Our office will remain closed until statewide restrictions are lifted. For those of you whose returns are still in process, we are working to set up one day a week for you to sign and retrieve your documents.
If you prefer, we are more than happy to send your documents via US mail. Stay tuned for more information!
Economic impact payments from the Federal Government are arriving in bank accounts this week for some taxpayers who e-filed early and opted for direct deposit. These “stimulus checks” are separate from your regular tax refund, and are being handled entirely by IRS, so we do not have any information on individual payments for our clients.
While the $1200 per citizen and $500 per child amounts are what people have heard and are expecting, IRS has a formula for determining who gets how much. We can tell you, however, that it is our understanding the $500 per child payments only apply if the child is under 17 years of age.
Luckily, the IRS has set up online tools to check the status of your payment, and to determine if “non-filers” qualify for payment and/or need to submit an application. At the time we are sending this newsletter there is a placeholder for the “Where’s My Payment” tool on the irs.gov website, with a note indicating that it is scheduled to be available in “mid-April.” The non-filer application tool is currently active, though, and the home page includes a brief and helpful description of qualifications to see if you should submit an application. You can access both on the IRS.gov website through this link.
Tax day is one of those dates that you remember because it’s (almost) always the same, and it always seems to arrive sooner than you’d like. This year, though, it is one of the many constants that had to be changed due to the pandemic. Perhaps because the federal government and the state announced it separately, there has been some confusion about what is due when. Whatever the reason, we are here to reassure everyone that the deadline for filing both state and federal taxes this year is July 15, 2020.
We still recommend not waiting until the last minute, but the July 15th deadline gives taxpayers a grace period of three months to file this year, so there is no need to panic today. And remember: If you owe money on your taxes, you can file anytime now and still delay payment until July 15th.
With so many people in the Commonwealth facing the challenges of layoffs and lost income right now, the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assitance (DUA) has made available an excellent, step-by-step guide to applying for unemployment benefits.
The MA COVID Unemployment Assistance Handbook can be viewed and downloaded through this link.
The Massachusetts DUA has further announced that a dedicated online platform is being built for self-employed workers to to apply for unemployment benefits under the CARES Act. Those who qualify for this new benefit, called “Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA)” may be eligible for retroactive compensation. Although the hope was that the platform would be active in mid-March, delays have pushed the current scheduled launch date to April 30, 2020. More information is available through the Mass DUA site here.
Breaking News: We now have a mail slot in the door to our office. Though our office officially remains closed, one or two of us periodically visit for limited timeframes to access office systems and check for items that may have been delivered to the office rather than our PO Box. If you must bring documents to our office, please make sure they are in a sealed envelope, and deposit them through our new mail slot. We will confirm receipt and let you know if we have any questions. This is a great help in assuring that we can continue to adhere to distancing and no-conact guidelines while still being flexible.
The single most accurate source for information regarding coronavirus can still be found at coronavirus.gov, the offical website with the most up-to-date information from The Center for Disease Control (CDC), The Federal Emergency management Association (FEMA), and The White House.
Additional relief for some taxpayers is included in the recently announced People First Initiative from the IRS. The initiative makes provisions for a variety of situations ranging from postponing Installment Agreement payments to compliance with Earned Income Credit verification requests. You can read more about the People First initiative here.
Business Bookkeeping Services
P. O. Box 249
South Weymouth, MA 02190
As guidance changes and/or restrictions are lifted, we will issue additional communication for your benefit.
At a press conference on Wednesday, April 1, 2020 the Treasury and IRS has a bit of good news regarding economic the economic impact checks being issued to US citizens under the CARES Act. In short, those receiving Social Security benefits who don’t typically file a tax return will not need to file an abbreviated (simple) tax return to receive their stimulus payment. The IRS will use information from Forms SSA-1099 and RRB-1099 to generate payments for these individuals.
From the news release:
“We want to ensure that our senior citizens, individuals with disabilities, and low-income Americans receive Economic Impact Payments quickly and without undue burden,” said Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin. “Social Security recipients who are not typically required to file a tax return need to take no action.”
The payment will be sent via the same method that the individual ordinarily receives their benefits, either as a direct deposit or check.
It is good to know that some of the people who are struggling the most will have one less thing to worry about during these especially difficult times.
