Marshall Tax Service

01/17/2019

Once February rolls around, you should’ve received your W-2 forms from your employer. The deadline to furnish an employee’s W-2 is Jan. 31 — although if an employer mails it out by that day, that meets the IRS’s deadline requirements.

1 OF 5 Reasons to File Your Taxes Early
$$$$$$$$Get your tax refund early$$$$$

The Form W-2 Wage and Tax Statement breaks down an employee’s pay, including withheld funds for income, Social Security or Medicare taxes.

11/16/2018

This year marks the first under the new Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, an overhaul of the tax code that resulted in higher individual income tax rates, a doubled standard deduction and the elimination of personal exemptions.

11/14/2018

FOR TAX YEAR 2017, E-FILE CLOSES ON NOVEMBER 17; AFTER THAT, DISASTER VICTIMS, OTHERS NEED TO FILE ON PAPER
Taxpayers, including those in disaster areas, who want to file a 2017 tax return electronically are reminded to do so by Saturday, November 17, 2018. Filing of paper tax returns will remain available after that date.

IRS Modernized e-file, the system that processes electronically-filed individual returns, will shut down after November 17, enabling the IRS to perform annual maintenance and to reprogram the system for the upcoming 2019 tax-filing season. As a result, any taxpayer needing to file after November 17 will need to do so on paper.

While the vast majority of individuals have already filed their tax year 2017 federal tax returns, victims of Hurricane Michael, Hurricane Florence and other recent disasters qualify for an additional extension. This includes taxpayers who live, work or have a business in a federally declared disaster area, have a U.S. tax filing obligation and had previously obtained a valid 6-month extension of time to file their federal tax return. Extended deadlines vary by locality and range from Dec. 17, 2018, to Feb. 28, 2019. Currently, parts of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Wisconsin and the Northern Mariana Islands qualify.

09/04/2018

Head of Household Definition
Further, head of household filing status also depends on a nonzero exemption amount. An individual is a head of household if the individual maintains a home for either:
1. a qualifying child, or
2. any other person who is a dependent of the taxpayer.
Because the only dependents other than qualifying children are qualifying relatives,
- a zero exemption amount, and
- the resulting near elimination of qualifying relatives,
would render the express provision for other dependents superfluous.

It also would deny head of household filing status to individuals:
- who previously qualified for that filing status, and
- otherwise would continue to qualify.
Accordingly, the IRS intend to propose regulations to clarify that:
- the reduction of the exemption amount to zero for tax years 2018-2025
- does not apply to the gross income limitation in the definition of qualifying relative.

08/16/2018

THIS WEEKS TIDBIT.....TAKE HEED
The IRS continues to urge taxpayers who haven’t yet done a “Paycheck Checkup” to do one as soon as possible to see if they’re having their employer withhold the right amount of tax after major changes in the tax law. The IRS Withholding Calculator can help taxpayers learn if they need to make changes soon to avoid an unwelcome surprise come tax time.
This week, the IRS is focusing on some groups of taxpayers who should especially check their withholding.
Please help us get the word out -- the earlier people check and adjust their withholding, the more time there is for withholding to take place evenly during the rest of the year.

08/10/2018

📌📌REAL ESTATE AGENTS TAX BREAK ALERT🗝🗝

For millions of self-employed real estate professionals, including agents and brokers, one of the missing pieces of the puzzle is a brand new deduction that few taxpayers know about, and fewer still understand. Meet the 20 Percent Deduction for Qualified Business Income.

08/10/2018

THIS WEEKS TAXTID BIT….THE NEW POSTCARD WAY TO FILE
• Trump tax plan
Earlier this summer, the IRS and the Treasury Department unveiled a new postcard-sized 1040, which aims to replace the current 1040, 1040A and 1040EZ for next season. The IRS says the postcard form omits all but essential information and relegates the rest to supplemental schedules.
‘Gimme a break’
The PRIOR makes no sense, as students or people with children need at least two schedules to claim the refundable and non-refundable portions of the child tax credit and/or the American Opportunity Credit. “In other words,” according to Rosenberg, “lower-income taxpayers will still be providing the same complex information as ever. For everyone else, nothing will really change.”
“So far just some general discussion about more simplicity in the prep process,” said Brian Stoner, a CPA in Burbank, California, adding, “No chance: With e-file and tax prep software I don’t expect input screens to be any simpler, plus [the postcard] adds schedules and worksheets to almost every return except maybe the 1040EZ, which will no longer exist.”
“If anything, coming in conjunction with the tax reform plus the fact that the majority of states have not conformed to the changes in federal tax law, tax preparation will probably be more complicated,”
“A friend of my daughter asked me, ‘What is a postcard, anyway?’ It’s also interesting that if you paper file and mail this ‘postcard,’ you have to put it in an envelope [to protect against ID theft], so it will cost much more to mail it than a postcard.”

Stay Tuned in the upcoming weeks we will continue to post tidbits designed to help YOU BETTER PREPARE AND WHAT TO EXPECT AND NOT TO EXPECT THIS COMING TAX SEASON

08/04/2018

We are here to service all your tax needs 24/7 365,.not just in April!! We specialize in preparing unfiled, previous year's returns, amendments, any size business and corporate taxes, as well as personal tax preparation! Call Jon 240-271-5079 to make an appt today!