NEWS & UPDATES IN THE ACCOUNTING WORLD
Peruse our News section below filled with helpful tips regarding your financing, company updates and industry resources. Doing our job well doesn’t end at handling accounts and managing finances - it extends past the office and into the trends, changes and news in the finance industry. We’re especially proud of staying up to date on new ways to help our clients manage their money, and we will always share thoughts and updates with visitors and customers to ensure they’re in the loop too.
AFFLIATE AICPA MEMBERSHIP
Clasandra Whitlock was officially welcomed to the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. The AICPA was founded in 1887 and has since continued to compile tips and tools needed for CPAs.
IRS ISSUES 2020–2021 PER-DIEM RATES
The new rates are in effect from Oct. 1, 2020, to Sept. 30, 2021, and affect business travelers. The new rates affected the transportation industry meal and incidental expenses rates, the rate for the incidental-expenses-only deduction, and the rates and list of high-cost localities for purposes of the high-low substantiation method.
The updated rates are effective for per-diem allowances paid to any employee on or after Oct. 1, 2020, for travel away from home on or after that date, and supersede the rates in Notice 2019-55, which provided the rates for Oct. 1, 2019, through Sept. 30, 2020.
TAX FILING DEADLINES FOR DISASTER AREAS
New York filing deadline: May 15
Indiana and Mississippi filing deadline: July 31
California, Georgia and Alabama filing deadline: October 16
IRS INFLATION REDUCTION ACT STRATEGIC OPERATING PLAN
The IRS has delivered its spending plan. One stated objective is to "focus expanded enforcement on taxpayers with complex tax filings and high-dollar noncompliance to address the tax gap." According to the plan, this includes large partnerships and corporations, high-income and high-wealth individuals, and areas such as employment taxes and estate and gift taxes. “Pursuant to Treasury's directive, small businesses and households earning $400,000 or less will not see audit rates increase relative to historical levels." This doesn’t mean that the IRS can’t audit taxpayers under the $400,000 threshold.
https://www.irs.gov/about-irs/irs-inflation-reduction-act-strategic-operating-plan
IRS UPDATES
November 28, 2022
The Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law, empowers the IRS with $80 billion dollars in funding. The IRS will be hiring 80,000 new employees doubling its staff and upgrading its technology. This will potentially lead to an increase in correspondence and field audits. What this means for the taxpayers is that there’s never too much documentation especially for small business owners. Small business owners the required documentation is as follows:
Gross receipts are the income you receive from your business. You should keep supporting documents that show the amounts and sources of your gross receipts.
Documents for gross receipts include the following:
Cash register tapes
Deposit information (cash and credit sales)
Receipt books o Invoices o Forms 1099-MISC
Purchases are the items you buy and resell to customers. If you are a manufacturer or producer, this includes the cost of all raw materials or parts purchased for manufacture into finished products. Your supporting documents should identify the payee, the amount paid, proof of payment, the date incurred, and include a description of the item to show that the amount was for purchases. Documents for purchases include the following
Canceled checks or other documents reflecting proof of payment/electronic funds transferred
Cash register tape receipts
Credit card receipts and statements
Invoices
Note: A combination of supporting documents may be needed to substantiate all elements of the purchase.
Expenses are the costs you incur (other than purchases) to carry on your business. Your supporting documents should identify the payee, the amount paid, proof of payment, the date incurred, and include a description of the item purchased or service received that shows the amount was for a business expense.
Documents for expenses include the following:
Canceled checks or other documents reflecting proof of payment/electronic funds transferred
o Cash register tape receipts
Account statements
Credit card receipts and statements o Invoices