Category: blog&news

blog&news

IRS “GET MY PAYMENT” Tool

The IRS Get My Payment information tool is now LIVE on the IRS website. Taxpayers can use the Get My Payment site to:

Check on the status of their Economic Impact Payment.

Confirm their payment type (direct deposit or mailed check).

Add their direct deposit information if it has not already been provided to the IRS.

Taxpayers will not be able to update their mailing address using the Get My Payment site as the IRS had previously announced. Economic Stimulus Payments will be mailed to the address filed on the 2019 tax return. If a 2019 return has not been filed, the IRS will mail the payment to the taxpayer’s address as filed on their 2018 tax return.

The Get My Payment site will require the users SSN, DOB, Street Address and Zip Code. It’s our understanding the user will have three attempts to enter this info as it appears on their tax return. After three failed attempts, it locks the user out for 24 hours. Due to high traffic volume, we would not be surprised if the site crashes at some point today. 

blog&news

CARES ACT UPDATE

Economic Impact Payment Information

As the IRS prepares to issue approximately 175 million Economic Impact Payments, We have been working closely with the industry leaders to develop a strategy that gets refunds into taxpayer’s hands without creating a burden on tax professionals.

What your clients can expect?

A taxpayer who filed through your office and paid for tax preparation with the Refund Transfer, and qualifies for the Economic Impact Payment may receive their payment 1 of 2 ways. Note: This is information subject to change and we will provide updates once more details are available.

Taxpayer who selected Refund Transfer Direct Deposit

The IRS will issue Direct Deposit to the taxpayer who selected “Refund Transfer Direct Deposit” such as SBTPG DIRECT or REFUND ADVANTAGE ERD

Check mailed to the Taxpayer

An IRS-issued check may be mailed to taxpayers that selected any Refund Transfer option other than Direct Deposit options listed above.

Taxpayer’s who wants to update their bank info

The U.S. Department of the Treasury and IRS will launch the “Get My Payment” web application sometime this week. The FREE app—which will be found at IRS.gov (CLICK HERE)—will allow taxpayers who filed their tax return in 2018 or 2019 but did not provide their banking information on their return to submit direct deposit information. Once they do, they will get their Economic Impact Payments in their bank accounts quickly, instead of waiting for a check to arrive in the mail. “Get My Payment” will also allow taxpayers to track the status of their payment.

blog&news

ECONOMIC STIMULUS BILL

Your phones are probably ringing with taxpayers wanting to know about their stimulus checks. The below article is not intended to address all potential scenarios but to hit on the stimulus check highlights regarding the questions we are being asked.

What is it?

In simple terms – The Stimulus check is a one-time nontaxable payment sent to all legal residents who are not claimed (or eligible to be claimed) as a dependent on someone else’s tax return and don’t make too much money based on your most recent filed tax return (2018 or 2019).

Who gets what? Things to know…

Stimulus payments will be phased out for certain income levels:

Individuals with a 2019 filing status of Single, MFS or Qualified Widower

  • Phase out begins if AGI over $75,000
  • MFJ, Phase out begins if AGI exceeds $150,000
  • HOH, Phase out begins if AGI is greater than $112,500

Based on the above criteria, how much can they expect?

  • $1,200 for individual.
  • $2,400 for MFJ

Additional $500 per qualifying child under the age of 17.

  • Click HERE for more info on qualifying child.

How does the phaseout work?

For every $100 of income above the threshold, the payment will drop by $5.

  • Example: A single filer with AGI of $75,100 = $1,195 ($1,200-$5).

Is the payment taxable as 2020 income?

No, the Payment is not income and you will not owe tax on your Payment. It will not reduce your refund or increase the amount you owe when you file your 2020 tax return next year. A Payment also will not affect your income for purposes of determining eligibility for federal government assistance or benefit programs.

For additional questions regarding the Economic Impact Payments CLICK HERE

blog&news

PAID PREPARER DUE DILIGENCE LAW

IRS paid preparer due diligence compliance program is not something new to the tax industry, but the IRS is continually adopting new tactics and adding new things to the program. The paid preparer due diligence compliance program includes earned income credit (EITC), the child tax credit (CTC), additional child tax credit (ACTC), the other dependents (ODC), the American opportunity tax credit (AOTC) and the head of household (HOH) filing status.

As a paid preparer the four most important due diligence requirements are:

Complete and submit form 8867 – for each return, you prepare that claims EITC, CTC, ACTC, ODC, AOTC and/or HOH filing status.

Compute the credits based on the facts – Complete the appropriate worksheets for each credit based on information provided by your client.

Ask all the right questions – Ask questions to your clients and document their answeres. also. take lots of notes on verbal interview process. Sometimes, this is not the most pleasant process and involves asking very personal questions but keep in mind the rule of thumb is the more information you get the better it is when it comes to preparer audits.

Keep records – Maintain copies of all documents your client gave you on which you relied on to determine eligibility for the credits or HOH filing status or to compute the amount of the credits.

We all have heard the saying “you can’t be too careful”. Your best option when it comes to Due Diligence Audit is knowing the rules and having the documentation/notes to back it all up!

Preparer Due Diligence Law – Here is the link to the IRS website, which will provide you with a lot more information on this topic.

blog&news

TEXT MESSAGE MARKETING

Come tax time your customers are being messaged nonstop by your competitors via T.V, radio, and even social media feeds. The only thing better than that is sending a personalized text message. It’s an affordable and effective strategy to reach your customers wherever they are.  

When you are evaluating your communication options, consider this:

90% of all text messages are read within three minutes of their delivery.  

Texting is direct and is more likely to be noticed.

Texting customers is less invasive, and customers are more likely to reply.

Texting can give you better exposure than Social Media

Texting can be done from anywhere. (Convenience is the key)

Texting is used by most demographics.

Most importantly… It can reduce your marketing costs… you can start messaging your customers now as long as you have a cell phone you are good to go. You can also sign up with a text message marketing company for a small fee which will let you send personalized text messages to all your customers in bulk. Companies like Netflix and Dell are now using text messages to communicate with their customers. Netflix uses text messages to reduce the load on their customer support team for password reset and Dell generates more online sales by keeping customers notified through text messages.

Large and small businesses, from all industries, have implemented text messages into their marketing strategy to make the most of this opportunity. So, what are you waiting for?