Weekly Digest – September 30, 2022
My fingers are crossed as I watch the weather and Hurricane Ian’s path. Myriam is up in NY; she is safe and visiting with me, but her family lives in Orlando and we wish them along with others in Hurricane Ian’s path safety and good luck. The IRS has a bit of a heart too as tax deadlines have been extended for residents and businesses in locations hit by the storm.
It’s been another 100+ fig week so we had sweet figs for the new year. I am in charge of homemade salad dressings while Myriam creates amazing salads including our fresh picked figs. Our garden to table lunch including tomatoes, figs, cukes, and oregano from the garden. Myriam also added apple-pears, grilled chicken and feta (it was the most amazing salad ever)…
We would normally expect some good surf from the storm, but our beach and water is still pretty calm…
For those of you celebrating the Jewish holidays we wish you l’shana tova and an easy fast. For those of you in Ian’s path, we wish you safety and some tips from this hurricane survival guide. For everyone else enjoy your weekend
WEEKLY TAKE AWAY
“Jot it down before you forget”. I love reading “Sunday routine” in the metropolitan section of the New York Times. What a treat to see Erica Jong featured this week ( yes THE Erica Jong). I read through the article and set up my notes for this take away. Erica talked about jotting down ideas for her books in long hand on a pad or notebook. Although ideas for blogs or tax plans or office processes are not as exciting as plot plans, the notes I keep are just as important to me, and the ideas sometimes come at random times. My system is to type them into my Gmail account on my phone and email them to myself. I never know when and where inspiration will come, so it’s great to have a way to capture, save and access them. I’m sure many of you have a system as well, feel free to share them with me.
TAX ISSUES/TAX PLANNING
Hurricane Ian Victims Relief via IR-2022-168
Yesterday the IRS issued IR-2022-168: Hurricane Ian victims throughout Florida now have until Feb. 15, 2023, to file various federal individual and business tax returns and make tax payments related to deadlines beginning September 23, 2022.
The IRS is offering relief to any area designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). This means that individuals and households that reside or have a business anywhere in the state of Florida qualify for tax relief. The current list of eligible localities is always available on the disaster
relief page on IRS.gov.
Qualified Charitable Distribution
Clients who have large IRAs and are charitably inclined may benefit from making a qualified charitable distribution (QCD) or naming a charity as the beneficiary of their IRA. These distributions are NOT subject to tax and enable taxpayers to divert some or all of their required minimum distributions (RMD) to the charity(s) of their choice as long as specific rules are met. Read more in IRS publication 526 or contact your tax professional or investment advisor for assistance.
IRS Raises Per-Diem Standard Rates for Business Travel
IRS Notice 2022-44 provides the 2022-2023 special per diem rates for taxpayers to use in substantiating the amount of ordinary and necessary business expenses incurred while traveling away from home, specifically
- the special transportation industry meal and incidental expenses (M&IE) rates; $69 for travel in the continental United States and $74 for any locality of travel outside the continental United States.
- the rate for the incidental expenses only deduction; now $5 per day and
- the rates and list of high-cost localities for purposes of the high-low substantiation method; $297 for travel to any high-cost locality and $204 for travel to any other locality within the continental United States.
New Guidance for NYS PTET Overpayments
New York State has just announced a retroactive change to the tax reporting instructions for the pass-through entity tax (PTET), as well as entities that paid certain taxes to other states, for the 2021 tax year:
- PTE Overpayment – to the extent it was caused by estimated payments made by the entity in 2021, we are to amend the entity’s tax return and all partners or shareholder to reduce the deduction for PTE Tax paid in 2021
- PTE taxable income must be adjusted for any PTE tax deducted in arriving at Federal Taxable income
- PTE Tax paid to another state (i.e. California ) by an entity on behalf of a NYS resident must be added back to the INDIVIDUAL’s NYS tax return
We assisted our clients to timely file their 2021 corporation tax returns, we may now need to amend some. Oh well, just as we approach our last few filing deadlines looks like we may not be done just yet.
Colorado Now Accepts Crypto for Tax Payments
Governor Jared Polis made the announcement during a speech at Denver Startup Week. The website for the state’s Department of Revenue includes the details; for tax payments starting Sept. 1 this year, the state government will now accept cryptocurrency as an additional form of payment for all state taxpayers. This includes individual income tax, business income tax, sales and use tax, withholding tax, severance tax and excise fuel tax.
ECONOMY
British Pound Sinks to All Time Low
The British pound plunged to an all-time low of 1.035 against the US dollar on Monday. Traders were betting that looser fiscal policy would fuel inflation, prompt faster interest-rate hikes, and undermine Britain’s already-shaky economy.
Interest Rate Hike Continues to Effect World Economy
The US Federal Reserve raised interest rates again last week, taking the rate charged to borrow from near zero at the beginning of 2022 to a current minimum of 3 percent. Economists argue that the move has shaken the world economy.
Why Cryptocurrency Prices Continue to Fall
There’s a lot happening with crypto these days, but none of the news is very positive. After last week’s interest rate hike, and the overhaul to the blockchain before that, investors are wondering if there’s a bottom in sight for crypto prices.
Amazon and Berkshire Hathaway will Pay the 15% Federal Corporate Tax Rate
The Inflation Reduction Act’s new 15% corporate minimum tax will place the bulk of the burden on about 78 companies. Berkshire Hathaway and Amazon will pay the most.
Is Gold a Safe Bet?
It seems that we are officially creeping toward a bear market. Experts weigh in on whether gold is a sound investment in times like these.
Price of Heat to Rise This Winter
Families are expected to pay an average of 17.2% more for home heat this coming season compared to last winter, with many people taking on second or even third jobs to cover the cost of living.
GENERAL RESOURCES
- IRS resources for stimulus payments:
- Use the Get My Payment tool to check on EIP payment status
- Eligibility and general information about Economic Impact Payments
- A list of frequently asked questions for stimulus payments
- IRS information about the Advance Child Tax Credit Payments
- Portal to update information
- A list of frequently asked questions on the advance Child Tax Credit Payments
- The best source for up-to-date and accurate health information is the Center for Disease Control (CDC)
- Our Covid-19 Resource Center with relevant blog posts, videos and prior weekly newsletters
- Payroll, HR and benefits company Gusto has put together An Employer’s Guide to Navigating the Coronavirus
- Accounting Today has a special page for articles on COVID-19
- Intuit QuickBooks has a dedicated page to help small businesses
- Entrepreneur put together a listing of free tech resources for remote work
- The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has warnings about COVID-related scams
- Fast Company has a listing of the best productivity apps for 2020
- The New York Times has an online newsletter on K-12 and higher education
- The Wall Street Journal has a collection of articles on education
- The Louvre has digitized 482,000 artworks from its collection
- PC Magazine explains how to carry your vaccination card on your phone
- How to create a strong password
We sincerely hope that you and your family are well and remain well. If you have any questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We are here for you.
If you need help with your accounting, want to create a tax minimization plan, want to discuss your business growth plan or your finances, are concerned about retirement goals or need to be held accountable for your 90 day action plan, contact us for a complimentary discovery session or an appointment to just get started.
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