Now that the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is fully in effect, let’s take a look at some common tax problems you may be facing as a contractor or “gig economy” worker. Failure to pay quarterly estimated taxes Generally, people who are self-employed or work as contractors need to pay quarterly estimated taxes. Yet the gig economycontinue reading…
Burned by failing to withhold enough? IRS announces new estimator
The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act changed a number of things, eliminating many traditional tax exemptions and raising the standard deduction so that itemizing was much less common. As a result, the IRS recommended that people reconsider their 2018 tax withholdings and offered an online calculator to help. That calculator, however, was difficult tocontinue reading…
Got a letter from the IRS about your cryptocurrency investments?
The IRS taxes cryptocurrency as capital gains, but it requires taxpayers to disclose every transaction, whether or not it resulted in gains or losses. If you have invested in Bitcoin or another digital currency and haven’t disclosed it to the IRS, you may not have paid all the taxes due. At the end of lastcontinue reading…
IRS issues draft updates to Form 1040, Form 1040-SR, schedules
The proposed updates for the 2019 tax returns have been released, including a new Form 1040-SR for seniors. The new form for seniors was required by the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018. The new 1040-SR will look visually different from past forms. The font size is larger and it is designed with high contrast in mind,continue reading…
New RESPECT Act limits IRS seizures for ‘structuring’ offenses
When the government accuses you of a crime, sometimes it seizes any and all property it believes is tied to that crime. This process is called “civil asset forfeiture.” When money and assets are seized, it becomes the taxpayer’s burden to prove that they were not involved in or the proceeds of criminal activity —continue reading…