Axley & Rode, LLP

The IRS announced it is opening the 2021 individual income tax return filing season on January 24. (Business returns are already being accepted.) Even if you typically don’t file until much closer to the April deadline (or you file for an extension until October), consider filing earlier this year. Why? You can potentially protect yourself from tax identity theft — and there may be other benefits, too. How tax identity theft occurs In a tax identity theft scheme, a thief uses another individual’s personal information to file a bogus tax return early in the filing season and claim a fraudulent refund. The actual taxpayer discovers the fraud when he or she files a return and is told by the IRS that it is being rejected because one with the same Social Security number has already been filed for the tax year. While the taxpayer should ultimately be able to prove that his or her return is the legitimat

In recent years, Congress has undertaken efforts to protect American health care consumers from “surprise billing.” This problem occurs when those covered by health insurance suddenly find themselves hit with unexpected medical bills — often of several thousand dollars or more — because of hard-to-detect coverage gaps. The Consolidated Appropriations Act, passed in December 2020, included coverage and disclosure requirements intended to protect consumers from surprise medical bills issued by nonparticipating providers and facilities. Building on patient protections for emergency services originally included in the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the comprehensively revised and expanded requirements now apply to emergency and certain nonemergency services for plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2022. A familiar look Although the rules differ for emergency and nonemergency services, in eac

After two years of no increases, the optional standard mileage rate used to calculate the deductible cost of operating an automobile for business will be going up in 2022 by 2.5 cents per mile. The IRS recently announced that the cents-per-mile rate for the business use of a car, van, pickup or panel truck will be 58.5 cents (up from 56 cents for 2021). The increased tax deduction partly reflects the price of gasoline. On December 21, 2021, the national average price of a gallon of regular gas was $3.29, compared with $2.22 a year earlier, according to AAA Gas Prices. Don’t want to keep track of actual expenses? Businesses can generally deduct the actual expenses attributable to business use of vehicles. This includes gas, oil, tires, insurance, repairs, licenses and vehicle registration fees. In addition, you can claim a depreciation allowance for the vehicle. However, in many cases, cert

You may pay out a bundle in out-of-pocket medical costs each year. But can you deduct them on your tax return? It’s possible but not easy. Medical expenses can be claimed as a deduction only to the extent your unreimbursed costs exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income. Plus, medical expenses are deductible only if you itemize, which means that your itemized deductions must exceed your standard deduction. Qualifying costs include many items other than hospital and doctor bills. Here are some items to take into account in determining a possible deduction: Insurance premiums. The cost of health insurance is a medical expense that can total thousands of dollars a year. Even if your employer provides you with coverage, you can deduct the portion of the premiums you pay. Long-term care insurance premiums also qualify, subject to dollar limits based on age. Transportation. The cost of g

Do you want to sell commercial or investment real estate that has appreciated significantly? One way to defer a tax bill on the gain is with a Section 1031 “like-kind” exchange where you exchange the property rather than sell it. With real estate prices up in some markets (and higher resulting tax bills), the like-kind exchange strategy may be attractive. A like-kind exchange is any exchange of real property held for investment or for productive use in your trade or business (relinquished property) for like-kind investment, trade or business real property (replacement property). For these purposes, like-kind is broadly defined, and most real property is considered to be like-kind with other real property. However, neither the relinquished property nor the replacement property can be real property held primarily for sale. Important change Under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, tax-defe

If you’re paying back college loans for yourself or your children, you may wonder if you can deduct the interest you pay on the loans. The answer is yes, subject to certain limits. The maximum amount of student loan interest you can deduct each year is $2,500. Unfortunately, the deduction is phased out if your adjusted gross income (AGI) exceeds certain levels, and as explained below, the levels aren’t very high. The interest must be for a “qualified education loan,” which means a debt incurred to pay tuition, room and board, and related expenses to attend a post-high school educational institution, including certain vocational schools. Certain postgraduate programs also qualify. Therefore, an internship or residency program leading to a degree or certificate awarded by an institution of higher education, hospital or health care facility offering postgraduate training can qualify. It doesn’t matter when the loan was taken out

In Tax Tip 2021-103, the IRS recently reminded employers to undertake a thorough selection process when choosing a payroll services provider. Proceeding carefully is critical to both lessening the likelihood of fraud and ensuring that your compliance obligations are met. When deciding on a payroll service provider, employers should clearly understand their payroll and employment tax responsibilities. In the Tax Tip, the IRS addressed the two primary options you’ll likely encounter when choosing a provider: 1. A certified professional employer organization (CPEO) . Typically, CPEOs are solely liable for paying the customer’s employment taxes, filing returns, and making deposits and payments for the taxes reported related to wages and other compensation. Employers can find a CPEO on the IRS’s CPEO Public Listings page . 2. A reporting agent. This is

