Archive for November 21, 2014

Year-end Tax Checkup If You Are Older Than 70.5 Years – Have You Satisfied Your 2014 Required Minimum Distribution?

Do Not Be At Risk for A Major Tax Penalty

Don’t let the hustle and bustle of the holiday season distract you into a hefty tax penalty come April. As the end of a year approaches, many consumers begin taking distributions from many of their retirement accounts-including 401(k) and 403(b) plans, and traditional IRAs-starting in the year they turn 70-and-a-half or the year when they retire, whichever is later. Failure to do so and the amount you should have withdrawn will be taxed at 50%. It’s one of the biggest penalties in the tax code and you would be surprised how many people fall into this trap. Fidelity Investments reports that of the more than 750,000 Fidelity IRA customers who need to take a Required Minimum Distribution (“RMD”) this year, 68% have yet to withdraw enough. Read More

Written by | Posted in Individual • IRS • Tax Tips

Form 8938 And Offshore Real Estate Holdings

Owning a portfolio of offshore assets can be a headache thanks to the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). FATCA requires both U.S. citizens and foreigners living in the U.S. to make extensive disclosures about overseas holdings on their tax returns or face stiff penalties. Foreign financial institutions also must report more detailed information on income earned by their U.S. account holders, or face possible U.S. tax penalties.

FATCA is the culmination of a three-year campaign by Washington to combat offshore tax evasion. It has its genesis in a 2009 settlement with UBS AG where the Swiss bank agreed to turn over to the U.S. the names of more than 4,000 U.S. taxpayers with hidden offshore accounts. Read More

Written by | Posted in FATCA • International • Real Estate

5 Payroll Tax Mistakes To Avoid

If you have at least one employee, you are responsible for payroll taxes. These include withholding federal (and, where appropriate, state) income taxes and FICA tax from employees’ wages as well as paying the employer share of FICA tax and federal and state unemployment taxes. The responsibility is great and the penalties for missteps make it essential that you do things right.

1. Misclassifying workers

Perhaps the hottest audit issue today is misclassifying workers. There’s incentive to treat workers as independent contractors rather than employees because payroll taxes and employee benefit costs are high; a company’s only tax responsibility for an independent is Read More

Written by | Posted in Small Business • Tax Tips

Why The Ministerial Housing Allowance Might Not Survive

On September 7, as was discussed in “Appeals Court Upholds Clergy Housing Exemption,” the Seventh Circuit of appeals reversed a Federal District Court decision that ruled the minister’s housing allowance was unconstitutional. The suit had been brought by the Freedom From Religion Foundation. So the housing allowance survives, for now.

The Appeals Court ruling was actually based on the fact that the plaintiffs, Dan Barker and Laurie Anne Gaylor (co-presidents of FFRF) did not have standing to sue as they had not been denied the benefit of a housing allowance. In ruling that the plaintiffs did not have standing, the court did not actually address the issue of the constitutionality of the housing allowance. Read More

Written by | Posted in IRS • Religion • Tax Controversy • Tax Provision/Tax Reporting

Hong Kong And The United States Sign FATCA Agreement

On November 13, 2014, Hong Kong and the United States signed an inter-governmental agreement (IGA), which will require financial institutions in Hong Kong to comply with the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA).

FATCA provides the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) with the tools it needs (not a scalpel but a chainsaw) to obtain information on financial accounts held at foreign financial institutions (FFIs) by US persons. An FFI’s failure to disclose information on their US clients hits it where it hurts the most: in their wallets. Very simply, it results in the withholding of 30 percent tax on payments of US-sourced income.

Model IGAs are creatures of the US Treasury and have been developed to overcome a Read More

Written by | Posted in Asia • FATCA

Alphabet Soup For Form 8938

Overview

On March 18, 2010, the “Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act” or “HIRE Act” was signed into law. Section 511 of the HIRE Act created I.R.C. § 6038D. This section requires specified individual taxpayers with an interest in “specified foreign financial assets” to file Form 8938 if the aggregate value of those assets exceeds the applicable reporting threshold. The applicable reporting threshold is generally $ 50,000, but higher asset thresholds apply to U.S. taxpayers who file a joint tax return or who live abroad.

