the Sec. 45D new markets tax credit; and Providing federally subsidized state and local bonds for infrastructure. In the area of clean energy, the budget proposes: Eliminating various fossil fuel tax preferences; Extending and improving various renewable and alternative energy incentives; Providing a tax credit for electricity transmission investments; Providing an allocated credit for electricity generation from existing nuclear power facilities; Establishing new tax credits for qualifying advanced energy manufacturing; Establishing tax credits for heavy- and medium-duty zero emissions vehicles; Providing tax incentives for sustainable aviation fuel; Providing a production tax credit for low-carbon hydrogen; Extending and enhancing various energy efficiency and electrification incentives; Providing a disaster mitigation tax credit; Expanding and enhancing the carbon oxide sequestration credit; Extending and enhancing the electric vehicle charging station credit; and Reinstating superfund excise taxes and modifying oil spill liability trust fund financing. — Alistair M. Nevius, J.D., ([email protected]) is The Tax Adviser’s editor-in-chief.

I offer the Venmo and PayPal option to my clients. I would say around 35% are using it. I provide my email address as their link to pay me. I also believe you can send an OR Code or "Request Payment". I used the OR Code option once. Overall, it's worked well for me and is very efficient and easy to use. One caveat to keep in mind, if the client pays via a credit card Venmo and PayPal do take a fee, around 3%, to process the payment...at least they have for me. Anytime a client has paid via a direct debit option from their bank account, I have received the entire amount I invoiced. Both Venmo and PayPal have business account options that offer services beyond opening a personal account. I think the business accounts charge a fee regardless as to how the client pays.