Blog

Home Office Deduction?

By Joe Beige | Published March 19, 2015

The snow is melting, motorcycles are hitting the road (please watch out for them) and the April 15th deadline to file your 2014 Federal and State tax returns is right around the corner.

Do you work from home? You may be permitted to deduct certain home office expenses.

If you qualify you can claim the deduction whether you rent or own your home. If you qualify for the deduction you may use either the simplified method or the regular method to claim your deduction.

As a general rule, you must use a part of your home regularly and exclusively for business purposes. The part of your home used for business must also be:

  • Your principal place of business, or
  • A place where you meet clients or customers in the normal course of business, or
  • A separate structure not attached to your home.   Examples could include a garage or a studio.

As always it is best to get the advice of a tax professional to determine if you qualify for any deductions, including the home office expense deduction, and if it’s in your best interest to apply for it.

 

Did You Collect Unemployment Benefits This Year?

By Joe Beige | Published March 3, 2015

Did you or your spouse collect unemployment benefits this past year?

If you or your spouse lost their job unemployment benefits may serve as much needed relief. But did you know unemployment benefits are taxable?

They are and if you didn’t know and aren’t prepared for it you may find yourself owing State and Federal taxes and at time when you can least afford it. 

Unemployment is taxable and you must include all unemployment compensation as income for the year. You should receive a Form 1099-G, Certain Government Payments by Jan. 31 of 2015. This form will show the amount paid to you and the amount of any federal income tax withheld, if any.

If you owe State or Federal taxes and can’t pay them don’t wait, call our office today and learn about the options that may be available to you.

 

Beware Of Scams Using the IRS or USA.gov Identities

By Joe Beige | Published February 9, 2015

Beware of scams  artists using the IRS or USA.gov identities!

Besides death and taxes one thing that can be counted on is that as tax season rolls around scammers and con artist come out of the wood work.

Scammers are using the USA.gov name as part of an e-mail phishing scam to collect
personal information from unsuspecting taxpayers on a fake IRS website.

Remember the IRS o any other entity using “USA.gov” will never contact you to request your personal information!

If your receive an e-mail that’s supposedly from a government program, no matter how legitimate it seems, do no respond before doing the following:

 

 

New Warnings from the National Taxpayer Advocate regarding the IRS

By Joe Beige | Published January 14, 2015

Today the National Taxpayer Advocate released her 2014 annual report to Congress and if you’re a taxpayer you have a lot to be concerned with.   The National Taxpayer Advocate warned that taxpayers this year are likely to receive the worst levels of taxpayer service from the IRS since at least 2001.

According to the report taxpayers in 2015 should expect:

  • The IRS is unlikely to answer even half the telephone calls it receives, and levels of service may average as low as 43%.
  • Taxpayers who manage to get through are expected to wait on hold for 30 minutes on average and considerably longer at peak times.
  • The IRS will answer far fewer tax-law questions than in past years.  During the upcoming filing season, it will not answer any tax-law questions except “basic” ones.  After the filing season, it will not answer any tax-law questions at all, leaving the roughly 15 million taxpayers who file later in the year unable to get answers to their questions by calling or visiting IRS offices.
  • Tax return preparation assistance has been eliminated.

In the preface to the report the National Taxpayer Advocate emphasized four points:

  • “First, the budget environment of the last five years has brought about a devastating erosion of taxpayer service, harming taxpayers individually and collectively;
  • “Second, the lack of effective administrative and congressional oversight, in conjunction with the failure to pass taxpayer rights legislation, has eroded taxpayer protections enacted 16 or more years ago;
  • “Third, the combined effect of these trends is reshaping U.S. tax administration in ways that are not positive for future tax compliance or for public trust in the fairness of the tax system; and
  • “Fourth, this downward slide can be addressed if Congress makes an investment in the IRS and holds it accountable for how it applies that investment.”

The National Taxpayer Advocates report to Congress doesn’t bode well for taxpayers in 2015 and very likely beyond.

 

Post Appeal Mediation for Offers in Compromise

By Joe Beige | Published December 19, 2014

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has recently announced the nationwide rollout of  post-Appeals mediation for Offer in Compromise (OIC) and Trust Fund Recovery Penalty (TFRP) cases.  This is a nationwide expansion of an IRS pilot program instituted in 2008 and previously only available in select cities.

Under this program post-Appeals mediation will be available to taxpayers to help resolve disputes after unsuccessful negotiations with the IRS Office of Appeals. The mediator’s role is to assist the parties in reaching their own agreement collaboratively and the mediator does not have settlement authority over any issue. Appeals Officers trained in mediation techniques will serve as mediators at no cost to taxpayers.

If you have had an Offer in Compromise denied by the IRS contact the Law Office of Jack Stuart Beige & Associates, P.C. to discuss the eligibility criteria and complete procedures for initiating a post-Appeals mediation request and your options.

 

The IRS, YouTube and Healthcare?

