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Monthly Archives: November 2016

Set up Your 2017 Calendar to Reflect New Filing Dates for 2016 US Tax Returns

On July 31, 2015, President Obama signed into law P.L. 114-41, the “Surface Transportation and Veterans Health Care Choice Improvement Act of 2015,” which includes a number of important tax provisions, including revised due dates for partnership, S corporations and C corporation returns and revised extended due dates for some returns.


Revised Due Dates for Partnership, S &C Corporation Returns 

Under the new law, there is a major restructuring of entity return due dates, effective generally for returns for tax years beginning after Dec. 31, 2015:

  • Partnerships and S corporations will have to file their returns by the March 15th following the end of the tax year. This results in the filing deadline for partnerships being accelerated by one month with the filing deadline for S corporations staying as March 15. 
    • By having most partnership returns due one month before individual returns are due, taxpayers and practitioners will generally not have to extend, or scurry around at the last minute to file, the returns of individuals who are partners in partnerships.

  • C corporations will have to file by April 15th after the end of the tax year resulting in the filing deadline for C corporations being deferred for one month.
These changes to the filing deadlines generally go into effect for 2016 returns. Under a special rule for C corporations with fiscal years ending on June 30, the change is deferred for ten years and it won't apply until tax years beginning after Dec. 31, 2025. 
 


Revised Extended Due Dates for Various Returns

Taxpayers who can't file a tax form on time, can request an extension to file the requisite form. Effective for tax returns for tax years beginning after Dec. 31, 2015, the new law directs the IRS to modify its regulations to provide for a longer extension to file a number of forms, including the following:

 

  • Form 1065 - U.S. Return of Partnership Income will have a maximum extension of 6 months. The extension will end on Sept. 15 for calendar year taxpayers.
  • Form 1041 -U.S. Income Tax Return for Estates and Trusts will have a maximum extension of 5 1/2 months. The extension will end on Sept. 30 for calendar year taxpayers.
  • The Form 5500 - Annual Return/Report of Employee Benefit Plan will have a maximum automatic extension of 3 1/2. The extension will end on Nov. 15 for calendar year filers.
FinCEN Report Due Date Revised
Taxpayers with a financial interest in or signature authority over certain foreign financial accounts must file FinCEN Form 114, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR). Currently, this form must be filed by June 30 of the year immediately following the calendar year being reported, and no extensions are allowed.
Under the new law, for returns for tax years beginning after Dec. 31, 2015, the due date of FinCEN Report 114 will be Apr. 15, with a maximum extension of 6 months ending on Oct. 15. The IRS may also waive the penalty for failure to timely request an extension for filing the Report, for any taxpayer required to file FinCEN Form 114 for the first time.

Form 3520 And Form 3520-A Due Date Revised
Form 3520-A is now due on March 15th and will have a maximum extension of 6 months until September 15th.

The IRS or FinCEN need to provide clarification on the format or forms for such extensions, which may be similar to Form 4868, which is the form for requesting extensions on Individual tax returns currently. There may also be a requirement that these extensions be filed on the BSA Website as in the case of the FBAR forms.

 Have a Tax Problem? 
 
 
 
Contact the Tax Lawyers at
Marini & Associates, P.A.
 
for a FREE Tax Consultation
or Toll Free at 888-8TaxAid (888 882-9243).

 

Read more at: Tax Times blog

Alert Your Clients to Possible Refund Delays in 2017

Tax professionals should alert their clients that a new law requires the IRS to hold refundsuntil mid-February 2017 for people claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit or the Additional Child Tax Credit.

In addition, new identity theft and refund fraud safeguards put in place by the IRS and the states may mean some tax returns and refunds face additional review.

 
 
 
 
 
Have a Tax Problem?
 
 
Contact the Tax Lawyers at
Marini & Associates, P.A.
 
 for a FREE Tax Consultation Contact US at 
or Toll Free at 888-8TaxAid (888 882-9243).
 
 

 

Read more at: Tax Times blog

7th Circuit Court of Appeal Reduces Options For Appealing IRS Levies

According to Law360  -- Rejecting tax court precedent, the Seventh Circuit ruled Friday that delinquent taxpayers who weren't properly notified of Internal Revenue Service levies still have to pursue an administrative appeal before they can petition the tax court to invalidate the levy.

Acknowledging the difficulty it presents to taxpayers, the Seventh Circuit nevertheless found tax courts don’t have jurisdiction to rule on petitions to invalidate levies unless the taxpayer went to the IRS Office of Appeals first and received a notice of determination.

The case is Kerry Adolphson v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, case number 15-2242 in the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.

Have a Tax Problem?
 
Don't Hide The Your Head In The Sand
 
 
 
Contact the Tax Lawyers at
Marini & Associates, P.A.
 
 for a FREE Tax Consultation Contact US at 
or Toll Free at 888-8TaxAid (888 882-9243).
 
 

 

Read more at: Tax Times blog

Tax Authorities to Have Access to Beneficial Ownership Information By 2018!

The EU Council recently agreed on a proposal granting access for tax authorities to information held by authorities responsible for the prevention of money laundering. The directive will require EU member states to enable access to information on the beneficial ownership of companies. The effective date will apply from January 1, 2018.
 
On November 8, 2016, the Council agreed on a proposal granting access for tax authorities to information held by authorities responsible for the prevention of money laundering. The directive will require member states to enable access to information on the beneficial ownership of companies. Its effective date is January 1, 2018.

The proposal is one of a number of measures set out by the Commission in July 2016, in the wake of the April 2016 Panama Papers revelations.

Challenges

The EU has made significant progress in recent years to enhance tax transparency and strengthen cooperation between the member states' tax authorities.

And recent amendments to anti-money-laundering legislation recognise the links between money laundering and tax evasion, as well as the challenges faced in prevention.

Media leaks such as the Panama Papers, revealing large-scale concealment of offshore funds, have highlighted areas where further measures still need to be taken. The transparency framework must be further reinforced at both EU and international levels.

Automatic exchange of information

In particular, tax authorities need greater access to information on the beneficial ownership of intermediary entities and other relevant customer due diligence information. The directive will enable them to access that information in monitoring the proper application of rules on the automatic exchange of tax information.

Where a financial account holder is an intermediary structure, financial institutions are required by directive 2014/107/EU to look through that entity and report its beneficial ownership. Applying that provision relies on information held by authorities responsible for the prevention of money laundering, pursuant to directive 2015/849/EU.

Access to that information will ensure that tax authorities are better equipped to fulfill their monitoring obligations. It will thus help prevent tax evasion and tax fraud.

Next steps

Agreement was reached at a meeting of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council, without discussion. The Council will adopt the directive once the European Parliament has given its opinion.

The directive requires unanimity within the Council, after consulting the Parliament. (Legal basis: articles 113 and 115 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.)

 
Giovanni Kessler, Director-General of the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) called for a standardized, interconnected, easy-to-use registry of national bank accounts which would be available to all EU enforcement agencies.

"Knowing Bank Accounts are Traceable would have a powerful Deterrent Effect on Individuals...

Traceability would also Increase Detection Rates of
Fraudulent Activities..." 

 
 
 
 
Are you a US Person with a
Not So Secret Foreign Bank Account?
 
Having FATCA & EU
Information Sharing Problems?
 
 
 
Contact the Tax Lawyers at
Marini & Associates, P.A.
 
for a FREE Tax Consultation at:
Toll Free at 888-8TaxAid (888 882-9243).


 

Read more at: Tax Times blog

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