Premier Tax Service

02/08/2021

We painted the office yesterday for 4 hours and today for 8 hours getting for tax clients!!!

01/27/2021

The 2019 X amended tax return will now be accepted electronically.

01/27/2021

The cares act permit certain individuals who file a schedule SE which is Social Security, To defer the payment of 50% of their tax imposed from March 27, 2022 December 31, 2020

01/27/2021

New for 2020: the standard deduction has increased to single or married filing separately $12,400 and married filing jointly a qualifying widow $24,800 and head of household $18,650

01/27/2021

What’s new for 2020 individual income tax return: The economic impact payments are not taxable but they reduce your recovery rebate credit. You can elect to use your 2019 earned income To figure your 2020 earned income credit or additional child tax credit. Educator expenses include any protective equipment, disinfectant and other supplies but after March 12, 2020. 

01/16/2021

The 2021 tax season will begin on Friday, Feb. 12, 2021. The IRS will accept and process 2020 tax year returns on this date.

01/08/2021

Go to IRS.gov very soon to order the NEW 1099-NEC for 2020 for NON EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION. They are due by the end of January.

01/01/2021

Write down your odometer readings today

12/23/2020

Second COVID Relief Package Passed
Stimulus checks could mail as early as next week

Both houses of Congress voted to pass the latest COVID relief legislation and all indications are that the president will sign it into law. We know that more guidance will be provided as this rolls out, but here are the highlights as we know them:

PPP and small business support: Business expenses paid for with the proceeds of PPP loans are tax deductible, consistent with Congressional intent in the CARES Act. In addition, the loan forgiveness process is simplified for borrowers with PPP loans of $150,000 or less. Unspent funds totaling $138 billion will be reinvested in the PPP program.

Economic impact payments (EIP): The bill includes a second round of EIPs for qualifying Americans.

The IRS will use the data it already has in its system to begin making payments at the end of December through the first two weeks of January. If the IRS has your direct deposit information, you will receive a payment that way. If it does not, you will receive your payment as a check or debit card in the mail. If you are eligible but don’t receive your check for any reason, you can claim the payment when you file your 2020 taxes in the spring of 2021.

Under the CARES Act, joint returns of couples where only one member of the couple had an SSN were ineligible for a rebate. This latest round of relief changes that provision. These families will now be eligible to receive payments for the members of the family who have SSNs. This change is retroactive, meaning those who fall under this category who missed out on the first round of EIPs can claim that money when filing 2020 tax returns in the spring of 2021.

The full credit amount is $600 per individual, $1,200 per couple and $600 for children. It is available for individuals with AGI at or below $75,000 ($112,500 for heads of household), and couples with AGI at or below $150,000. If you have children, you will receive an additional $600 per child.

For those above this income level, your tax rebate amount will be reduced by $5 for each $100 your AGI exceeds the above thresholds.

This means:

An individual without children will not receive any rebate if their AGI exceeds $87,000.
A couple without children will not receive any rebate if their AGI exceeds $174,000.
A family of four will not receive any rebate if their AGI exceeds $198,000.
The IRS will use the same methodology for calculating payments as it did for the first round of economic impact payments.

Unemployment assistance: For those who are unemployed, the pandemic unemployment insurance program will be extended by 16 weeks. Supplemental federal unemployment benefits of $300 per week will continue into April 2021 instead of ending in December.

Rental assistance: The current CDC eviction moratorium will be extended until Jan. 31, 2021.

Student loans: Extension of student loan forbearance provisions created in CARES and extended by executive order, from the current expiration date of Jan. 31, 2021 through April 1, 2021.

Other tax provisions: This act also includes several provisions related to disaster relief, tax extenders, net operating loss changes and more.

copied from NATP

12/02/2020

My new mask!

10/08/2020

If you missed the July 15, 2020 deadline to file a 2019 Tax Return or you e-Filed an extension, you have until October 15, 2020 to eFile your 2019 Taxes.

09/25/2020

Several changes are coming to the 2020 tax return. One is that charitable cash contributions up to $300 will be treated as above-the-line deductions (reported on Schedule A).

07/13/2020

Victims of the tornadoes, severe storms, flooding and straight-line winds that began on April 12 in the following areas may qualify for tax relief from the Internal Revenue Service

South Carolina: Individuals and households who reside or have a business in Aiken, Barnwell, Berkeley, Colleton, Hampton, Marlboro, Oconee, Orangeburg and Pickens counties qualify for tax relief.