Tax practitioners dread Form 8938 in large part because it means more, and often times duplicate, reporting. For example, a taxpayer with more than $ 10,000 in an offshore account already must file a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) with the IRS. But in a post-Form 8938 world, that same taxpayer must file a separate Form Read More

Written by | Posted in FBAR

When Payroll Taxes Pyramid It Means Penalties, Even Jail

The IRS does pursue all taxes equally. The IRS is especially vigorous in going after payroll taxes withheld from wages that somehow don’t get paid to the government. The IRS calls it trust fund money that belongs to the government.
That makes any failure to pay—or even late payment—much worse.

In fact, that’s so regardless of how the employer or its principals use the money and regardless of how good a reason they have for not handing the money over to the IRS. When a tax shortfall occurs in this setting, the IRS will usually make personal assessments against all responsible persons who have an ownership interest in the company or signature authority over the company accounts. Read More

Written by | Posted in IRS • Payroll Taxes

The Hunt For Snowbirds Is On – A Summary of The IRS’s FAQ On Amnesty Programs For Non-Compliant Taxpayers

Since announcing its amnesty programs for non-compliant taxpayers, the IRS has received over 45,000 applications from those who wanted to fulfil tax filing obligations. According to the IRS, this meant $6.5 billion in taxes, interest, and penalties. With FATCA and global bank transparency also in action, the IRS is expecting even more mula from the pockets of expats with foreign accounts.

Why are so many U.S. taxpayers willingly complying? Because the new streamlined program is broader than it was back in 2012. The revamped version even eliminates the necessary risk questionnaire and the rule that taxpayers have $1,500 at most of unpaid taxes per year. Even “better” is the fact that taxpayers can provide a non-willful certification to justify their failure to report their foreign assets in the past. If a taxpayer is found eligible: Read More

Written by | Posted in FBAR • Individual • International • IRS

“MyRA”… A New Retirement Buzz Word Or A Dud?

President Obama signed a presidential memorandum in January of 2014 directing the Dept of Treasury to create “myRA”. The memorandum states myRA to be a “a new simple, safe and affordable “starter” retirement savings account that will be initially offered through employers and will ultimately help low and moderate income Americans save for retirement”.

The proposal is that beginning in late 2014, with this retirement savings account individuals will be able to open accounts and begin contributing to them every payday. myRAs will be initially offered through employers, balances will never go down, and there will be no fees. myRAs will hold a new retirement savings bond that will be backed by the U.S. Treasury. Read More

Written by | Posted in Retirement

The Election, 114th Congress And Fate of Tax Reform

What does the change in majority party in the Senate for the 114th Congress mean for tax reform, and perhaps for any tax legislation?

An op ed in the Wall Street Journal on November 5, 2014 by Congressman Boehner and Senator McConnell, states that the Republican controlled Congress will address many challenges including “The insanely complex tax code that is driving American jobs overseas.”

What might that mean? A few possibilities:

Nothing. Complexity is not a bi-partisan issue. There is no contrary argument to the statement that our federal tax law is too complex. So, why hasn’t the complexity been Read More

Written by | Posted in Tax Provision/Tax Reporting

Appeals Court Upholds Clergy Housing Exemption

The 7th U S Circuit Court of Appeals has dismissed a lawsuit by the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) that challenged the constitutionality of the clergy housing allowance. The suit was originally brought in the District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin where Judge Barbara Crabb ruled that the tax break for ministers was unconstitutional. Her basis for the ruling was that the law benefited religious people and no one else. The decision, which would potentially eliminate the most important tax break for ministers, was stayed pending appeal.

The law allows ministers of the gospel to exclude income tax on amounts designated by the church as housing allowance. Self-employment taxes are payable on these amounts. In addition, ministers may “double dip,” as they are allowed to deduct mortgage interest Read More

Written by | Posted in Clergy • IRS • Religion • Tax Controversy • Tax Provision/Tax Reporting

IRS Attacks On Businesses Classifying Workers As Independent Contractors – A Settlement Alternative

So where a business has been treating its workers as independent contractors and there is a concern that the IRS in an audit would not respect this arrangement, what can the business do?

The business should consider entering into the IRS’ Voluntary Classification Settlement Program (VCSP). The VCSP is a voluntary program that provides an opportunity for taxpayers to reclassify their workers as employees for employment tax purposes for future tax periods with partial relief from federal employment taxes. To participate in this voluntary program, the taxpayer must meet certain eligibility requirements and apply to participate in the VCSP by filing Form 8952, Application for Voluntary Classification Settlement Program, and enter into a closing agreement with the IRS. Read More

Written by | Posted in Individual • IRS • Small Business
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