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You are here: Home / Archives for Featured Information

November 4, 2021 Leave a Comment

Name Change

We have just finished with the 2020 tax season! We are thrilled that we made it intact! It was a brutal one; but for the most part all of us – taxpayers included – came out unscathed in the world of taxation. Now we plan for the next tax season. After almost two years of the pandemic, our internal move to National Tax and Finance, constant tax law changes, a multitude of credits, stimulus payments, PPP loans, unemployment, etc., etc. we are dreaming of a peaceful 2021.

Our name is changing, and you will soon be seeing it on our new signs. National is now part of B. Riley Wealth. This move does not change anything for us. We will remain at 869 Boston Post Road and our team, with Mary Jo as the branch manager and Senior Tax Professional. The legal entity of National Tax and Financial Services will be changing to B. Riley Wealth Tax Services. Aside from this new brand name, nothing about your tax and accounting services will change.

We have had some staff changes internally and have revisited our focus. We are focusing more on tax preparation and consulting services for individual clients; very small businesses; and trust and estates. We felt that many businesses would be better served by a larger firm specializing in their fields. With the tax law changes coming at us fast and furious, we felt the need to do a little more specialization. We also made the decision to provide very limited bookkeeping services. Our goal is to focus on the needs of the clients we do serve.

 

 

Disclosure:  “Securities offered through National Securities Corporation, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services provided through National Asset Management, Inc. (NAM), a SEC Registered Investment Advisor. Clapboard Hill Private Wealth is not an affiliate of NSC or NAM.

 

 

 

Filed Under: Featured Information, News Tagged With: b. riley, name change, national

June 25, 2021 Leave a Comment

Child Tax Credit

The Child Tax Credit:  What You Need to Know

One of the reasons Federal refunds are taking five months to get processed is the development and issuing of the direct payments for parents of children under 17.  You’ve heard about it – here are the major takeaways:

  • The Child Tax Credit is typically claimed on your tax return and serves to reduce your income and/or provide a tax refund when filing.
  • This new enactment will split the credit – half of the credit will be paid to families monthly and the other half will be claimed on your tax return. To get money to families sooner, the IRS will send you half of your 2021 Child Tax Credit this year, starting in July. The goal is to help alleviate the financial burden on families with young children in real time.  It will be broken up into monthly payments, which means payments of up to $300 per child under age 6 and $250 per child ages 6 to 17.
  • All working families will get the full credit if they make up to $150,000 for a couple or $112,500 for a family with a single parent (also called Head of Household). The American Rescue Plan increased the Child Tax Credit from $2,000 per child to $3,000 per child for children over the age of 6 and from $2,000 to $3,600 for children under the age of 6 and raised the age limit from 16 to 17.
  • If you’ve filed tax returns for 2019 or 2020, or if you signed up to receive a stimulus check from the Internal Revenue Service, you will get this tax relief automatically. You do not need to sign up or take any action.
  • Don’t want to take the monthly money? You can opt out by visiting the portal (second link below) and take the full credit as per usual on your tax return.  This may be an option to consider, especially if your financial situation has changed in 2021.  Because – and this is important to note – if you go over the income threshold limit, you will have to pay back the money sent to you.

 

Visit the link below for further information and for the IRS portal.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/child-tax-credit/

https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/advance-child-tax-credit-payments-in-2021

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Filed Under: COVID-19 Related News and Updates, Featured Information, News, Tax Preparation Tagged With: American rescue plan, Child tax credit, CTC, monthly payments, opt out

June 1, 2021 Leave a Comment

Second Quarter Estimated Taxes

As the Second Quarter of 2021 winds to a close, we wanted to remind you that estimated taxes are due on or before June 15, 2021.

If we prepared and included pre-addressed envelopes and vouchers with the amounts due in your tax return packet, please be sure to use those when mailing in your estimates (although we do strongly recommend paying these electronically – see below for instructions).  Please also be sure to write the correct Quarter, Year and your Social Security Number in the memo line so that the estimate gets applied to the right year.

*  We cannot stress enough that keeping accurate records of your estimates will prevent confusion when it comes time to prepare your return.  We provided you with an envelope to help keep track, so even if you pay online, print out the receipt showing the date and amount you paid and record it on the envelope or throw it in there for safe keeping.  99.9% of Post Filing Notices that are received are as a result of inaccurately reported estimate payments.

If we pay your estimates from our office, we will be calling shortly to remind you of the amount and the withdrawal date we will be processing them.  This is your time to inform us of any change in your employment or income which may affect your estimated tax due amount.

Again, you have the option to use EFTPS or IRS DirectPay for Federal estimated tax payments and TSC for the State.  Click here to be brought to the Federal site.  Click here to make CT online payments.

Federal estimates should be sent to:

Internal Revenue Service
P.O. Box 931100
Louisville, KY 40293-1100

CT Estimates should be sent to:

Department of Revenue Services
P.O. Box 5053
Hartford, CT 06102-5053

As always, we are here to answer any questions you may have.

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Filed Under: Featured Information, News, Personal Finance, Seasonal Information Tagged With: estimated taxes, estimates, Q2, quarterlies

April 7, 2021 Leave a Comment

Mid-Season Tax Check-In

No, this is not an Indiana Jones movie; it’s Tax Season, 2021.

