IRS Health Care Tax Tip 2015-02, January 21, 2015 It’s always a good idea to prepare early to file your federal income tax return. Certain provisions of the Affordable Care Act – also known as the Health Care Law – will probably affect your federal income tax return when you file this year. You or your tax professional should consider preparing and filing your tax return electronically. Using tax preparation software is the easiest way to file a complete and accurate tax return. There are a variety of electronic filing options, including free volunteer assistance, IRS Free File for taxpayers who qualify, commercial software, and professional assistance. Here are five things you should know about the health care law that will help you get ready to file your tax return. Coverage requirements The Affordable Care Act requires that you and each member of your family have qualifying health insurance coverage for each month of the year, qualify for an exemption from the coverage requirement, or make an individual shared responsibility payment when filing your federal income tax return. Reporting requirements Most taxpayers will simply check a box on their tax return to indicate that each member of their family had qualifying health coverage for the whole year. No further action is required. Qualifying health insurance coverage includes coverage under most, but not all, types of health care coverage plans. Use the chart on IRS.gov/aca to find out if your insurance counts as qualifying coverage. For a limited group of taxpayers -those who qualify for, or received advance payments of the premium tax credit – the health care law could affect the amount of tax refund or the amount of money they may owe when they file in 2015. Visit IRS.gov/aca to learn more about the premium tax credit. Exemptions You may be eligible to claim an exemption from the requirement to have coverage. If you qualify for an exemption, you will need to complete the new IRS Form 8965, Health Coverage Exemptions, when you file your tax return. You must apply for some exemptions through the Health Care Insurance Marketplace. However, most of the exemptions are easily obtained from the IRS when you file your tax return. Some of the exemptions are available from...
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IRS Special Edition Tax Tip 2014-18, September 2, 2014 The IRS continues to warn the public to be alert for telephone scams and offers five tell-tale warning signs to tip you off if you get such a call. These callers claim to be with the IRS. The scammers often demand money to pay taxes. Some may try to con you by saying that you’re due a refund. The refund is a fake lure so you’ll give them your banking or other private financial information. These con artists can sound convincing when they call. They may even know a lot about you. They may alter the caller ID to make it look like the IRS is calling. They use fake names and bogus IRS badge numbers. If you don’t answer, they often leave an “urgent” callback request. The IRS respects taxpayer rights when working out payment of your taxes. So, it’s pretty easy to tell when a supposed IRS caller is a fake. Here are five things the scammers often do but the IRS will not do. Any one of these five things is a sign of a scam. The IRS does not: Call you to demand immediate payment. We will not call about taxes you owe without first mailing you a bill. Demand that you pay taxes without giving you the chance to question or appeal the amount they say you owe. Require you to use a certain payment method for your taxes, such as a prepaid debit card. Ask for credit or debit card numbers over the phone. Threaten to bring in local police or other law-enforcement to have you arrested for not paying. If you get a phone call from someone claiming to be from the IRS and asking for money, here’s what to do: If you know you owe taxes or think you might owe, call the IRS at 800-829-1040 to talk about payment options. You also may be able to set up a payment plan online at IRS.gov. If you know you don’t owe taxes or have no reason to believe that you do, report the incident to TIGTA at 1.800.366.4484 or at www.tigta.gov. If phone scammers target you, also contact the Federal Trade Commission at FTC.gov. Use their “FTC...
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The IRS issues more than 9 out of 10 refunds in less than 21 days. . However, it’s possible your tax return may require additional review and take longer. The easiest way to check your refund status is by using our automated tools. Where’s My Refund? has the most up to date information available about your refund. The tool is updated no more than once a day so you don’t need to check more often. Our phone and walk-in representatives can research the status of your refund only if it’s been 21 days or more since you filed electronically, more than 6 weeks since you mailed your paper return or if Where’s My Refund? directs you to contact us. You can use Where’s My Refund? to start checking on the status of your return within 24 hours after we have received your e-filed return or 4 weeks after you mail a paper return. Where’s My Refund? has a tracker that displays progress through 3 stages: (1) Return Received, (2) Refund Approved and (3) Refund Sent. You will get personalized refund information based on the processing of your tax return. The tool will provide an actual refund date as soon as the IRS processes your tax return and approves your refund. Direct Deposit Limits The number of refunds that can be electronically deposited into a single financial account or pre-paid debit card is limited to three. If you are due any additional refunds, we will send you a notice informing you that the direct deposit limit has been exceeded, and that you should receive a refund check instead of the direct deposit you requested, in approximately four weeks if there are no other issues with the...