07/13/2020

Individuals who took advantage of the People First Initiative (PFI) tax relief and did not make (or skipped) previously owed tax payments between March 25 to July 15 need to restart their payments to avoid penalties and possible default on their agreements.
Copied

05/24/2020

The IRS has set up a phone line for especially for taxpayers with questions about their Economic Impact Payments. That number is 800-919-9835.

05/16/2020

The IRS and Treasury have successfully delivered nearly 130 million Economic Impact Payments (EIP) to Americans in less than a month, and more are on the way. However, the following scenarios may explain why some of your clients may have received a payment amount different than what they expected:

Your clients have not filed a 2019 tax return, or the IRS has not finished processing their 2019 return
Claimed dependents are not eligible for an additional $500 payment
Dependents are college students
Claimed dependents are parents or relatives, age 17 or older
Past-due child support was deducted from the payment
Garnishments by creditors reduced the payment amount
Copied from IRS

04/22/2020

Unemployment for the Self Employed and More

Unemployment for the Self Employed and More

An overview of the unemployment insurance process, for the self-employed, contractors, gig workers, individuals who file a 1099 and more. This virtual meetin...

04/16/2020

The IRS is currently experiencing an outage on their e file system

04/10/2020

Calculating your loan amount as a sole proprietor
Your 2019 income is the sole proprietorship’s net profit. If you have been taking draws out of the business to serve as regular income, this will not be included in your payroll calculation. This is because you pay Self Employment Tax, which is based on your net profit only—not your member drawing. You will find your 2019 Net Profit listed either on an annual income statement at the very bottom, or on line 31 of your Schedule C if you have a 2019 tax return.

If you do not have any W2 employees, your net profit is the total payroll cost you can include. If you do have W2 employees that you are remitting payroll taxes for, you may also include the annual salaries of any employees whose primary residence is the United States. Keep in mind that your employees, as well as yourself, are all subject to the $100,000 salary cap. If an employee’s salary or your net profit is over $100,000, you may only calculate using $100,000.

Remember that single-member LLCs are going to be considered sole proprietors here, in the same way that you are when you file your taxes. It’s also worth noting that if you share a sole proprietorship with a spouse, you cannot include your spouse in this application unless they are a W2 employee. Without W2 employees, you will apply on behalf of the legal owner of the sole proprietorship only.

Rent & utilities are not included in the initial application.

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04/07/2020

Tax filers with adjusted gross income up to $75,000 for individuals and up to $150,000 for married couples filing joint returns will receive the full payment. For filers with income above those amounts, the payment amount is reduced by $5 for each $100 above the $75,000/$150,000 thresholds. Single filers with income exceeding $99,000 and $198,000 for joint filers with no children are not eligible. Social Security recipients and railroad retirees who are otherwise not required to file a tax return are also eligible and will not be required to file a return.

Eligible taxpayers who filed tax returns for either 2019 or 2018 will automatically receive an economic impact payment of up to $1,200 for individuals or $2,400 for married couples and up to $500 for each qualifying child.

Scheduled dates: April 13th for direst deposit and May 3rd for paper checks to be mailed.

04/07/2020

1099 subcontractors may apply for PPP loan on April 10th with their local lender or go to sba.gov. The $$$ will go fast.

04/06/2020

Home

The S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce encourages employees who believe they may qualify for the additional $600 weekly benefit, available under the CARES Act, to file a claim. These individuals will also need to login into their account each week to confirm that they are still unemployed. This is known as Weekly Certification.

Although S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce does not yet have technical guidance or a start date for the CARES Act provisions, there are many types of individuals who would not normally qualify for unemployment insurance benefits, such self employed workers, that could be eligible under a program called Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA).

Individuals who may be eligible include:

Individuals who file a 1099
Self employed
Church employees
Non-profit and governmental employees
Independent contractors
Gig economy workers
Those who have exhausted their regular UI benefits

Claims can be filed online by clicking the MyBenefits Portal on the top right side of the agency’s website: dew.sc.gov or by calling 1-866-831-1724. Patience is encouraged filing a claim.

ATTENTION CLAIMANTS: Beginning Sunday, November 3, all claimants must claim their weekly benefits online. The phone system will no longer offer the certification option. Please take the time now to certify online so you are familiar with the process and do not miss or delay an unemployment insura....

04/03/2020

From tax foundation

04/03/2020

New interim guidelines were issued last night by the U.S. Small Business Administration to address some of the gray areas in the Paycheck Protection Program.

One question that was has been often asked has been addressed. The answer is on Page 11:
h. Do independent contractors count as employees for purposes of PPP loan calculations?
No, independent contractors have the ability to apply for a PPP loan on their own so they do not count for purposes of a borrower’s PPP loan calculation.
NAR will be updating their information later today.

