Steven Miller’s Post

IMPORTANT NEW FILING REQUIREMENT FOR ALL BUSINESS OWNERS Have you heard or read about the Corporate Transparency Act?  This new filing requirement aims to combat money laundering and related “bad acts.” In the meantime, you, as a business owner now, must take on a new reporting process. It applies to ALL corporations, LLCs, LLLPs, partnerships, and even business trusts.  Some entities may only need to file once to claim an exclusion. Many small businesses will be required to file annually. The effective date is January 1, 2024, so you have some time to plan. These reports will be filed with FINCEN – the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, a United States Treasury department. The penalties for failure to comply are substantial. Do Not Ignore This! Want to learn more?  I recommend the following video from John Strohmeyer. He is an attorney we work with on various clients. I believe you will find the 45-minute video informative and valuable. https://lnkd.in/g7vD3eW9 #corporatetransparencyact #corporatetaxes

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Some states still appear to be on track to tax student loan debt forgiveness. This is an evolving issue to stay up on. Here's the latest. #studentloanforgiveness #taxnews

Did You Receive a CP2501 Cryptocurrency Letter from the IRS? It's IMPORTANT if you receive one of these letters to act quickly to avoid potential penalties.  The IRS has recently been sending out CP2501 letters to individuals who have participated in cryptocurrency transactions.   The CP2501 Cryptocurrency Letter provides a taxpayer with notice that the IRS has noticed a difference between reported information and other information that the IRS has been provided.    Anyone with a discrepancy could receive this letter.    Employers, cryptocurrency exchanges, and other entities report information to the IRS. When that information varies from what the client reports on a tax return, the IRS may issue a CP2501 letter.    These letters don't necessarily include an amount the taxpayer owes the IRS In some cases, the taxpayer may not owe additional tax. However, it's important to respond by the letter's due date in order to avoid being hit with a penalty.    Those receiving CP2501 letters should review information like Forms 1099-B, 1099-K, 1099-MISC, and any W-2s to determine whether they've made a mistake.   Keep in mind that IRS computers make mistakes too. Just because you have received a notice doesn’t mean the tax return is incorrect. But don’t wait to check it out! #cryptocurrency #cryptotax

State and city tax burdens in certain parts of the United States have motivated high-income and high net worth taxpayers to consider moving to locations with lower taxes and cost of living.    New York and California are two obvious examples, and they're seeing an exodus of residents.    Tax planning tips if you're moving out of New York. While it sounds simple, getting away from New York tax collectors is not nearly as simple as packing up and moving on. In fact, the process can be fraught with risk. This is especially true if you have six-figure+ incomes.   The New York tax collectors are highly motivated to take a look-see and confirm you've met the requirements to escape their grasp about income and estate taxes. Note: New York has a low estate tax exemption as well.   Here are a couple of things to consider when changing state residency. You may be surprised, but the states are aggressive in their attempt to tax you after you've left.    For New York, domicile is one of the two primary tests. Both New York state and NYC will tax you as a resident if EITHER of these criteria is true. What do you mean by the term domicile? Where is your actual domicile?    I like to say your domicile is where you keep your teddy bear. Where do you board your puppy dogs? The intent is a key factor in determining your domicile. The problem is kind of mushy.   That's why domicile arguments can be hotly contested, especially when big money is involved. New York digs into a great deal of your personal information to prove your domicile remains with them. Think phone records, credit card statements, medical visits, and so on. Very simply, defining your domicile may not be easy or clean-cut unless you have made a complete break with the state.   New York Residency   Taxpayers can also be caught by the statutory residency test. If you spend more than 183 days in New York and maintain some form of permanent abode in New York, you have met the statutory residency test.    Congratulations, you have NY residency.    Keep in mind one minute of presence in the state counts as one full day there.   There are some very limited exceptions, but New York auditors had one case where they wanted to include one taxpayer because the 18th hole at his golf club was in New York while the other 17 holes were in Connecticut. He played a lot of golf - I think you get the idea.   New York performs over 3,000 residency audits a year, collecting an average of $250 million in taxes and penalties.   For reference, there's a link to the New York Department of Taxation and Finance.   Tax Planning is Important   If you're considering leaving the state, plan carefully. Get your ducks in a row.    If you've moved to a friendlier state (like Texas), then it's time to prepare your defense. Establish the documentation to prove yourself innocent. The taxpayer bears the burden of proof in all of these cases. #highnetworthindividuals #taxplanning

Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC or ERC) was introduced with the CARES Act to incentivize employers to retain employees during the pandemic by offering a refundable tax credit against employment taxes.  In March 2021, ERTC was expanded to apply to wages paid after June 30, 2021, and before January 1, 2022.  Does the Employee Retention Tax Credit Help My Business in 2021? Employers previously ineligible because they received PPP loans, are eligible to claim retroactive and current benefits. Companies, tax-exempt organizations, colleges and universities, and entities providing medical or hospital care are now entitled to ERTC benefits if they experienced a 20%+ decline in gross receipts compared to the same calendar quarter of 2019. Eligible employers can now claim the refundable credit against applicable employment taxes equal to 70% of the qualified wages paid to employees in 2021 third and fourth quarters.  Credit-eligible wages increased to $10,000.00 per employee, per quarter. Rules for employers with 100 or fewer employees were expanded. Let’s See If Your Business Would Qualify for ERTC - There’s no size limit on eligibility. However, small and large businesses are treated differently. As outlined in a Society of Human Resource Management article titled, “There’s Still Time to Claim the Employee Retention Tax Credit, written by Stephen Miller, Certified Employee Benefits Specialist writes:  Employers with 100 or fewer full-time employees: all employee wages qualify for the credit, whether the employer is open for business or subject to a shutdown order. Employers with more than 100 full-time employees: qualified wages paid to employees when they are not providing services due to COVID-19 related circumstances Is There Still Time to Claim the Employee Retention Tax Credit? There are numerous modifications to the ERTC beginning in Quarter 3 2021. Your CPA can best guide you through the qualification process.  What’s important to understand is ERTC has been revised possibly to your advantage.  It’s worth having a conversation with your CPA to take advantage of what’s being offered by the federal government. For Additional Easy to Read ERTC Information check out our Home Page or our latest ERTC Blog Post How to Apply for Employee Retention Tax Credit  ERTC is a payroll tax credit versus an income tax credit. It must be reported on Form 941. Frankly, this is a complex calculation requiring analysis for accurate completion.  We suggest you reach out to your CPA as soon as possible to discuss the latest ERTC guidance. This program applies through the end of 2021. The IRS has provided recent guidance to clarify numerous questions. #erc2021 #payrolltaxes

The politics of this issue are fairly obvious. While there are some very large IRAs, keep in mind these accounts don’t add up to much when looking at the government’s tax revenues, budget, or deficit. It's more about political noise. It shouldn’t be a surprise IRA values have increased substantially since 2011 since we've seen strong bull stock and bond markets.... and the government will get more than their fair share of the IRAs upon the death of the IRA owner as IRAs are not estate tax efficient. DEMOCRATIC TAX WRITERS TAKE AIM AT MEGA-IRA ACCOUNTS Rep. Richard Neal (D-MA), chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, have jointly released new data from the Joint Committee on Taxation which show a threefold increase in the number of taxpayers with aggregate IRA account balances of more than $5 million since 2011. (Joint Neal-Wyden press release, 7/28/21) The legislators cited a 2014 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report which the new data update. The GAO report, using 2011 tax data, found that nearly 8,000 taxpayers had aggregate IRA account balances of $5 million or more. "As of the 2019 tax year, nearly 25,000 taxpayers had aggregate IRA account balances of $5 million or more, and 497 taxpayers have aggregate IRA account balances of $25 million or more," the press release, citing the latest JCT data, stated. "The average aggregate account balance for these 497 taxpayers was more than $150 million," it added. "These data indicate that the exploitation of IRAs is a growing problem," said Neal. "The Ways and Means Committee is already looking at strategies to ensure that this retirement savings tool isn't misused as a tax shelter for folks at the very top," he said. "It is shocking, but not surprising, to see how they use of mega-IRA accounts by mega-millionaires and billionaires has exploded," Wyden said, adding that as efforts to increase the fairness of the Code continue, "closing these loopholes will be a top priority." From an article posted by Thomson Reuters #retirementplanning #iras #saveforretirement