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IR-2014-114, Dec. 10, 2014 WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service issued the 2015 optional standard mileage rates used to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical or moving purposes. Beginning on Jan. 1, 2015, the standard mileage rates for the use of a car, van, pickup or panel truck will be: 57.5 cents per mile for business miles driven, up from 56 cents in 2014 23 cents per mile driven for medical or moving purposes, down half a cent from 2014 14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations The standard mileage rate for business is based on an annual study of the fixed and variable costs of operating an automobile, including depreciation, insurance, repairs, tires, maintenance, gas and oil. The rate for medical and moving purposes is based on the variable costs, such as gas and oil. The charitable rate is set by law. Taxpayers always have the option of claiming deductions based on the actual costs of using a vehicle rather than the standard mileage rates. A taxpayer may not use the business standard mileage rate for a vehicle after claiming accelerated depreciation, including the Section 179 expense deduction, on that vehicle. Likewise, the standard rate is not available to fleet owners (more than four vehicles used simultaneously). Details on these and other special rules are in Revenue Procedure 2010-51, the instructions to Form 1040 and various online IRS publications including Publication 17, Your Federal Income Tax. Besides the standard mileage rates, Notice 2014-79, posted today on IRS.gov, also includes the basis reduction amounts for those choosing the business standard mileage rate, as well as the maximum standard automobile cost that may be used in computing an allowance under a fixed and variable rate plan. ...
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IR-2014-111, Dec. 4, 2014 WASHINGTON – The Internal Revenue Service announced that interest rates will remain the same for the calendar quarter beginning Jan. 1, 2015. The rates will be: three (3) percent for overpayments (two (2) percent in the case of a corporation); three (3) percent for underpayments; five (5) percent for large corporate underpayments; and one-half (0.5) percent for the portion of a corporate overpayment exceeding $10,000. Under the Internal Revenue Code, the rate of interest is determined on a quarterly basis. For taxpayers other than corporations, the overpayment and underpayment rate is the federal short-term rate plus 3 percentage points. Generally, in the case of a corporation, the underpayment rate is the federal short-term rate plus 3 percentage points and the overpayment rate is the federal short-term rate plus 2 percentage points. The rate for large corporate underpayments is the federal short-term rate plus 5 percentage points. The rate on the portion of a corporate overpayment of tax exceeding $10,000 for a taxable period is the federal short-term rate plus one-half (0.5) of a percentage point. The interest rates announced today are computed from the federal short-term rate determined during October 2014 to take effect Nov. 1, 2014, based on daily compounding. Revenue Ruling 2014-29 announcing the rates of interest, is attached and will appear in Internal Revenue Bulletin 2014-52, dated Dec. 22, 2014....
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You have several options for receiving your federal income tax refund. You can: Split your refund with direct deposits into two or three checking or savings accounts Direct deposit your refund into one checking or savings account Receive your refund as a paper check in the mail Buy up to $5,000 in U.S. Series I Savings Bonds with your refund Splitting your refund is easy. Use IRS’ Form 8888, Allocation of Refund (Including Savings Bond Purchases). Just follow the instructions on the form. If you want IRS to deposit your refund into just one account, use the direct deposit line on your tax form. With split refunds, you have a convenient option for managing your money — sending some of your refund to an account for immediate use and some for future savings — teamed with the speed and safety of direct deposit. Your refund should only be deposited directly into accounts that are in your own name; your spouse’s name or both if it’s a joint account. No more than three electronic refunds can be deposited into a single financial account or pre-paid debit card. Taxpayers who exceed the limit will receive an IRS notice and a paper refund. Whether you file electronically or on paper, direct deposit gives you access to your refund faster than a paper check. Direct deposit also avoids the possibility that your check could be lost or stolen or returned to IRS as undeliverable. Speed, safety and choice — with direct deposit you can have it...
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