Well it appears that the Senate will take up the House ‘Tax Extender’ bill passed by the House this week, and will pass it without any changes. See this update from Reuters by Jonathan Ernst: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/15/us-usa-tax-extenders-idUSKBN0JT1MC20141215 It is taking longer than originally expected for the Senate to get this done because of the spending bill to keep the government solvent until next September plus some nominations. The bill will be passed as is or it would have to be sent back to the House, which has adjourned for the winter holidays. So hopefully by next week there will be a bunch of tax credits and deductions that the IRS can put into their tax forms and the tax software people can put into their tax preparation packages. Considering last year the did not take place until January 1, 2014, it should speed things up a little. For financial, accounting and tax musings, You can count on us to count for you! Email: bstonercpa@sbcglobal.net Phone: 818-317-6035 Website: www.briantstonercpa.com Android and the IPhone: Has been Featured On https://twitter.com/bstonercpa
Burbank CPA Tax Musings: Deadline Looms for Voluntary IRS Registration
Uncredentialed tax preparers (preparers who are not RTRPs, CPAs or Enrolled Agents) have until the end of December to get their requirements met to participate in the IRS voluntary Annual Filing Season Program. If qualified, the IRS will issue a Certificate of Completion (suitable for framing, no doubt) that gives the preparer something to show clients and prospective clients that they have completed the AFSP and will be included in the list of qualified preparers soon to come on the IRS website starting next year. See more info in this article by Jeff Stimpson in Accounting Today: http://www.accountingtoday.com/news/irs-watch/deadline-looms-for-voluntary-irs-registration-72976-1.html Since the IRS lost the ability to require preparers to become an RTRP in court, this new program is the result. Since it is voluntary this passes muster and so the Service can say it is trying to give taxpayers more information on qualified preparers (I wonder if the RTRPs, CPAs and EAs will be on that website list, too?) For financial, accounting and tax musings, You can count on us to count for you! Email: bstonercpa@sbcglobal.net Phone: 818-317-6035 Website: www.briantstonercpa.com Android and the IPhone: Has been Featured On https://twitter.com/bstonercpa
CPA Tax Musings: What Tax Breaks Are Extended in the House Tax Bill?
As we discussed before, the House passed a one year renewal of nearly 50 tax deductions and credits that would expire in 2014. Here is a list of what will be saved in this posting by Andrew Lundeen and Kyle Polmerleau in Tax Foundation: http://taxfoundation.org/blog/house-passes-one-year-renewal-tax-extenders Important for businesses is the extension of bonus depreciation and section 179 increased expensing limits plus the Work Opportunity and Research Credit. Individuals will benefit from extensions of the itemized deduction for state and local sales tax (versus state income tax), the above the line deduction for higher education tuition and fees, the $250 above the line deduction for educator expenses and Private Mortgage Insurance as an itemized deduction. The Senate supposedly will vote on the bill without amendments on Wednesday or Thursday. Hopefully it will pass, as the President has said he will sign it. Stay Tuned. For financial, accounting and tax musings, You can count on us to count for you! Email: bstonercpa@sbcglobal.net Phone: 818-317-6035 Website: www.briantstonercpa.com Android and the IPhone: Has been Featured On https://twitter.com/bstonercpa