Barbara A. Crawford, Tax Accountant, LLC

Taxpayers and tax practitioners received guidance from the IRS on what to expect in the areas of audits, collections, tax return processing, and Tax court operations now that the govenment shutdown has concluded. The IRS explained on it's website, that IRS employees returned to work on Jan. 28, and are going through mail and voicemail messages, but that it will take several days for them to catch up! The guidance makes it clear that the IRS is not extending any deadlines due to the shutdown.

This has been an extremely busy week, attending IRS webinars for National Tax Security Awareness Week 2018! Attended: "Understanding the Dark Web", "Racing Toward Year End: Employment Tax Updates & Reminders", & Tax Reform Basics for the Qualified Business Income Deduction (199A)! The IRS and Security Summit partners also warned the public of a surge of fraudulent emails impersonating the IRS and using tax transcripts as bait to entice users to open documents containing malwa...re. "If in doubt, don't give it out! The IRS reminds us to be on the lookout for scammers and report them! Small Businesses should be on-guard against a growing wave of identity theft and W-2 scams. Employers hold sensitive tax data on their employees, which is highly valued by identity theives! The IRS, State Tax Agencies and the Tax Industry encourage both individual and business taxpayers to take steps to protect their tax data and identities in advance of the 2019 filing season! See more

IMPORTANT ALERT! Bipartison Budget Act Updates for 2017 are Complete! The Bipartison Budget Act of 2018, signed February 9, retroactively extended and modified numerous tax provisions covering 2017. Drake Software, our tax software company, has notified us that all of these provisions have now been updated and implemented in Drake Tax 2017! We can now prepare and e-file returns claiming any of the tax provisions covered by this legislation!

I'm proud of these 3 Guy's. There will be times we will feel that we can not or do not want to move forward, as we say sometimes, we want to throw in the towel,... but for God nothing is impossible, and He knows where to put us, thank God these guys ended their recovery. I love them as if they were my children, (sometimes scold like my children, right Messy) God bless You Guy's. Habrá momentos vamos a sentir que no podemos o no queremos avanzar, como se dice a veces, queremos tirar la toalla, pero para Dios nada es imposible, y Él sabe dónde ponernos , gracias a Dios estos Chicos terminaron su recuperación. Los amo como si fueran mis hijos, (algunas veces los regaño como si lo fueran) Dios les bendiga Chicos.

Update! Some extender provisions are now able to be filed! The IRS announced on February 22 that it's processing systems have been reprogrammed to handle the three benefits most likely to be claimed on returns filed early in the tax season. These benefits have been renewed as part of the Bipartisan Budget Act, enacted on February 9. As a result, we can now file returns claiming: -Exclusion from gross income of discharge of qualified principal residence indebtedness (claim...ed on Form 982). - Mortgage insurance premiums (PMI) treated as qualified residence interest (claimed on Schedule A). And -Deduction for qualified tuition and related expenses (claimed on Form 8917). Note: The IRS continues to update it's systems for the other tax benefits extended by the new law. (At least 30 total) Taxpayers who have already filed their 2017 federal tax return and now wish to claim one of these renewed tax benefits can do so by paper filing an amended return on Form 1040X. We are still on hold with many of our tax returns, until this process is complete! Contact our offices with any questions!

We are still on hold, waiting for the IRS & tax software companies to update! It is frustrating for all of us! We are trying to be patient! Will keep everyone updated!

IMPORTANT ALERT! Budget Bill Passed-Renews Tax Extenders. On Friday, the U.S, government passed a $400 Million Budget bill that retroactively renews many expired tax provisions! The IRS announced that it will be assessing the significant changes in order to determine it's implementation plan. All the tax software companies will also be evaluating the legislation, and will be preparing to implement the necessary changes in conjunction with the IRS! It is too early to know when these updates will be available, but rest assured, we will be working diligently with our tax software company, in order to prepare your tax returns as timely as possible.

We are busy working on 2017 Tax returns, and meeting with clients! Have you made your tax appointment yet?

All W-2 Forms & 1099 Forms are due to the recipients, and the government by January 31st!

The President just signed the new Tax Bill into Law! I wish all my clients, business associates and friends, Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!!

The House and Senate have now passed H.R. 1, sweeping tax legislation, and it is headed to the President for his signature. Most of the changes made by the Act will go into effect January 1, 2018, and will not impact the 2018 filing season (2017 tax year). However, some changes will be near-term, such as payroll procedures (yet to be determined) and bonus depreciation rules. Stay tuned for further updates!

After some procedural drama, Congress passed sweeping new tax legislation on December 20, 2017. On December 19, 2017, the House passed H.R. 1 by a vote of 227-203. In the early morning hours of December 20, 2017, the Senate passed H.R. 1 by a vote of 51-48, but only after making several technical amendments to provisions the Senate parliamentarian adjudged violative of the Byrd Rule. One change eliminated the provision allowing Section 529 plans to be used by homeschool fami...lies. Another removed the formal short title, "Tax Cuts and Jobs Act." The House voted again December 20, 2017, by a vote of 224-201, to approve the amended legislation. As such, H.R. l, now left only with the catchy title, "An Act to provide for reconciliation pursuant to titles II and V of the concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2018,"(Act) will become law when signed by the President. It is unclear at this time when that will happen. The signature could be delayed pending budget negotiations. Stay tuned to find out what this means for our Clients!

The Tax Bill has passed in the House, now on to the Senate!