Following a letter from the American Institute of CPAs, the Internal Revenue Service announced on Oct. 1 that it would grant disaster tax relief for all individuals and businesses affected by Hurricane Helene.
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Changes made to OH|Tax eServices portal
Since Dec. 9, business taxpayers have been able to view their account status online through the OH|TAX eServices system.
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Ohio TechCred Applications Open Sept. 2
Ohio TechCred is a relatively new program that promotes technical training to build a stronger skilled workforce within the state.
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Ohio Dept. of Taxation issues new Employer Withholding Rates
New rates effective July 1
The Ohio Department of Taxation has issued new employer withholding tables for payrolls that begin on or after July 1, 2024.
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The Benefits of Filing a Tax Extension
One of the most common tax-related misconceptions is that filing a tax extension increases your risk of a tax audit.
This longstanding myth is simply not true, as filing a tax extension can statistically decrease the risk of an audit.
In addition to statistically decreasing the risk of an audit, there is also one other benefit to extending a tax return.
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Hurricane Ian Casualty Loss
Many of our clients who live in the Southwest Florida region, as well as North and South Carolina, were affected by Hurricane Ian.
On Oct. 5, 2022, the IRS published IR-2022-173, which allows hurricane victims in those states an extension of time to file their 2021 income tax returns until Feb. 15, 2023. This meant that if a valid extension was granted for your individual tax return through until Oct. 17, 2022, you had until Feb. 15. The affected states have followed the same stance as well. read more…
New changes abound for IRS in 2023, but one problem remains – backlogs
A new year ushers in many changes for the Internal Revenue Service, but one massive problem will not go away – backlogs.
While the IRS still must deal with a backlog of mail and a backed-up phone system that leaves taxpayers and practitioners on hold and frequently drops the call, changes are in the works. Among them are a potential new commissioner (Danny Werfel was nominated for the role in November 2022) and an increased budget that will give the IRS billions of dollars to spend, although it has less than two months left to develop a spending plan.
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IRS announces penalty relief for certain 2019 and 2020 returns
$1.2 billion in penalties will be refunded to 1.6 million taxpayers
In late August, the Internal Revenue Service announced on its website that it had issued Notice 2022-36, which will provide penalty relief to most taxpayers who filed certain 2019 or 2020 tax returns late.
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Where Is My Tax Refund?
In late May, the Internal Revenue Service enhanced the Where’s My Refund? tool on their website.
This new feature allows taxpayers to check the status of their refunds for current tax year and two previous years.
In order to check their refund status, taxpayers will need to provide their Social Security number or ITIN, filing status and expected refund amount from the original filed tax return for the tax year they are checking.
Previously, Where’s My Refund? only displayed the status of the most recently filed tax return within the past two tax years. Information available to those calling the refund hotline will be limited to the 2021 tax return.
Using the Where’s My Refund? Tool, taxpayers can check the status of their refund within:
• 24 hours after e-filing a tax year 2021 return
• Three or four days after e-filing a tax year 2019 or 2020 return
• Four weeks after mailing a return
The IRS reminds taxpayers that the Online Account continues to be the best option for finding their prior year adjusted gross income, balance due or other type of account information.
“We encourage those who expect a refund, but requested an extension, to file as soon as they’re ready,” said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig. “We process returns on a first-in basis, so the sooner the better. There’s really no reason to wait until October 17 if filers have the relevant information to file now. Free File is still available for extension recipients to use to prepare and file their federal tax return for free.”
Electronic filing is available anytime and the IRS continues to receive returns and issue refunds. Once taxpayers have filed, they can track their refund with the Where’s My Refund? tool.
This helpful tool, accessible on irs.gov or the IRS2Go mobile app, allows taxpayers to track their refund through three stages – received, approved and sent.
The tool is updated daily and gives taxpayers a projected refund issuance date as soon as it is approved.
The IRS does not recommend taxpayers call them to check on their refund status unless it has been more than 21 days since the return was filed or the tool says the IRS can provide more information.
If the IRS needs more information to process the return, the taxpayer will be contacted by mail.
For more information about checking the status of a tax refund, please visit irs.gov/refunds.
Brett Neate Featured Speaker at Wire-Net Event
Learn “5 Things Every Business Owner Should Do Before December 31” during WIRE-Net’sOctober workshop, Thursday, October 12 at Cuyahoga Community College’s Advanced Technology Training Center. The event is open to members and non-members.
Partner Brett Neate will educate business owners and decision makers as they face the Q4 flurry of activity that is critical to accurately closing 2017 and properly preparing for 2018.
The full-morning session will address business succession, inventory and fixed assets, financial statement preparation, compensation and budgeting, and daily management of a business.
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Since 1938, Zinner has counseled individuals and businesses from start-up to succession. At Zinner, we strive to ensure we understand your business and recognize threats that could impact your financial situation.
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