2021 is proving to be a labyrinth of obstacles – with congressional changes in the middle of tax season, an ongoing unprecedented backlog at the IRS, ongoing COVID related issues, software changes and updates done on the fly.  It is a credit to us all – clients and preparers alike -that we have not taken our toys and gone home.  With all these goings on, we’re still here to get through it!  We’re with you, traversing this booby-trapped maze together.  Here’s what we’re looking at from our side:

  • Recent IRS changes resulting from the newly passed American Cares Act has delayed refunds, forced software updates and set normal processing times back for both the IRS and our office
  • The due date for individuals (not businesses or trusts/estates) has changed to May 17th, 2021. This means that you can file and pay up to 5/17/21 as part of the normal tax season without filing an extension
  • The due date for estimated tax payments is still 4/15/21 for the 1st Quarter
  • If you had unemployment and have already filed your taxes, there is no need to amend to take advantage of the $10,200 unemployment credit the IRS and Congress passed. The IRS has issued guidance that they will be processing the changes internally and refunds will begin to go out late spring, early summer
  • If you have unemployment and haven’t filed your taxes, returns have to be analyzed more carefully to extract the most beneficial outcome
  • We are about two weeks behind processing returns. We are working our hardest to get to your returns and process them, while simultaneously learning new tax laws and waiting for software updates.

I’m 97% sure that David Bowie did NOT have this in mind when he was penning “Changes” however, I’m 100% sure that these obstacles can’t keep us down and we will be “Heroes” on Tax Day.

MJW EA & Company LLC icon

 

Filed Under: Featured Information, News, Seasonal Information, Tax Preparation Tagged With: American Cares Act, changes, COVID, tax season, unemployment

March 18, 2021 Leave a Comment

American Rescue Plan Act

You’ve heard the news regarding the third round of stimulus payments, but have you heard from your tax preparer?  Don’t worry – we are okay!  We are navigating the rough seas of the changes wrought by the new tax changes, but we see the dessert island on the horizon.  (Yes, I mean dessert – it’s an island stocked with treats for after tax season).  We are awaiting guidance from the IRS and State, as well as software updates as the IRS determines the nature and scope of reporting requirements (including updated forms, schema changes and business rules).  There is also a possibility of the extension of the filing deadline.  We will keep you updated as we know more.

Here’s the upshot from the government side of things:  President Biden has signed the American Rescue Plan Act (HR1319).

A few highlights of the $1.9 Trillion Act include:

  • An exclusion of up to $10,200 of unemployment benefits received for taxpayers making less than $150,000
  • A third economic impact payment that is an advance of a 2021 tax credit
  • Changes to the child tax credit, earned income credit and dependent care credit.

Preparation and filing of 2020 tax returns has definitely been impacted for us as tax preparers and you as taxpayers.  We will be extending more returns than we ever have before due to these tax changes.

We will get through this together!  And there’s ice cream at the finish line.

MJW EA & Company LLC icon

 

Filed Under: Featured Information, News, Tax Preparation Tagged With: COVID-19, relief, stimulus, tax season

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Recent Posts

  • Name Change
  • Child Tax Credit
  • Second Quarter Estimated Taxes
  • Mid-Season Tax Check-In
  • American Rescue Plan Act
  • We may have moved but fret not – We’re Still Us!

COVID-19 Related News and Updates

Check here for the most recent updates we have gathered regarding the impact of COVID-19 and taxes, personal finance and planning.

We are also going to be providing – and updating – links to get you the most up-to-date information on changes.

 

Regarding the PPP (Paycheck Protection Program), please note: 

Because we are not “authorized agents” for purposes of completing loan applications, we are not able to complete the actual loan applications for our clients. At this point, there is limited and unclear guidance available for the loan process. We will do our best to provide information and/or documentation requested by the lenders that we have access to as your bookkeepers/accountants and/or tax preparers, but we are unable to assist with the actual loan application or loan amount requests. There are severe penalties for misrepresentation. These documents must be signed under penalty of perjury and we take that responsibility very seriously.

MJW EA & Company LLC icon

Get My Payment (Economic Impact Payment) status checking tool:  https://www.irs.gov/coronavirus/get-my-payment

Senator Chris Murphy’s Page:  https://www.murphy.senate.gov/coronavirus

From the IRS, those who would have had to take an RMD have been given relief for 2020.  Official policy can be found here:  https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/n-20-06.pdf

For those with student loans, check out this site for FAQs on relief in 2020:  https://studentaid.gov/announcements-events/coronavirus and https://patch.com/connecticut/across-ct/ct-coronavirus-payment-relief-student-loan-borrowers-lamont

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

CT Department of Labor

CT DMV is extending license renewals:  https://portal.ct.gov/DMV/Easy-Answers/Easy-Answers-Webpages/How-to-Renew-Your-Drivers-License

IRS FAQs on the stimulus payments:  https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/economic-impact-payments-what-you-need-to-know

Employee Retention Credit:  https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/faqs-employee-retention-credit-under-the-cares-act

CT Program for minority and female-owned businesses (It’s a 0% line of credit with forgiveness if used for certain types of expenses within 3 months):  https://www.hedcoinc.com/state-of-ct-hedco-decd-covid-19

The IRS has suspended their collections process during COVID-19.  Click here to read the updates:  https://www.taxprotoday.com/news/irs-hits-the-brakes-on-collections-in-response-to-the-coronavirus

 

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We are located at 869 Boston Post Road, Madison, CT 06443.

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Name Change

We have just finished with the 2020 tax season! We are thrilled that we made it intact! It was a brutal one; but for the most part all of us – taxpayers included – came out unscathed in the world of taxation. Now we plan for the next tax season. After almost two years of […]

  • Child Tax Credit
  • Second Quarter Estimated Taxes
  • Mid-Season Tax Check-In

Recent Posts

  • Name Change
  • Child Tax Credit
  • Second Quarter Estimated Taxes
  • Mid-Season Tax Check-In
  • American Rescue Plan Act
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Services
  • FAQ
  • Contact Us
  • Blog/News
  • Tax Packet
  • COVID-19 Related News and Updates

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