Blog Posts

Estimated Payment Videos!

4/14/2021

So I am fighting through the massive backlog of state returns I have, but I am surfacing for air long enough to remind you that estimated (AKA quarterly) payments are still DUE APR 15! That deadline did NOT get extended!

And just in time to help you, I have created two new How-To Videos walking you through making payments to federal and state, check them on on the How-To Videos page!

NY and States Unemployment Update

4/8/2021

Yesterday Cuomo's budget director officially confirmed that unemployment benefits in NY are staying taxable in full, there will be no break like the Federal. Womp womp :( So if you only were waiting on NY, I am going to go ahead and start working through and getting you filed.

If you were on a tour last year and have like 7 or 8 states to file, there are still a few states doing some wrangling, so I will likely save you for last to give max time for the software to be correctly updated. So I probably won't be contacting you for a couple of weeks.

So to sum up, here is what I am doing:
1. Contacting in order all clients that were waiting on ONLY New York's decision on unemployment, letting them know how much they owe and confirming whether or not they want direct debit, and then sending NY efile docs and filing. This will take approx 2-3 weeks.

2. Once I finish that, I will be going back through and dealing with clients that were waiting on multiple states (so tour people) and making sure all those states are being dealt with correctly, then emailing to confirm refunds/amounts owed and debit options, then sending efile docs and filing. I will start with this the last week of April and get it done first week of May still in plenty of time!

What do you need to do? Nothing, hang tight, I will get to you. If you are in Group 2 and you want to re-confirm with me what you might owe, shoot me and email and I will get you a quick response if I can, but otherwise don't worry, just wait til I contact you!

NY update

4/6/2021

So NY just reached a budget deal, and I don't see anything in it about unemployment tax relief. I want to give it a few days to see if any news on this emerges, but if there isn't news about it by April 12, I am going to guess it's not happening. But since we have until May 17, we can afford to wait a little bit longer, though I will need to start filing people by Apr 26 in order to get everyone in on time. If you don't want to wait and want to just go ahead and file, let me know!

New Video and Update on NY

4/5/2021

So NY is still having a fight over their budget, and it will be a couple of days before it gets finalized, so I am advising we wait and see if the unemployment exemption gets tossed in, and see how it looks later this week!

Also, I have a new video up on the How-To Videos page, where I walk you through making a Federal Estimated Tax Payment! I hope to have one up for NY state by the end of the week! First quarter payments are due Apr 15, no extension!

Update on States

4/1/2021

First - ALL states have now extended EXCEPT HI, they extended to April 20. So thanks, HI? So no worries about a random state that will penalize you. (AZ hasn't officially yet, but it's moving through the legislature and looks very likely)

Still waiting a bit longer to see if NY is gonna grant unemployment relief, there is a bill floating around, but they are currently having a massive budget fight so we might need to wait another week for the dust to settle on that to see how it looks. I have even gone so far as to call and email some state senators, but no response.

Update for those who filed pre-March with unemployment!

3/31/2021

Hi folks! Big announcement from the IRS about how they will be handling returns filed before the delightful retroactive tax law change!

They will be automatically adjusting returns and starting to issue refunds in May (they are doing single people first, then married). For a lot of you, that will be sufficient! But for a lot of you it will not, because your reduced income might qualify you for new credits etc, and some of you might want to also amend your state return.

After May 17, I will start going through all the previously filed returns and checking into what your new total should be. I will send you an email checking in with you about how much you got from the IRS and if it matches what I think you should get, great! If it does not, then we will amend and get you more money. There are about 100 of you, so it's going to take me at least a month to get to everybody. Please don't email me unless you haven't heard from me by July 1, I will get to you as soon as I can!

Make sure your address is updated with the IRS - they will probably use your bank account if they have it, but if not they will be mailing checks.