If needed, unemployment benefits are through the S.C. Dept. of Employment and Workforce website. But they are not ready to accept applications from independent contractors, yet--we should have an update later today or early next week as to when they will be ready. From SCR

04/03/2020

Coronavirus (COVID-19): Small Business Guidance & Loan Resources

https://www.sba.gov/page/coronavirus-covid-19-small-business-guidance-loan-resources

Health and government officials are working together to maintain the safety, security, and health of the American people. Small businesses are encouraged to do their part to keep their employees, customers, and themselves healthy.

03/20/2020

This morning, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced via Twitter: "At @realDonaldTrump’s direction, we are moving Tax Day from April 15 to July 15. All taxpayers and businesses will have this additional time to file and make payments without interest or penalties."

03/18/2020

Washington – Following President Donald J. Trump’s emergency declaration pursuant to the Stafford Act, the U.S. Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) today issued guidance allowing all individual and other non-corporate tax filers to defer up to $1 million of federal income tax (including self-employment tax) payments due on April 15, 2020, until July 15, 2020, without penalties or interest. The guidance also allows corporate taxpayers a similar deferment of up to $10 million of federal income tax payments that would be due on April 15, 2020, until July 15, 2020, without penalties or interest. This guidance does not change the April 15 filing deadline.
copied from IRS

03/18/2020

From US Congress

03/17/2020

I will be working on tax returns from home when possible. I will be in the office on Monday and Wednesday for now. You can drop off your documents at my office thru the door slot if no one is there. Please leave a number to reach you. Please stay safe! Thanks for the understanding. My cell number is (803) 645-2900.

03/17/2020

Congress is working on a bill that the House has passed. We expect few if any changes to the bill in the Senate, so here is where the measure stands now:

Family Medical Leave Expansion
Allows up to 12 weeks of certain virus-related family medical leave through the end of 2020
Covers employees at businesses with between 50-500 employees
Provides a refundable tax credit for eligible self-employed individuals equal to their qualified family leave equivalent
Provides employers with a refundable tax credit equal to certain family leave wages paid to employees
Paid Sick Leave Expansion
Allows two weeks of certain virus-related paid sick leave through the end of 2020.
Covers employees at businesses with fewer than 500 employees.
Provides a refundable tax credit for eligible self-employed individuals equal to their qualified sick leave equivalent
Provides employers with a refundable tax credit equal to certain paid sick leave wages paid to employees
Medicare, Medicaid, Health Insurance and Unemployment Changes
Requires insurers, Medicare, Medicaid, and other federal health programs to fully cover testing and related services for COVID-19, without cost-sharing
Increases funding to Medicaid to help cover uninsured populations
Provides additional funds for certain programs aiding elderly Americans
Increases funding for emergency transfers to state unemployment programs and increased flexibility for states to modify unemployment policies based on effects of COVID-19, such as waived work search requirements.
About the Tax Credits
Refundable tax credits are considered especially generous since any amount above taxes due is paid in the form of a refund. The payroll tax credit provided to employers will provide cash to them relatively quickly as it is creditable against their portion of an employee’s Social Security tax liability, which is generally due monthly or semi-weekly. And since most self-employed persons are required to pay quarterly estimated tax payments, they will not have to wait until the end of the tax year to see the cash
From NAR

03/16/2020

The President put in place on Friday, March 13, 2020 a temporary waiving of the interest on federal student loans, but please continue to make your principal payment.

01/27/2020

Income tax season is now underway and electronic filing begins today. Please consider our company with 25 years of experience and over 25 hours of continuing education last year. We have very reasonable rates! We specialize in self employed businesses, farms and rental properties. Call today 803-649-2252

01/18/2020

The IRS will officially begin accepting and processing tax returns for the 2019 tax year on Monday, Jan. 27th of 2020.

01/11/2020

Make sure you write down your odometer readings this week for my self employed. Also you can order FREE w2s and w3s or 1099s and 1096s online with the IRS or call 800tax forms. Those need to be given to people by January 31st.

11/13/2019

IT MAY BE TIME TO GET A REAL ID...SC must comply with the October 1, 2020 deadline to offer this service. The DMV lines wait times next year may become much longer. You do not need a REAL ID to drive, vote, visit unsecured federal facilities, access hospitals, or receive benefits for which you are entitled (VA, SS, etc) You may use a different federally approved ID (passport or a military ID) instead of a REAL ID to fly domestically. However, if you don't have one of the optional federal ID's you will eventually need the REAL ID to fly on commercial airlines.