Groups representing accounting and tax preparation professionals sought a tax filing deadline extension partly because they needed breathing room to make the same kinds of pandemic adjustments most other businesses were making.

The treasury received a barrage of extension requests from professional groups before its Internal Revenue Service announced March 21 that this year's federal income tax filing deadline had moved from April 15 to July 15...

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Due to the current COVID-19 virus, there will be some modifications temporarily taking place at our office to ensure the safety of our employees and our clients:
 
* At this time, we will not be doing any face to face appointments in order to reduce the exposure. If you had an appointment, you should have been contacted by our staff about dropping off your tax paperwork so that we may work on preparing your return.
 
* Additionally our hours are temporarily changing.  For now, our hours are Monday thru Friday 9:00 AM - 6 PM and Saturday 9-3. However, we recommend to anyone dropping off or picking up taxes that you please call our office before you come.
 
* Lastly, the government has extended the tax filing deadline by 90 days.  The filing deadline is now July 15.

The IRS announced that it will begin accepting individual 2019 returns on January 27, 2020, and business returns beginning January 7, 2020.

Contact EPCO to setup an appointment.

The IRS released mileage rates for 2020, they are as follows:

Businesses - 57.5 cents per mile (down .5 cent from 2019).
Charitable - 14 cents per mile.
Medical & Moving - 17 cents per mile.

Contact us if you have any questions about the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, or medical expense purposes.

EPCO is excited to announce the addition of two new employees to our company.

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There were a few tax issues included in the budget act that President Trump signed December 20, 2019. The following "extenders" have been extended retroactive to January 1, 2018 (yes, January 1, 2018) and now have an expiration date of...

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Beginning on Jan. 1, 2019, the standard mileage rates for the use of a car (also vans, pickups or panel trucks) will be:
 
58 cents for every mile of business travel driven.
20 cents per mile driven for medical or moving purposes.
14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations.
 
Contact us if you have any questions about the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, moving, or medical expense purposes.

Failing to timely file correct information returns can lead to stiff fines.
The basic penalty for returns due in 2019 is $270 for each Form 1099, W-2, etc...
A lesser penalty is imposed when the information returns are corrected by August 1st.
The fine skyrockets to $540 or more if IRS can prove intentional disregard of the rules.

Are you ready for Big Changes to your Taxes?
Tax Cuts And Jobs Act
Public Law 115-97 Enacted December 22, 2017

Hailed as the largest major tax reform in over three decades, the TCJA contains a host of tax provisions that impact individuals and businesses. With a few exceptions, the provisions of the TCJA first affect 2018 tax returns.

Many popular deductions have been eliminated under the TCJA, and many taxpayers will not like the changes. However, these eliminations will make a fair amount of tax returns simpler and, therefore, cut back on audit issues with the IRS.

Click Here to read more about the TCJA and the see the rest of the EPCO Year End Letter...

The Internal Revenue Service released the 2018 optional standard mileage rates that tax payers and tax professionals can use to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical or moving purposes.

Beginning on Jan. 1, 2018, the standard mileage rates for the use of a car (also vans, pickups or panel trucks) will be:

54.5 cents for every mile of business travel driven, up 1 cent from the rate for 2017.
18 cents per mile driven for medical or moving purposes, up 1 cent from the rate for 2017.
14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations.

The IRS noted that the business mileage rate and the medical and moving expense rates have increased 1 cent per mile from the rates for 2017. The charitable rate, however, is set by statute and stays unchanged.

The standard mileage rate for business comes from an annual study of the fixed and variable costs of operating an automobile, while the rate for medical and moving purposes is based on the variable costs.

Contact us if you have any questions about the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, or medical expense purposes.

This is a reminder that refunds will not be released again this coming filing season until February 15 for federal returns that claim Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) or the Additional Child Tax credit.

The IRS will begin to release the refunds on these returns starting February 15. However the IRS is cautioning everyone that these refunds most likely will not begin to be deposited until February 27, 2018. This is due to several factors, including banking and financial systems requiring time to process the deposits.

Therefore any return claiming one of these credits that is prepared in January or early February will not be deposited in the normal IRS refund timeframe.

See the IRS news release of November 7 - Get Ready for Taxes: Plan Ahead for 2018 Filing Season to Avoid Refund Delays for more information.

Under the PATH Act employers are now required to file their copies of Form W-2, submitted to the Social Security Administration, by Jan. 31. This deadline also applies to certain Forms 1099-MISC reporting nonemployee compensation, such as payments to independent contractors, regardless of whether the returns are filed on paper or electronically. Further, only one 30-day extension to file Form W-2 is now available, and this extension is not automatic (see the instructions to Form 8809). Having these forms W-2 and 1099 in hand earlier at least theoretically makes it easier for the IRS to verify the legitimacy of tax returns and properly issue refunds to eligible taxpayers. But they do make for a busy January in many accounting and compliance departments.

Contact us if you have any questions about filing these Forms or extensions.

01-16-2018- Farmers/ Fisherman (2/3rd rule): only one est. payment due

01-31-2018- File IND return, pay tax due, no 4th installment payment due

03-01-2018- Farmers/ Fisherman (2/3rd rule): file return/pay by March 1, no est. tax due

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The IRS released mileage rates for 2017, they are as follows:

Contact us if you have any questions about the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, or medical expense purposes.

The IRS continues to warn consumers to guard against scam phone calls from thieves intent on stealing their money or their identity. Criminals pose as the IRS to trick victims out of their money or personal information.

The IRS will never:

Call to demand immediate payment.
Ask for credit or debit card numbers over the phone.
Threaten to immediately bring in local police or other law-enforcement groups to have you arrested for not paying.

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The IRS is receiving new reports of scammers calling under the guise of verifying tax return information over the phone. The IRS continues to hear reports of phone scams as well as e-mail phishing schemes across the country.

Protect yourself, follow this link to the IRS website and read the list of key tactics scammers will use to try to decive you and what to do if you suspect you are being targeted by a scam.

IRS Consumer Alert

(March 1, 2016) - The National Association of Enrolled Agents – a group of federally licensed tax practitioners who specialize in taxes – lists these eight frequently-encountered tax myths that could affect your taxes.

Myth: “Federal taxes are due on April 15.”
Fact: Not this year! Due to a federal holiday, taxpayers have an extra weekend to work on their returns. In 2016, federal taxes are due on April 18.

Myth: “I’m filing an extension this year, so I don’t need to pay anything yet.”

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Cash in tax chips on monetary gifts

If you give cash or a cash-equivalent gift to a qualified charity at year-end, you can generally deduct the entire amount of the donation.

Strategy: Make sure to comply with all the recordkeeping requirements. The IRS is a stickler in this area.

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