By Joe Beige | Published November 26, 2014

That’s right. As unlikely a pairing as that may sound it really does exist and may be an invaluable resource for taxpayers.

The  announced the availability of several new YouTube videos to help taxpayers get important information about the Affordable Care Act and their tax return filing.

The IRS videos explain the premium tax credit, the individual shared responsibility provision, and the small business health care tax credit. The IRS says that additional videos about the Affordable Care Act will be available soon.

If you have questions about how the Affordable Care Act and your tax filings the IRS and YouTube may have the answers.

 

 

 

Changes in Circumstances that May Affect Premium Tax Credit?

By Joe Beige | Published November 3, 2014

That’s right.

If you enrolled in insurance coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplace, you are required to report changes to the Marketplace when they happen, like changes to your household income or family size, because they may affect your eligibility for the advance payments of the premium tax credits.

A full list of changes are available at HealthCare.gov/how-do-i-report-life-changes-to-the-marketplace but examples of changes in circumstances that you should report to the Marketplace include, but are not limited to:

·         an increase or decrease in your income
·         marriage or divorce
·         the birth or adoption of a child
·         starting a job with health insurance
·         gaining or losing your eligibility for other health care coverage
·         changing your residence

Accurate reporting is important to ensure that you are not receiving a greater credit that entitled too and to avoid a potential tax liability.

 

Do You Have A Defective Airbag?

By Joe Beige | Published October 27, 2014

This week, the United States National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) widened the scope of a dangerous airbag system recall, now including 7.8 million BMW, Chrysler, Ford, Honda, GM, Mitsubishi, Mazda, Subaru, Nissan, and Toyota cars and trucks, model years 2000 to 2008.

Manufactured by the Japanese multinational Takata Corporation, these airbags use a defective propellant mechanism and frame which can explode on deployment, sending plastic and metal shrapnel into the faces and chests of both drivers and those riding in the passenger seat.  To-date, this airbag defect has been linked to four deaths and thirty injuries from airbag ruptures.

According to NHTSA: “Consumers impacted by the recalls should have their vehicles serviced promptly once they receive notification from their vehicle manufacturer. NHTSA remains in close communication with the supplier and automakers to gather additional data and will take appropriate action based on our findings.”

As of October 20th, 2014, the NHTSA list of cars containing these defective Takata airbags was as follows:

BMW: 627,615 total number of potentially affected vehicles

2000 – 2005 3 Series Sedan

2000 – 2006 3 Series Coupe

2000 – 2005 3 Series Sports Wagon

2000 – 2006 3 Series Convertible

2001 – 2006 M3 Coupe

2001 – 2006 M3 Convertible

Chrysler: 371,309 total number of potentially affected vehicles

2003 – 2008 Dodge Ram 1500

2005 – 2008 Dodge Ram 2500

2006 – 2008 Dodge Ram 3500

2006 – 2008 Dodge Ram 4500

2008 – Dodge Ram 5500

2005 – 2008 Dodge Durango

2005 – 2008 Dodge Dakota

2005 – 2008 Chrysler 300

2007 – 2008 Chrysler Aspen

Ford: 58,669 total number of potentially affected vehicles

2004 – Ranger

2005 – 2006 GT

2005 – 2007 Mustang

General Motors: undetermined total number of potentially affected vehicles

2003 – 2005 Pontiac Vibe

2005 – Saab 9-2X

 

Ready for Ocotber 15th?

By Joe Beige | Published October 9, 2014

If you are one of the approximately 13 million U.S. taxpayers that filed for a six month extension to file your 2013 tax returns you have until October 15th to file.

According to the IRS almost 25% or one quarter  of those 13 million taxpayers haven’t filed their returns.

If you are on of those taxpayers contact your tax professional at once!  Failure to file your 2013 tax returns may subject you to IRS penalties.

 

 

 

Investigation of CareFusion Corporation

By Joe Beige | Published October 6, 2014

Investigation of CareFusion Corporation 

Smithtown, New York – October 6, 2014

 The Law Office of Jack Stuart Beige & Associates, PC, announces it is investigating the Board of Directors of CareFusion Corporation (NYSE: CFN) (“CareFusion”) for possible breaches of fiduciary duties and other violations of law in connection with CareFusion’s entry into an agreement to be acquired by Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE: BDX) (“BD”) in a transaction valued at approximately $12.2 billion.

Under the terms of the agreement, public shareholders of CareFusion would receive $49.00 in cash and 0.0777 of a share of BD for each share of CareFusion they own.  Based on BD’s closing stock price on October 3, 2014, CareFusion shareholders would have received consideration valued at approximately $58.00 per share.

The investigation concerns whether CareFusion’s Board of Directors breached its fiduciary duties to stockholders, whether the proposed consideration to be paid to CareFusion’s stockholders would be fair and adequate, and whether CareFusion is acting in its stockholders’ best interests.

If you own CareFusion common stock, purchased your shares prior to October 6, 2014, and wish to obtain additional information, please contact Mr. Beige by email at  or by telephone at (631) 231-7725