Sue Morgan was in the office this afternoon for her annual tax appointment. This was her 55th year coming to us! That’s right. Joel and Sue have been clients of this firm since 1962! Sue lost Joel last December and he will be missed by all. Sue brightens the day for everyone at the office…

Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) You cannot keep retirement funds in your account indefinitely. You generally have to start taking withdrawals from your IRA, SIMPLE IRA, SEP IRA, or retirement plan account when you reach age 70½. Roth IRAs do not require withdrawals until after the death of the owner. Your required minimum distribution is the…

IMPORTANT REMINDER – Partnership returns (Form 1065 & K-1s) are due March 15th this year, NOT April 15th as in the past. A partnership is the relationship existing between two or more persons who join to carry on a trade or business. Each person contributes money, property, labor or skill, and expects to share in…

The Internal Revenue Service wants working grandparents raising grandchildren to be aware of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and correctly claim it if they qualify. The EITC is a federal income tax credit for workers who don’t earn a high income ($53,505 or less for 2016) and meet certain eligibility requirements. Because it’s a…

Every day scammers come up with new ways to steal taxpayers’ identities and personal information. Some scammers pretend to be from the IRS with one goal in mind: to steal money. Be aware that con artists will use video relay services (VRS) to try to scam deaf and hard of hearing individuals. Don’t become a…

ACA Silent Returns A recent executive order directed federal agencies to exercise authority and discretion available to them to reduce potential burden regarding the Affordable Care Act. Consistent with that, the IRS has decided to make changes that will continue to allow electronic and paper 1040 returns to be accepted for processing in instances where…

As the IRS begins releasing refunds for taxpayers who claimed the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Additional Child Tax Credit, the tax agency reminded us that you should not expect your refunds to be available in bank accounts or on debit cards until the week of Feb. 27. Many of these refunds had been…

IRS says identifying taxpayers that are avoiding taxes by hiding money or assets in unreported offshore accounts remains on its priority list in 2017. “Offshore compliance remains a top IRS priority. We’ve collected $10 billion in back taxes in recent years with 100,000 taxpayers making use of our voluntary disclosure programs,” said IRS Commissioner John…

Buy a new Tesla, like my client Steve in Hawaii.