When an employer withholds Social Security and income taxes from an employee, those funds are the property of the government, and the employer must hold those funds in “trust” until the funds are turned over to the government. Failure to do so could lead to the so-called trust fund penalty, which is equal to 100% of the withholding from the employees’ wages. The penalty applies to any willful failure to collect, account for and pay over Social Security and income taxes required to be withheld from employee wages.
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration has made recommendations to the IRS for timely assessing and collecting the responsible person penalty, and the IRS is adopting the recommendations. The government has always been very aggressive about collecting trust fund penalties and will pursue collecting the penalty from the “responsible person.” This is where you may be at risk.
The IRS broadly defines a “responsible...
Propublica.org, which has been systematically turning the world of the taxes of the ultra-wealthy on its head, released another classic a couple weeks ago revealing how politicians do a pretty good job of dodging taxes, too. Check out the article here and let us know what you think!
We all look forward to receiving our tax refunds, but what if you were expecting a refund and it never arrived? It may be because you have outstanding federal or state debts—and not just tax-related debts. The Treasury Department’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service (BFS) issues federal tax refunds, and Congress authorizes BFS to reduce your refund through its Treasury Offset Program (TOP) to pay:
So, if you owe a debt that’s past due, all or part of your federal income tax refund may go to pay your outstanding federal or state debt if it has been submitted for tax refund offset by an agency of the federal or state government.
BFS will send you a notice if an offset...
Q: What are some of the best ways to minimize taxes when cashing out of my retirement plan?
A: This will depend on a few different factors. Be aware that, as a starting point, retirement distributions are taxed as ordinary income, and could trigger a penalty if accessed early. Keep in mind though, when you withdraw in a low-income year, those penalties are lessened by that fact. Outside investments that generate passive income losses, such as oil & gas and rental properties, can be a good way to blunt the effects of cashing out of the retirement plan. Best practice is of course is to run all this by your advisor and get a qualified, second opinion.
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The American Rescue Plan Act established the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) to provide funding to help restaurants and other eligible businesses keep their doors open. This program will provide restaurants with funding equal to their pandemic-related revenue loss, up to $10 million per business and no more than $5 million per physical location. Recipients are not required to repay the funding as long as funds are used for eligible uses no later than March 11, 2023.
Eligible Entities – Eligible entities are businesses that are not permanently closed and include businesses where the public or patrons assemble for the primary purpose of being served food or drink, including:
In this video, we'll cover estate planning basics, answering the question "do I need an estate plan?" Consider this video to be estate planning 101.
If you've thought about how to avoid estate tax, who needs a will, who needs a trust -- any of these questions or concepts -- then make sure to watch this video.
Today's thought-provoking article is an opinion piece in The Washington Post discussing the proposed billionaire's tax and specifically, Elon Musk's reaction to it.
Curious what you guys think of it either way, and would love to see your reactions in the comments!
Originally, selling stocks identified as having Qualified Small Business status was viewed as offering marginal benefit. But the last several years have seen incremental changes to how gains from the sales of these stocks have been treated. As of the most recent shift, which created a 100% exclusion with certain limitations, these stocks now offer significant opportunities for those who invest in startups and other small businesses.
The sale of Qualified Small Business (QSB) stock held for more than five years is addressed under Section 1202. It excludes gains from sales, but only under highly specific criteria and limitations. Tracking the exclusion’s history, stockholders were originally limited to excluding 50% of their gains from the sale of QSB stocks. That number was increased to 75% for shares acquired after February 17, 2009 and before September 28, 2010. Even then, the exclusion was viewed with little enthusiasm, as the gains not excluded were taxed at rates that were...
In this video we'll cover a variety of personal real estate planning topics, including:
-- tax benefits of owning a home
-- business use of home
-- reverse mortgage facts
We'll also help you answer the question "should rent out my house or sell it?"
Here at Wealth.Tax, we have a set of tax strategies that will add 10-40% of cash flow to your bottom line, without having to hire expensive advisors or learn anything about the tax code.
We work with business owners and real estate investors every day on implementing these powerful strategies and changing their financial future, practically overnight. We would love the opportunity to discuss your individual circumstance with you and see if you're a fit for our services.
Click here for a free case study to learn more!
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