Cunningham Tax Services LLC

Cunningham Tax Services LLC Tax, bookkeeping, quickbooks online, consulting & Payroll services

They forgot the best way to file an extension: contact me.
04/05/2026

They forgot the best way to file an extension: contact me.

There are three ways to get an extension until October 15 to file your tax return:
• Pay online and check the box
• Use Free File
• Request an extension by mail using Form 4868

See: www.irs.gov/extensions

It is so hard to tell fake from real....
04/05/2026

It is so hard to tell fake from real....

The alerts taxpayers to fake tax deduction calculators and online software exploiting the new tax laws under the One, Big, Beautiful Bill. Scammers may try to trick ineligible taxpayers into falsely claiming these new or expanded tax credits and deductions. The IRS urges you to protect your financial information and only use official, trusted sources for tax calculations and information.

These guidelines explain how: https://ow.ly/EveY50YBj5a

03/01/2026

The IRS has made changes to refund processing in accordance with Executive Order 142474. As a result, failure to provide direct deposit information will result in a taxpayer refund delay by at least 6 weeks. In addition upon acceptance of the return the taxpayer will receive IRS notice CP53E requesting banking information.
The tax preparer must make the extra effort to selection the box for “paper check” as well in order to eFile a return without direct deposit information.

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02/05/2026

PSA: to all my senior citizen friends & clients, the $6K senior tax deduction is being touted by social media in ways that can be misleading., The bottom line is if you are over 65, your income was below a specific threshold depending on your marital status, and you have income other than Social Security benefits, you will be able to take an additional $6K standard deduction i.e., it reduces your taxable income by that much. For example: if you are in the 10% tax margin rate, then this would save you $600 in taxes.

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02/03/2026

Scam alert: the following is a phishing scam that tax professionals are receving. Outlook marked it as spam and I am glad I noticed the email addres but this is easy to miss as the phone number is valid. It's hard to be suspicious when the mad rush that we call tax season is upon us.

IRS.gov - Electronic Filing Identification Number Review
Review of Returns Filed Under Your EFIN
Dear Tax Preparer,

We have identified potentially irregular returns filed under your Electronic Filing Identification Number (EFIN). Please review the attached list using the IRS Transcript SOD Viewer.

Use the link below to download the Transcript Viewer:

Download IRS Transcript Viewer 5.1

Please complete this review promptly to avoid potential delays or further action.

Sincerely,
IRS Support Team

For specific client tax concerns, contact the IRS Practitioner Priority Service:
Phone: 1-866-860-4259

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01/03/2026

Attention business owners: now is a good time to record the odometer readings on your vehicles so that you can take advantage of the 2025 IRS standard mileage rate of 70 cents for business use.

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12/05/2025

PSA:WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service, working with the U.S. Department of the Treasury, today announced that paper tax refund checks for individual taxpayers will be phased out beginning on Sept. 30, 2025, as required by Executive Order 14247, to the extent permitted by law. This marks the first step of the broader transition to electronic payments.

The IRS will publish detailed guidance for 2025 tax returns before the 2026 filing season begins. Until further notice, taxpayers should continue using existing forms and procedures, including those filing their 2024 returns on extension of a due date prior to Dec. 31, 2025.

The change is designed to
Protect taxpayers: Paper checks are over 16 times more likely to be lost, stolen, altered, or delayed than electronic payments. Direct deposit also avoids the possibility that a refund check could be returned to the IRS as undeliverable.

Speed up refunds: Electronic refunds give taxpayers faster access to refunds, with payments issued in less than 21 days if filing electronically, choosing direct deposit and there are no issues with the return, whereas nonelectronic payments may take 6 weeks or longer for refunds sent by mail.
Cut costs: Electronic payments are more efficient and cost less than paper.
What this means for individual taxpayers
Filing stays the same: Taxpayers should continue to file their returns as they normally would, using one of the existing filing options.

Refunds go digital: Most refunds will be delivered by direct deposit or other secure electronic methods.
Help for those without access to bank accounts: Options such as prepaid debit cards, digital wallets or limited exceptions will be available.
Act now: Taxpayers should make sure they know their banking information or consider opening a free or low-cost account. Visit FDIC: GetBanked and MyCreditUnion.gov for account options.
Most individual taxpayers already receive their refunds by direct deposit into their bank accounts. During the 2025 tax filing season, the IRS issued more than 93.5 million tax refunds to individual income tax filers, and 93% of those, almost 87 million refunds, were issued through direct deposit. Only 7 percent of individual refund recipients received their refunds by check through the mail.

Next steps
Executive Order 14247 also applies to payments made to the IRS. Taxpayers should continue to use existing payment options until further notice. Additional guidance and information for filing 2025 taxes will be issued prior to the 2026 filing season.

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11/25/2025

Don’t let grinchy scammers ruin holiday gift card giving

Taxpayers should be aware of gift card scams year-round but be especially cautious during this time of year when requests for gift cards are common. They may also use a compromised email account to send emails requesting gift card purchases for friends, family or co-workers. Since 2019, [email protected] has received over 1,000 gift card phishing emails averaging 200 per year. Most of these gift card phishing emails do not reference the IRS.

The IRS never asks for or accepts gift cards as payment for a tax bill.

Common holiday scams
The IRS sees a variety of scams as thieves are always changing their tactics. During the holiday season thieves could also:

Request gift cards over the phone, sending a text message, email or social media message through a government impersonation scam.
Pose as an IRS agent and call the taxpayer or leave a voicemail with a callback number informing the taxpayer that they are linked to some criminal activity.
Threaten or harass the taxpayer by telling them that they must pay a fictitious tax penalty.
Criminals often ask the victim to purchase gift cards from various stores so as not to arouse suspicion with store employees. Once the taxpayer buys the gift cards, the scammer will ask the taxpayer to provide the gift card number and PIN.

