Irs News for Tax Professionals s1

IRS NEWS FOR BUSINESS July 2015

Questions and Answers: "Get Transcript". After discovering unauthorized access to taxpayer information through its “Get Transcript” application, the IRS is taking steps to protect taxpayers against identity theft if someone else tries to file a tax return in their name, both right now and in 2016. The agency is also sending letters to affected taxpayers with additional information, and offering credit monitoring to those whose transcript information was accessed. Taxpayers can learn more about the situation and what the IRS is doing to protect them in a set of Questions and Answers posted to the IRS.gov website. For more information, see the official IRS statement.

IRS, Industry, States Take New Steps Together to Fight Identity Theft, Protect Taxpayers IR-2015-87, June 11, 2015. The Internal Revenue Service joined with representatives of tax preparation and software firms, payroll and tax financial product processors and state tax administrators to announce a sweeping new collaborative effort to combat identity theft refund fraud and protect the nation's taxpayers.

To mark National Hurricane Preparedness Week, the IRS wants you to know it stands ready to help. If you suffer damage to your home or personal property, you may be able to deduct the losses you incur on your federal income tax return. Here are the Top 10 Tips for Deducting Losses from a Disaster, (Español) IRS Special Edition Tax Tip 2015-08, May 26, 2015.

Businesses in U.S. Territories Must File Form 8300 with the IRS on Cash Transactions of $10,000 or More. The IRS reminds businesses in U.S. territories that they must file Form 8300, Report of Cash Payments Over $10,000 Received in a Trade or Business, when they engage in cash transactions in excess of $10,000. The form must be filed within 15 days of the transaction.

Interest Rates Remain the Same for the Third Quarter of 2015 . The Internal Revenue Service announced that interest rates will remain the same for the calendar quarter beginning July 1, 2015. The rates will be:  three percent for overpayments [two percent in the case of a corporation];  one-half percent for the portion of a corporate overpayment exceeding $10,000  three percent for underpayments; and  five percent for large corporate underpayments

►AFFORDABLE CARE ACT

Q. I filed my return claiming the premium tax credit. Why did I get a letter from the IRS asking for more information and a copy of my 1095-A?

You do not have to send your Form 1095-A to the IRS with your tax return when you file and claim the premium tax credit. However, using the information on your Form 1095-A, you must complete and file Form 8962, Premium Tax Credit. The IRS verifies the information on your Form 8962 by comparing it to information received from the Marketplace and to other information you entered on your tax return.

In some situations, before we can send your refund, the IRS may send you a letter asking you to clarify or verify information that you entered on your income tax return. The letter may ask for a copy of your Form 1095-A.

See Health Insurance Marketplace Statements for more information on the question above.

The Affordable Care Act: What’s Trending: When it comes to the health care law – also known as the Affordable Care Act or ACA – and how it may affect your taxes, there are many questions you might have. This page offers news on trending topics and answers to questions we are hearing.

1 Business – July 2015 ACA Resources:  Health Care Tax Tips help you stay informed about ACA topics  Affordable Care Act Legal Guidance and Other Resources

ACA News for Businesses

See draft Publication 5165 (Early Look), Guide for Electronically Filing Affordable Care Act (ACA) Information Returns for Software Developers and Transmitters (Processing Year 2015), Version 1.1 June 2015

See draft Publication 5164 (Early Look). Test Package for Electronic Filers of Affordable Care Act (ACA) Information Returns (AIR), Version 1.0 May 2015.

ACA Information for Employers: Counting Full-time and Full-time Equivalent Employees - For the purposes of the Affordable Care Act, employers average their number of employees across the months in the year to see whether they will be an applicable large employer.

Some small business owners are not aware of the Small Business Health Care Tax Credit, even though it’s been available since 2010. Small business owners may be eligible for the Small Business Health Care Tax Credit if they cover at least 50 percent of their full-time employee's premium costs and they have fewer than 25 full-time equivalent employees with average annual wages of less than $50,000.

►EMPLOYERS

New on IRS.gov  2015 Pub. 3144, Tips on Tips ‒ A Guide to Tip Income Reporting for Employers in Businesses Where Tip Income is Customary  2015 Pub. 5215, Affordable Care Act - Responsibilities for Health Coverage Providers (Brochure)  2015 Form 944-X (SP), Ajuste a la Declaración Federal ANUAL del Empleador o Reclamación de Reembolso  2015 Inst. 944-X (SP), Instrucciones para el Formulario 944-X (SP) Ajuste a la Declaración Federal ANUAL del Empleador o Reclamación de Reembolso ►RETIREMENT PLANS

No news this month.

►TAX CENTER OF THE MONTH: Money Services Business (MSB) Information Center

 Registering with the Federal Government  Reporting Cash Transactions  Reporting Suspicious Activities  Identity Theft and Fraudulently Obtained Tax Refund Checks  BSA E-Filing

►TAX-EXEMPT ORGANIZATIONS

Register for IRS webinar: 501(c)(7) Social Clubs: What they need to qualify for and maintain tax-exempt status, Thursday, July 16, 1:00 pm CST, 2:00 pm EST. Topics include:  Requirements a 501(c)(7) organization must meet  Types of social club organizations 2  How to obtain and maintain tax-exempt status  Unique aspects that make 501(c)(7) organizations different from other tax-exempt organizations

Where do I start? See Applying for Tax Exempt Status.

Find all of the most current information for tax-exempt organizations.

►NEWS FROM OTHER AGENCIES

Prepare Your Business

Roughly 40 to 60 percent of businesses never recover from a crippling disaster, according to the SBA. Being prepared is the key to keeping your business going after disaster strikes.

 Check out the SBA’s PrepareMyBusiness.org site for more information on preparing for everything from fires to data recovery.  The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) also publishes extensive tips and disaster preparedness resources for businesses.  For more information, check out the BusinessUSA disaster preparedness tool, which highlights additional resources to help with disaster preparedness and recovery.

Many Kids and Teens Can Eat For Free All Summer. Don’t let kids go hungry this summer. Just because school is out doesn’t mean they can’t get the same free or reduced-cost meals they rely on during the school year. In fact, any kid or teen 18 and under can eat for free at designated summer meals sites across the country. But too many families don’t know, or don’t take advantage of the program. Find summer meals in your community. And use these tools to let people know they’re available.

►IN EVERY ISSUE

See the latest - Tax Tips - Health Care Tax Tips - Fact Sheets - Headliners - News releases - Announcements, Notices, Revenue Rulings, Revenue Procedures, Treasury Decisions, and Treasury Regulations are in the Internal Revenue Bulletin (IRB) - Tax Statistics - Find the latest IRS news via Social Media options.

The Issue Management Resolution System helps solve issues with policies, practices and procedures. Tax professionals should forward significant issues regarding IRS policies, practices and procedures to their Stakeholder Liaison.

Outreach Corner. Find it easy to spread the word about key income tax topics! This page offers electronic communication materials to use in reaching out to the people you serve. Get free news you can use each month, targeted by time of year to coincide with what your customers, employees, volunteers, etc. need to know about new tax law legislation, IRS events and other activities that affect them.

Industries/Professions Tax Centers. Tax Centers contain links to topics such as tax tips, financial resources, trends and statistics, forms, and more.

3 Business – July 2015 Audit Techniques Guides (ATGs) Audit Techniques Guides (ATGs) help IRS examiners during audits by providing insight into issues and accounting methods unique to specific industries. While ATGs are designed to provide guidance for IRS employees, they’re also useful to small business owners and tax professionals who prepare returns.