Link to IRS press release: https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-to-recalculate-taxes-on-unemployment-benefits-refunds-to-start-in-may

There have yet to be any announcements (or any guidance at all) about those of you with Health Care Tax Credit issues - my bet is we will need to amend those. I don't even have a patch to file those currently, but hopefully I will get that soon.

State Update

3/21/2021

So the federal law changing unemployment has thrown the state returns into chaos. States that tax unemployment are now having to decide to conform or not, and the extension gives them a little time to decide. I am recommending a 2 week moratorium on filing most states, and I will re-evaluate the situation on April 5. (PA and NJ are mostly unaffected, and so might be able to be filed now)

We can file the federal, there will be no more federal changes. And I know that because you can only use reconciliation so many times a year, and there is no way Republicans would agree to do anything and give 60 votes.

Almost all states have conformed to the new May 17 deadline. Here are the states that have NOT as of today's update, 3/26: Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, and Ohio.

NY has also extended the deadline! And other news

3/19/2021

States are moving to extend their deadlines to May 17 to match the IRS. NY and CA have announced they are extending as well. No word on NJ, or other states, but they probably will too.

The new patch I got has fixed the federal, but now the states are, to put it mildly, FUBAR. I am not advising filing states until things get fixed and sorted, but at least we can get your federal done, and hopefully with the new law that means a big refund for you!

There are new reports floating around that the IRS is going to automatically issue refunds for already filed returns with unemployment, but no official word yet, and that's to say nothing of any state changes.

I am very very frustrated with the constant changes and uncertainty, but I will keep on working to try and get things done for you as soon as I can! Just hang in there, and wait for an email from me if I need any action from you.

I GOT THE PATCH!

3/18/2021

WOO! I am now starting on the returns that have been on hold waiting for the new unemployment rules, it will probably take me a week or so, so hang tight and I will get to you shortly!

No word on amendments yet, so sit tight on those!

EDIT: At this time, I am advising that you MIGHT want to hold off on filing any states. Now that we have until May 17, assuming states conform to the date, especially if you owe you might want to see if any states also conform to the treatment of unemployment. NY doesn't have anything official, but some state legislators have expressed interest and the governor has expressed support. You might want to give them a couple weeks to see if they do anything concrete. But we can file your Federal now!

Updates

3/17/2021

Today the IRS extended the tax deadline to May 17, giving us an extra month. Here's where we are:

1. We don't have any info about what states will do yet, last year they all conformed to the new date, but if any do not I will keep you apprised. Right now I'm assuming most will. If any states, particularly NY, don't conform, I will contact people about filing or extending.

2. At the moment, there is no extra time for IRA contributions, so if you are planning on doing a 2020 IRA contribution it still needs to be done before April 15. Same if you are hoping to claim a refund for 2017, you need to file by April 15. Estimated payments for first quarter are still due April 15.

3. If you are on hold with me because you have unemployment or payback of health insurance credits, keep hanging tight. I have yet to get a software patch to file these returns, but hopefully I will soon, and once I do I will start working through the backlog and getting you filed. You will get an email from me confirming your amounts and debits etc, then you will sign the efile docs and be filed. There is no need to email me, I will start working on these returns as soon as I get the patch. This extra month gives me some breathing room :) I will update here once I get the patch.

4. If you already filed, keep hanging tight, the IRS is not accepting amended returns yet and is telling people and preparers to hold off until they issue more guidelines. There is some talk of not needing to amend, of the IRS just issuing refunds, but we shall see. Again, no need to email me, I will be going through every filed return if amendments are necessary once the IRS starts accepting them. I will update here as things develop.

5. If you haven't filed yet, continue on as normal! I have extended available appointments through May 17, but I have slowed my pace a little to give me a break and to give me time to work on the backlog of unfiled unemployment returns, but there's no reason to hold off. If you have unemployment you will be on hold til I get the patch, but your return will be done and ready to go as soon as possible.

So to sum up, we're still waiting, but now we hopefully have a little more time!

I am really looking forward to things calming down and things not changing every 5 seconds!!!

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