Client Alert
Who You Gonna Call? Not the IRS – A Guide to IRS Online Tools
You don’t have to be a tax geek to know the IRS has trouble picking up the phone. Old habits die hard. If you have a tax question, what do you do? You call the IRS. Good luck with that. You’ll be on hold for a long time if you can get through at all. The IRS initiated a call-back feature, but it’s not always available. The hold music is uninspiring; sometimes, after holding for hours, you get the dreaded “courtesy disconnect.” Yikes! Let’s face it. The IRS has a full plate; years of doing more with less have crippled the agency. Congress is quick to excoriate the IRS for poor service but keeps piling on more tasks (without necessary funding). Luckily, the IRS is working hard to provide more and better online applications and resources. There’s a lot out there, some well-known, some not so well-known, click here to take a tour and discover which shortcuts will help you most.
Read MoreRetirement Tax Planning – Having a Rough Year? Turn Lemons into Lemonade by Using Business Losses to Offset Roth IRA Conversions
A ROTH conversion can be a very powerful tool for your retirement. While you don’t receive a tax break for deposits to your ROTH account, qualified withdrawals from the account are tax-free, even earnings. This is an excellent way to avoid tax increases. Let’s say your taxes rise due to increases in tax rates, or because you earn more, which catapults you to a higher tax bracket, ROTH IRA conversions can save you a ton of money in taxes over the long term. The disadvantage, of course, is that tax is due on the amount you convert based on the value at conversion. But many times, such as when you are in a temporarily low tax bracket, have large deductions during the year, or in a year with business losses, can provide optimal opportunities to convert with little to no tax expense. Looking for more strategic times to convert? Keep reading to learn more.
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Intentionally Filing a Defective Tax Return
Creativity on a tax return is a natural tendency. Many strategies and behaviors we know are wrong, e.g. not reporting all income. However, is it ever okay to disregard some deductions and pay more tax? At first glance, it would seem that the IRS should like the idea of more reported income and a higher tax liability attached to the additional income. The IRS does not.
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Side Hustles and Tax Tussles: Tax in the Gig and Share Economy Part Two
The gig economy involves more than one-off and part-time jobs. It also includes when you share your property in exchange for money. This can be a residential property, a vacation home, or even a vehicle. The gig economy has connected those who need rides and places to stay with owners via online platforms. We refer to this part of the gig economy as the share economy.
Accessing these accommodations is easy with the online platforms. But how the people participating should report their income isn’t quite as straightforward. Last time we looked at how your clients should report gig income, just like any other income made as a sole proprietor.
But making money from renting your property out is different, right? If you have clients with rental properties, you report their income on Schedule E (1040), Supplemental Income and Loss. We know from last time that we report gig economy income on Schedule C (1040), Profit or Loss from Business. So, how does rental income derived from the share economy get reported on a tax return? Every taxpayer’s favorite answer, it depends.
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Loose Change in Your Couch and Maybe a Tax Break at Your Kitchen Table
A 2023 Tax Court decision upheld what many small business owners and tax practitioners have wondered about for some time. The court found that shareholders of an S corporation could exclude rental income paid to them by their S corporation for holding planning meetings in their homes. While the IRS and court found that the amounts charged by the shareholders were excessive, the court found the arrangement itself within the bounds of the law.
This article examines this case and underlying law and when and how this is a planning idea worth pursuing, the limitations and unknowns involved, and the policy implications of this long standing exclusion. The case is Sinopoli, TC Memo 2023-105 involving the exclusion at IRC Section 280A(g).