Confusion abounds as some deadlines were extended and others were not!
IRS reminds taxpayers to make April 15 estimated tax payment
The Internal Revenue Service today reminded self-employed individuals, retirees, investors, businesses, corporations and others who pay their taxes quarterly that the payment for the first quarter of 2021 is due Thursday, April 15, 2021.
The extension to May 17, 2021 for individuals to file their 2020 federal income taxes does not apply to estimated tax payments. The 2021 Form 1040-ES, Estimated Tax for Individuals, can help taxpayers estimate their first quarterly tax payment.
Income taxes are pay-as-you-go. This means, by law, taxes must be paid as income is earned or received during the year. Most people pay their taxes through withholding from paychecks, pension payments, Social Security benefits or certain other government payments including unemployment compensation.
Most often, those who are self-employed or in the sharing economy need to make estimated tax payments. Similarly, investors, retirees and others often need to make these payments because a substantial portion of their income is not subject to withholding. Other income generally not subject to withholding includes interest, dividends, capital gains, alimony and rental income. Paying quarterly estimated taxes will usually lessen and may even eliminate any penalties.
Exceptions to the penalty and special rules apply to some groups of taxpayers, such as farmers, fishermen, casualty and disaster victims, those who recently became disabled, recent retirees and those who receive income unevenly during the year. See Form 2210, Underpayment of Estimated Tax by Individuals, Estates and Trusts, and its instructions for more information.
IRS will recalculate taxes on 2020 unemployment benefits and start issuing refunds in May
Normally, any unemployment compensation someone receives is taxable. However, a recent law change allows some recipients to not pay tax on some 2020 unemployment compensation.
The IRS will automatically refund money to eligible people who filed their tax return reporting unemployment compensation before the recent changes made by the American Rescue Plan. These refunds are expected to begin in May and continue into the summer.
Under the new law, taxpayers who earned less than $150,000 in modified adjusted gross income can exclude some unemployment compensation from their income. This means they don’t have to pay tax on some of it. People who are married filing jointly can exclude up to $20,400 – up to $10,200 for each spouse who received unemployment compensation. All other eligible taxpayers can exclude up to $10,200 from their income.
Information for people who already filed their 2020 tax return
This law change occurred after some people filed their 2020 taxes. For taxpayers who already have filed and figured their 2020 tax based on the full amount of unemployment compensation, the IRS will determine the correct taxable amount of unemployment compensation. Any resulting overpayment of tax will be either refunded or applied to other taxes owed.
The agency will do these recalculations in two phases.
- First, taxpayers who are eligible to exclude up to $10,200.
- Second, those married filing jointly who are eligible to exclude up to $20,400, and others with more complex returns.
Taxpayers only need to file an amended return if the recalculations make them newly eligible for additional federal tax credits or deductions not already included on their original tax return.
For example, the IRS can adjust returns for taxpayers who claimed the earned income tax credit and, because the exclusion changed their income level, may now be eligible for an increase in the EITC amount.
However, taxpayers would have to file an amended return if they did not originally claim the EITC or other credits but are now eligible to claim them following the change in the tax law. Taxpayers can use the EITC Assistant to see if they qualify for this credit based upon their new taxable income amount. If they now qualify, they should consider filing an amended return to claim this money.
These taxpayers may want to review their state tax returns as well.
Treasury, IRS provide guidance on tax relief for deductions for food or beverages from restaurants
Businesses can temporarily deduct 100% beginning Jan. 1, 2021
The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service issued Notice 2021-25 providing guidance under the Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Relief Act of 2020. The Act added a temporary exception to the 50% limit on the amount that businesses may deduct for food or beverages. The temporary exception allows a 100% deduction for food or beverages from restaurants.
Beginning Jan. 1, 2021, through Dec. 31, 2022, businesses can claim 100% of their food or beverage expenses paid to restaurants as long as the business owner (or an employee of the business) is present when food or beverages are provided and the expense is not lavish or extravagant under the circumstances.
Where can businesses get food and beverages and claim 100%?
Under the temporary provision, restaurants include businesses that prepare and sell food or beverages to retail customers for immediate on-premises and/or off-premises consumption. However, restaurants do not include businesses that primarily sell pre-packaged goods not for immediate consumption, such as grocery stores and convenience stores.
Additionally, an employer may not treat certain employer-operated eating facilities as restaurants, even if these facilities are operated by a third party under contract with the employer.
IRS urges participants of abusive micro-captive insurance arrangements to exit from arrangements
Internal Revenue Service officials today urged participants in abusive micro-captive insurance arrangements to exit these transactions as soon as possible. The IRS has stepped up examinations of these arrangements and has recently won yet another case in U.S. Tax Court that such arrangements are not eligible for the tax benefits claimed.
On March 10, 2021, the U.S. Tax Court held in Caylor Land & Dev. v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2021-30 (2021), that yet another micro-captive arrangement failed to qualify as insurance for federal tax purposes. This decision follows several earlier Tax Court decisions that also confirmed the IRS’s determinations that certain micro-captive arrangements were not eligible for the claimed federal tax benefits. In Caylor, the Tax Court also sustained the IRS’s determination of accuracy-related penalties and rejected the taxpayer’s claim of reliance on tax advice.
Taxpayers who engaged in abusive micro-captive transactions are once again encouraged to consult an independent tax advisor prior to filing their 2020 tax returns. Taxpayers should consider exiting the transaction and not reporting deductions associated with abusive micro-captive insurance transactions.
“In multiple cases before the courts, judges have held that these ‘fanciful’ and ‘unreasonable’ arrangements don’t add up to insurance in the commonly accepted sense,” said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig. “I strongly urge participants in these arrangements to get independent legal advice separate from those who helped steer them into these abusive arrangements.”
In the past several years, the IRS has ratcheted up its efforts to combat abusive micro-captive insurance arrangements. In 2020, the IRS deployed 12 newly formed micro-captive examination teams to substantially increase the examinations of ongoing abusive micro-captive insurance transactions. The IRS will disallow tax benefits from transactions that are determined to be abusive and may also require domestic captives to include premium payments in income and assert a withholding liability on foreign captives. The IRS will continue to assert penalties, as appropriate, including the strict liability penalty that applies to transactions that lack economic substance.
In Notice 2016-66, the IRS advised that micro-captive insurance transactions have the potential for tax avoidance or evasion. The notice designated transactions that are the same as or substantially similar to transactions that are described in the notice as “Transactions of Interest.” The notice established reporting requirements for those entering into such transactions on or after Nov. 2, 2006 and created disclosure and list maintenance obligations for material advisors.
In March and July 2020, IRS issued letters to taxpayers who participated in a Notice 2016-66 transaction alerting them that IRS enforcement activity in this area will be expanding significantly and providing them with the opportunity to tell the IRS if they’ve discontinued their participation in this transaction before the IRS initiates examinations. Early responses indicate that a significant number of taxpayers who participated in these transactions have exited the transaction.