TaxCure Blog

You may be able to write off the cost of some meals and entertainment if you’re self-employed or own a business. The rules are nuanced, but this is a legitimate deduction that you should claim if you qualify. To help you out, this post explains all the details. 

An extension moves the tax return due date, but surprisingly, it doesn’t change the due date for your tax payment. To avoid interest and penalties, you should pay your taxes on time and file the return as soon as possible. 

You may be able to claim a credit for other dependents if you pay for the majority of your roommate’s expenses. If you qualify, this deduction can reduce your tax bill, but you must make sure you meet strict criteria before claiming this deduction on your tax return. 

The IRS can seize your tax refunds if you owe money to the government or delinquent child support. 

A few weeks into Trump’s 2nd presidency, I started receiving automated phone calls about a so called new tax forgiveness program under the Trump Adminstration. This isn’t the first time misleading claims about tax forgiveness programs have circulated via robocalls as we reported one a few years ago about the “Biden Tax Forgiveness Plan” or the “Zero Tax” plan. The recent call I received followed the same patten. Below is the transcript of the automated call I answered. 

Some lawsuit settlements are tax-exempt, but others can come with a significant tax bill. If you receive a legal settlement, you need to understand the tax rules so that you’re prepared for any tax liabilities. To reduce your tax as much as possible, you also need to know when attorney’s fees are deductible.

The IRS has been disallowing Employee Retention Credits at very high rates. The agency claims that a significant portion of these credits were claimed improperly, and if you filed amended 941 payroll tax returns to claim the Employee Retention Credit for 2020 or 2021, you should be aware that the IRS may disallow your credit if it has not yet been processed. 

The Massachusetts Department of Revenue is offering amnesty for taxpayers with unfiled returns and/or unpaid taxes. The program runs from November 1 to December 30, 2024, and if the state accepts your request for amnesty, the DOR will waive the penalties on your account as long as you file the missing returns and pay the tax by the last day of the amnesty period. 

The IRS has taken its new funding and set its sites on high-income filers. During the last week of February 2024, the agency sent out letters related to 125,000 cases of unfiled returns from high-income earners. The unfiled returns date back to 2017, and information received from third parties indicates that these taxpayers have over $100 billion in unreported income. 

In January 2024, the IRS plans to start sending notices about unpaid taxes from 2020 and 2021. The agency stopped sending most automated collection letters during the COVID pandemic and through 2023. If you have unpaid taxes from 2020 or 2021, you may have thought that the IRS forgot about the bill. That is not the case, and collection actions are resuming.