How to tell if it's really the IRS calling
Here are some tips on how to tell it’s the IRS calling. Remember the IRS will never:

Call to demand immediate payment using a specific payment method such as a gift card, prepaid debit card or wire transfer. Generally, the IRS will first mail a bill to any taxpayer who owes taxes.
Demand that taxpayers pay taxes without the opportunity to question or appeal the amount they owe. All taxpayers should be aware of their rights.
Threaten to bring in local police, immigration officers or other law enforcement to have the taxpayer arrested for not paying.
Threaten to revoke the taxpayer's driver's license, business licenses or immigration status.
What to do if targeted by a scam
Anyone who has been a target of a scam should contact the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration to report a phone scam. Use the IRS Impersonation Scam Reporting webpage or call 800-366-4484. Taxpayers targeted by phone scams can also report to the Federal Trade Commission or email IRS at [email protected].

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11/16/2025

Deferral limits for 401(k) plans
The limit on employee elective deferrals (for traditional and safe harbor plans) is:

$23,000 ($22,500 in 2023, $20,500 in 2022, $19,500 in 2021 and 2020; and $19,000 in 2019), subject to cost-of-living adjustments
Generally, you aggregate all elective deferrals you made to all plans in which you participate to determine if you have exceeded these limits. If a plan participant’s elective deferrals are more than the annual limit, find out how you can correct this plan mistake.

Deferral limits for a SIMPLE 401(k) plan
The limit on employee elective deferrals to a SIMPLE 401(k) plan is:

$16,000 ($15,500 in 2023, $14,000 in 2022, $13,500 in 2021 and 2020; and $13,000 in 2019)
This amount may be increased in future years for cost-of-living P

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11/05/2025

No, the IRS is not going to send new federal relief payments in November 2025. Viral social media posts claiming this are false and likely misinformation or scams, as no official announcements from the IRS or Congress support these claims. The final deadline for claiming any past stimulus payments was April 15, 2025.
No new stimulus checks: The IRS has confirmed there are no new federal stimulus checks or relief payments being distributed.
False information: Be cautious of any viral claims, as they are false and potentially linked to scams aimed at stealing personal information, according to The News Journal, azcentral.com and The Arizona Republic, and International Business Times.
Past payments: All COVID-era stimulus payments have been fully distributed. The final deadline to claim any outstanding Recovery Rebate Credits was April 15, 2025.
State-level payments: Some states have sent out their own "inflation relief" payments, but these are separate from federal programs and vary by state.
Where to find real information: For official and accurate information, always refer to the IRS website.

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09/05/2025

SCAM Alert:PSA: I do not know if there is a legit tax preparation firm out there trying to steal clients business from me or even worse their SSN's for fraudulent purposes. They do not know the client specifics and it seems to me to be a stab in the dark as the business return is already accepted by the IRS:

From: Melanie Zeidel
Date: September 3, 2025 at 7:11:38 AM PDT
To: clients email address, [email protected]
Cc: Andrew Nishida
Subject: Last name, First name - 2024 Final Review
Hi Taxpayer & Spouse, Happy Wednesday!
I’m glad you are well!
My name is Melanie and I will be assisting you in preparing your 2024 Individual and S Corp. tax returns draft for you to review with Andrew. Please send your time availability for the upcoming weeks to schedule the final review of your tax filings.
Please provide us with the following 2024 tax information uploading them via the secure ShareFile link:
A copy of your W-2s and 1099s for self-employment income, 1099-G for unemployment benefits, W-2G or 1099s for gambling winnings.
A copy of your 1099s for bank interest or brokerage accounts and digital assets sold or exchanged.
If you paid mortgage interest or property taxes, We’ll need your 1098-Mortgage Interest reports. If you refinanced or if your loan was transferred to a new lender, you may have more than one 1098-Mortgage Interest report. If you have rental properties with outstanding mortgages, you will have 1098-Mortgage Interest reports for those properties.
Your total 2024 out-of-pocket medical expenses, vehicle license fees and cash and non-cash charitable contributions.
For your S Corp {company name}., please complete the Business Organizer to report the income and expenses.
*** Please note that your S Corp deadline is on 9/15/2025.
*** Please confirm if you filed 2022 and 2023 tax filings.
In the meantime, please let us know if there are ANY questions!
Thanks!
Melanie Zeidel
Tax Preparer

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Hello friends from Washington: have you heard? the state of Washington has found a back door way to collection more taxe...
09/03/2025

Hello friends from Washington: have you heard? the state of Washington has found a back door way to collection more taxes from it's constituents! Services newly subject to retail sales tax
The 2025 Washington State Legislature passed Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill (ESSB) 5814, which added new business activities to the definition of retail sales. As a result, businesses will be required to begin collecting sales tax on the following services starting Oct. 1, 2025:
Advertising services.
Live presentations.
Information technology services.
Custom website development services.
Investigation, security, and armored car services.
Temporary staffing services.
Sales of custom software and customization of prewritten software.
ESSB 5814 also removes the following exclusions from the definition of digital automated services (DAS):
Services involving primarily human effort.
Live presentations.
Advertising services.
Data processing services.
The bill also created a new exclusion to DAS for “telehealth” and “telemedicine services.”
www.dor.wa.gov is my source.

Businesses with unreported investment income subject to B&O tax may qualify for penalty and interest relief under a temporary program starting July 1, 2025.

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Lakewood, WA
98499

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