The Internal Revenue Service has been warning taxpayers to watch out for phony websites and emails looking to steal personal information. The was a big spike in these “Phishing” schemes this last tax season, plus the IRS has seen email scams targeting tax and payroll professionals as well as human resources personnel and schools in addition to average taxpayers. In these scams, criminals pose as a person or organization the taxpayer trusts or recognizes, such as a bank, credit card company, tax software provider or government agency. There are websites that appear legit but have fake login pages so that victims will provide passwords, social security number s and other information that can be used for identity theft directly or can be sold to other criminals to use. Some of the scams are increasingly targeting tax professionals in an attempt to access their cleint list of personal and financial data. These phony emails and websites can also infect the victim’s computer with malware, giving the criminal access to the device so they can find sensitive information as well as track keyboard strokes, allowing access to login information. Just remember that Government Agencies don’t communicate by email but by certified mail. [...]
Tax Musings of a Burbank CPA – Is Your Business Really a Business or a Hobby?
Now that tax season is over, I want to discuss the hobby loss rules a bit. Is your small business really a business or is it a hobby (with the loss of any corresponding tax losses). The IRS has addressed the issue with a list of factors they use to determine if a business is a hobby or not. Here is the list from the IRS website: Income & Expenses Question: How do you distinguish between a business and a hobby? Answer: In making the distinction between a hobby or business activity, take into account all facts and circumstances with respect to the activity. No one factor alone is decisive. You must generally consider these factors to establish that an activity is a business engaged in making a profit: Whether you carry on the activity in a businesslike manner. Whether the time and effort you put into the activity indicate you intend to make it profitable. Whether you depend on income from the activity for your livelihood. Whether your losses are due to circumstances beyond your control (or are normal in the startup phase of your type of business). Whether you change your methods of operation in an attempt to improve [...]
Tax Musings of a Burbank CPA: New Federal Filing and Extension Dates for 2016 Business Entities
And a Happy New Year to you all. Well, now that January is here, just a reminder that the IRS has changed federal filing dates for various business entities (just to make life a little more interesting.) 1. YOU ARE A SOLE-PROPRIETOR OR A SINGLE PERSON LLC: Your filing date is the same for 2016 returns – April 18, 2017 with an extension of six months to October 16, 2017. 2. YOUR ENTITY IS A PARTNERSHIP OR A REGULAR LLC: Your filing date for 2016 returns is now March 15, 2017 with an extension of six months to September 15, 2017. 3. YOUR ENTITY IS AN S-CORPORATION: Your filing date for 2016 stays the same - March 15, 2017 with an extension of six months to September 15, 2017. 4. YOUR ENTITY IS AN C-CORPORATION: This is a little more complicated - - If you have a calendar year C – Corp your filing date is April 18, 2017 with a 5 month extension to September 15, 2017 until 2026, when it changes to 6 months. - If you have a fiscal year C – Corp with an year end of June 30, your filing date is September 15, 2017 with a 7 month extension to [...]