Happy Independence Day!

 

HoltPros wishes you and your family, a safe and blessed Independence Day on this July 4th!

Entertainment – No Business Deduction in 2018

Under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, beginning in 2018, the costs of entertainment expenses are no longer tax deductible. With the old tax law, 50% of entertainment was an acceptable tax deduction for businesses.

Entertainment expenses are for the experiences and events that some businesses have offered clients in the past. Typical entertainment might be 18 holes on the golf course, front row seats at a concert, tickets to sports games or a weekend ski trip.

Business related meals with clients are still 50% deductible. Some businesses may choose to have more dinners, and less experiences/events with clients. Be careful of your choice. Some extremely expensive restaurants with live music, might be considered as entertainment rather than a business meal.

Some businesses may find ways to get around this. Promotional events are deductible as a marketing expenses, so you might see companies brand outings with more advertising, to qualify for the deduction. Tax Tip: The business sales pitch should last the entire duration of the event, rather than just a limited time. 

 

With Honor and Thanks on Memorial Day

On this Memorial Day, we stop to give honor and thanks to all those who gave of themselves, and those who made sacrifices to protect our freedom.

We remember, and we thank you!

 

 

 

Amending Tax Returns

You can file an amended return to correct errors on your originally filed tax return by filing Form 1040X. You will have to file this by mailing a paper copy to the IRS.

Learn more about filing an amended return by watching this IRS Video – Amending My Return

Audit Representation-Partner With a Pro

It pays to Partner with a Pro for Audit Representation! I have two clients who recently retained my audit representation services, and are now celebrating their savings!

I was able to help Client 1 by reducing their penalties by 50%, for issues resulting from them attempting to self-prepare their tax returns. They now see the advantage of partnering with a Pro.

Client 2 received a “NO CHANGE TO YOUR RETURN” letter from the IRS, as a result to the audit response I prepared. They had all necessary receipts and tax details, resulting from my consulting with them in how they needed to keep their self-employed business books. They are thankful they partnered with a Pro!

I work hard to keep current on all updates to IRS Audit Representation, by carefully choosing continuing education classes each year, by the best in the industry. My client’s success defines my success.

 

 

Tax Fact – IRS Uses Social Media

The IRS has trained their revenue agents to gather information on Facebook and other social media sites. Your social media information could be included in an IRS tax examination of your taxes.

Mind Blowing Numbers

I’m a numbers gal!

 

One more thing many of us didn’t
noticed is that 9 is the sum of all the
table result digits. Let me show you:

9 X 1 = 09 and 0 + 9 = 9
9 X 2 = 18 and 1 + 8 = 9
9 X 3 = 27 and 2 + 7 = 9
9 X 4 = 36 and 3 + 6 = 9
9 X 5 = 45 and 4 + 5 = 9
9 X 6 = 54 and 5 + 4 = 9
9 X 7 = 63 and 6 + 3 = 9
9 X 8 = 72 and 7 + 2 = 9
9 X 9 = 81 and 8 + 1 = 9
9 X 10 = 90 and 9 + 0 = 9
Isn’t this mind blowing?????

Tax Fact – IRS Audits

The chance of an IRS audit for partnerships and corporations is substantially less than self employed sole proprietors.

Tax Fact – IRS & Your Passport

The IRS can deny or revoke taxpayer’s passports when they owe taxes to the IRS.

Fraud Alert – Medicare or Medicaid

Know anyone on Medicare or Medicaid? POTENTIAL FRAUD ALERTS! New Cards being sent. More details here below:

On April 1, 2018 the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) began a yearlong project to replace all current Medicare cards. The replacement cards are being automatically mailed to beneficiary’s home addresses and will replace the social security number with a new alphanumeric Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI). Contact the Social Security office at 1-800-772-1213 if you need to correct your home address.

We have already received reports that scammers have called some Medicare recipients claiming they need to collect a fee before a new card will be sent. Protect yourself by learning about the program and refusing to give out any personal information over the phone if someone calls you. There is no charge for the new card.

Every new MBI will be eleven characters long and contain letters in specific positions and numbers in other positions in order to quickly identify fake or counterfeit cards. Please note that the letters S, L, O, I, B or Z will never be used. If you receive a card with any of these letters you should contact Medicare immediately at 1-800-633-4227.

More information about the new cards can be found here:
https://www.cms.gov/medicare/new-medicare-card/nmc-home.html
https://www.medicare.gov/…/12002-New-Medicare-Card-flyer.pdf
https://youtu.be/DusRmgzQnLY