The IRS recently announced that the amount individuals can contribute to their 401(k) plans will increase in 2022. The tax agency has also announced other cost‑of‑living adjustments affecting dollar limitations for pension plans and retirement-related items for tax year 2022. Let’s look at some highlights. Rising limit First and foremost, the contribution limit for employees who participate in 401(k), 403(b) and most 457 plans, as well as the federal government’s Thrift Savings Plan, will increase to $20,500. That’s up from $19,500 in 2020 and 2021. The catch-up contribution limit for employees age 50 and over who participate in the plans mentioned remains unchanged at $6,500. Therefore, participants in the plans mentioned who are 50 and older can contribute up to $27,000, starting in 2022. The amount individuals can contribute to their Savings Incentive Match Plans for Emplo

The number of people engaged in the “gig” or sharing economy has grown in recent years. In an August 2021 survey, the Pew Research Center found that 16% of Americans have earned money at some time through online gig platforms. This includes providing car rides, shopping for groceries, walking dogs, performing household tasks, running errands and making deliveries from a restaurant or store. There are tax consequences for the people who perform these jobs. Basically, if you receive income from an online platform offering goods and services, it’s generally taxable. That’s true even if the income comes from a side job and even if you don’t receive an income statement reporting the amount of money you made. Traits of gig workers Gig workers are those who are independent contractors and conduct their jobs through online platforms. Examples include Uber, Lyft, Airbnb, Angi, Instacart and DoorDash

The IRS recently released 2022 cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) for a wide variety of tax-related limits, including those related to many popular fringe benefits. Care to take a sip? Here are some highlights: Health Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs). For 2022, the dollar limit on employee salary reduction contributions to health FSAs will rise from $2,750 to $2,850. Qualified transportation fringe benefits. The monthly limit on the amount that may be excluded from an employee’s income for qualified parking benefits will be $280 (up from $270). The combined monthly limit for transit passes and vanpooling expenses will also be $280. Qualified Small Employer Health Reimbursement Arrangements (QSEHRAs). The maximum amount of payments and reimbursements under a QSEHRA will be $5,450 for self-only coverage and $11,050 for family coverage (up from

The use of a company vehicle is a valuable fringe benefit for owners and employees of small businesses. This perk results in tax deductions for the employer as well as tax breaks for the owners and employees using the cars. (And of course, they get the nontax benefit of getting a company car.) Plus, current tax law and IRS rules make the benefit even better than it was in the past. The rules in action Let’s say you’re the owner-employee of a corporation that’s going to provide you with a company car. You need the car to visit customers, meet with vendors and check on suppliers. You expect to drive the car 8,500 miles a year for business. You also expect to use the car for about 7,000 miles of personal driving, including commuting, running errands and weekend trips. Therefore, your usage of the vehicle will be approximately 55% for business and 45% for personal purposes. You want a nice car to reflect positively

Here are some of the key tax-related deadlines affecting businesses and other employers during the first quarter of 2022. Keep in mind that this list isn’t all-inclusive, so there may be additional deadlines that apply to you. Contact us to ensure you’re meeting all applicable deadlines and to learn more about the filing requirements. January 17 (The usual deadline of January 15 is a Saturday) Pay the final installment of 2021 estimated tax. Farmers and fishermen: Pay estimated tax for 2021. January 31 File 2021 Forms W-2, “Wage and Tax Statement,” with the Social Security Administration and provide copies to your employees. Provide copies of 2021 Forms 1099-MISC, “Miscellaneous Income,” to recipients of income from your business where required. File 2021 Forms 1099-MIS

The Social Security Administration recently announced that the wage base for computing Social Security tax will increase to $147,000 for 2022 (up from $142,800 for 2021). Wages and self-employment income above this threshold aren’t subject to Social Security tax. Background information The Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) imposes two taxes on employers, employees and self-employed workers — one for Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance, which is commonly known as the Social Security tax, and the other for Hospital Insurance, which is commonly known as the Medicare tax. There’s a maximum amount of compensation subject to the Social Security tax, but no maximum for Medicare tax. For 2022, the FICA tax rate for employers is 7.65% — 6.2% for Social Security and 1.45% for Medicare (the same as in 2021). 2022 updates For 2022, an emp