Finally! The Senate passed the tax extender bill yesterday by a 76-16 margin. Since it is the same bill the House passed with no amendments, it will now go the President Obama, who is expected to sign it next week. See this update by Kelly Phillips Erb in Forbes for more details: http://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyphillipserb/2014/12/16/senate-approves-tax-extenders-bill/ This will probably delay tax season a little, as the IRS will need time to produce new forms and tax software companies will need time to update their programs, so expect the beginning of tax return processing to start end of January, maybe the first of February (kind of like last year, huh?) But remember, you can still meet with your tax preparer as soon as you have your W2s and other tax information; it is only the filing that will be delayed. One more thing; we get to do this again next year as this is only for 2014 – these extenders will all expire in 2015 (deja vu?) Merry Christmas! 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
Tax Musings of a Burbank CPA: Tax extenders expected to win U.S. Senate approval within days
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