It's Official: Tax Season 2023 Starts January 23rd, 2023

Tax season 2023 starts January 23rd, 2023. This is the date the IRS will start accepting and processing applications. Everyone should make a list of all the documents needed to file a complete and accurate tax return. Failure to do this on the initial filing will result in delays in processing your tax return and/or refund, if applicable.

Your Online Account
It is highly recommended that you have access to your IRS Online Account. If you haven’t created your online account yet, you should do it now. It will help your tax filing experience less painful. Your online account allows you to access your tax records, view your balances by year, apply for payment plans or view plan details if you have an existing payment plan, make payments on balances owed, view tax professional authorizations, and view important communications from the IRS specific to your account. Do it now! Go to www.irs.gov/account

Beware of False Prophets
Remember NO ONE can tell what the results of your tax return will be BEFORE preparing your tax return. Frankly, if they were psychic, they should have won that MEGA Million of $1.35 BILLION dollars and leave the “Small Change” to the other folks like you and I.

Form 1099-K: Payment Card and Third Party Network Transactions
A lot of folks were a bit nervous about the reporting requirement of third-party settlement organizations that the IRS changed to $600 from $20,000, while eliminating the 200 transactions threshold. Folks, if you’re running a business, you should be reporting the business activity – regardless of the amount.
If the amount shown on the Form 1099-K is a non-business transaction, you should contact the Filer to have it adjusted.

Credits
This will be disappointing for some individual tax payers who received CTC, EITC, and CDCC. Per the IRS, check this out:

• Those who got $3,600 per dependent in 2021 for the CTC will, if eligible, get $2,000 for the 2022 tax year.
• For the EITC, eligible taxpayers with no children who received roughly $1,500 in 2021 will now get $500 in 200.
• The Child and Dependent Care Credit returns to a maximum of $2,100 in 2022 in stead of $8,000 in 2021.

Ouch! I can hear the noise already. 

Businesses
To my business entities, here are some tax tips to improve your business' tax filing experience:

• Separate your business activity from your personal activity. Comingling funds is a really bad idea.
• Keep good records that support your business income and expenses.
• Owners and employees should be on payroll, not Zelle, Cash App, or any other third-party system.
• Pay your taxes timely (payroll tax, unemployment tax, county/city/state taxes, etc.), file your annual report timely and avoid the unnecessary $400 fee, and ensure your professional licenses are renewed timely, so that you're not operating under an expired license.
• EIDL recipients should remember that they have a payment obligation to start their monthly payments by the due date. Failure to make those payments could have severe consequences. Do you know your due date? What amount is the minimum payment? How to make this payment? If you don't, get your CPA on the phone ASAP!

Real Estate
Folks in the business of Real Estate should ensure they have good records. This is a complicated business and you should ensure you have a CPA in your corner assisting with the Bookkeeping, Accounting, and filing of the related taxes. Otherwise, you may be at risk of paying unnecessary taxes.

KEY POINT: Exemption on the sale of a home is applicable on your main home, only.

Luckily, Realtor Largie is also a CPA :) I can help. Let's talk.