Time to check and adjust your stock portfolio

Is this a good time to adjust and make changes to your portfolio?

SUMMARY:

What is the answer to that question? Indeed, it will depend on the stocks you are holding.   Here is another question for you. Are your stocks have more room for growth? Do you think your stocks have given you gains to justify keeping them longer?  Do you want to protect some of your gains?  Do you want to realize some gains this year?  Do you need some cash to reinvest in other investment vehicles?  These are some of the questions most investors are facing as we are getting closer to year-end.

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SMALL BUSINESS relief for Self-Employed

You may be able to get some help from the federal Small Business Administration (SBA), which is authorized to provide loans to small businesses on an as-needed basis. These are the two options:

Option 1-The Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) Program- Under this program, funds are commonly granted on a local level following a natural disaster (such as a hurricane or a tornado). The SBA is providing advances of up to $10,000 on EIDLs for businesses experiencing a temporary loss of revenue.

Option 2-The Paycheck Protection Program- Under this program, small businesses that employ 500 or fewer employees are eligible for payment relief. 

Business categories:

You find S and C corporations, sole proprietors, partnerships, certain non-profits, veterans’ organizations, and tribal businesses.

No employees?
Both the sole proprietor with no employees and the single-member LLC with no employees qualify.

I’m here to help you in any way you need in this process. Don’t hesitate to call me on my direct line at 832-498-1012.

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 Changes in Tax Due Dates

On March 21, 2020, the Treasury Department and IRS announced that the federal income tax filing due date is automatically extended from April 15, 2020, to July 15, 2020.

TAX payments:

Tax Payments due on April 15, 2020, are also deferred to July 15, 2020, without penalties and interest, regardless of the amount owed. This deferment applies to all taxpayers, including individuals, trusts and estates, corporations and other non-corporate tax filers as well as those who pay self-employment tax.

No need to file an extension:

Taxpayers do not need to file any additional forms or call the IRS to qualify for this automatic federal tax filing and payment relief. Individual taxpayers who need additional time to file beyond the July 15 deadline, can request a filing extension by filing Form 4868 through their tax professional, tax software or using the Free File link on IRS.gov. 

Businesses who need additional time must file Form 7004.

Advantages of filing earlier?

The IRS urges taxpayers who are due a refund to file as soon as possible. Most tax refunds are still being issued within 21 days.

Filing electronically with direct deposit is the quickest way to get refunds. 

IRS employees are very busy:

Although we are curtailing some operations during this period, the IRS is continuing with mission-critical operations to support the nation, and that includes accepting tax returns and sending refunds. 

For information:

The IRS will continue to monitor issues related to the COVID-19 virus, and updated information will be posted on a special coronavirus page on IRS.gov.

Source: IRS.gov 

IR-2020-58

Tax, Accounting, and Auditing: Hit CounterBeware, Taxpayers- “Be On High Alert...

Tax, Accounting, and Auditing: Hit Counter Beware, Taxpayers- “Be On High Alert...: Hit Counter Beware, Taxpayers- “Be On High Alert” For Coronavirus Relief Payment Scams The Treasury Inspector General fo...

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Beware, Taxpayers- “Be On High Alert” For Coronavirus Relief Payment Scams The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) today urged taxpayers to be on high alert for potential scams related to government assistance to taxpayers impacted by the coronavirus. If you receive letters, calls, emails, or other communications from individuals claiming to be from the IRS and offering coronavirus stimulus payments in exchange for personal financial information, an advance fee, or charge of any kind, including the purchase of gift cards, please do not respond. These are scams. Please contact TIGTA so these scammers can be identified and stopped. Inspector General George offered the following tips to taxpayers: The IRS is not going to contact you by telephone to ask you for your personal identification or financial information in order to provide you with an economic impact payment. The IRS will never contact you and ask you to make any kind of payment using an iTunes card, gift card, prepaid debit card, money order, or wire transfer. The IRS will never request personal or financial information by e-mail, text messages, letters, or any social media. If you receive a call from someone claiming to be from the IRS asking for your personal identification or financial information in exchange for an economic impact payment, take the following action: Hang up. If you owe Federal taxes or think you might owe taxes, call the IRS at 1-800-829-1040. IRS employees can help you with your payment questions. If you do not owe taxes, report suspicious communications on TIGTA’s website at www.TIGTA.gov, and follow the prompts to report IRS-related coronavirus scams. Inspector General George encourages taxpayers to be alert to phone and e-mail scams that use the IRS name and logo. Forward suspected scam e-mails to phishing@irs.gov. Do not open any attachments or click on any links in those e-mails. Also, be aware of other unrelated scams (such as saying you are a lottery or sweepstakes winner) and solicitations (such as debt relief offers) that fraudulently claim to be from the IRS. April 7, 2020 TIGTA-2020-2 Contact: David Barnes David.Barnes@tigta.treas.gov

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Who is eligible for the Economic Impact Payment?

U.S. citizens or resident aliens who:

• Have a valid Social Security number,
• Could not be claimed as a dependent of another taxpayer, and
• Had adjusted gross income under certain limits.

Who will receive the Economic Impact Payment automatically (EIP) without taking additional steps?

Most eligible U.S. taxpayers will Automatically receive their EIP payments are individuals who: 

• Filed a federal income tax for 2018 or 2019
• Receive social security retirement, disability (SSDI), or survivor benefits, and
• Individuals who receive Railroad Retirement benefits

What about Non-Filers taxpayers: 

Eligible U.S. citizens or permanent residents who:

• Had gross income < than $12,200 ($24,400 for married couples) for 2019
• Were not otherwise required to file a federal income tax return for 2019, and didn't plan to file.

What to do?  You can provide the necessary information to the IRS easily and quickly for no fee through "Non-Filers: Enter Payment Info", see below.  After providing this information you won’t need to take any additional action.

Non-Filers: Enter Payment Info Here

Information you need to provide?

• Full name, current mailing address and an email address
• Date of birth and valid Social Security number
• Bank account number, type, and routing number, if you have one
• Identity Protection Personal Identification Number (IP PIN) you received from the IRS earlier this year if you have one
• Driver’s license or state-issued ID, if you have one
• For each qualifying child: name, Social Security number or Adoption Taxpayer Identification Number and their relationship to you or your spouse

What to Expect

Clicking “Non-Filers: Enter Payment Info Here” above will take you from the IRS site to Free File Fillable Forms, a certified IRS partner. The IRS claims this site is safe and secure.

Expected steps to follow, are:

• Create an account by providing your email address and phone number; and establishing a user ID and password.
• You will be directed to a screen where you will input your filing status (Single or Married filing jointly) and personal information.
• Make sure you have valid Social Security numbers.
• If applicable to you; Adoption Taxpayer Identification Number for each dependent you want to claim for. 
• Check the “box” if someone can claim you as a dependent or your spouse as a dependent.
• Complete your bank information (otherwise we will send you a check).
• You will be directed to another screen where you will enter personal information to verify yourself. Simply follow the instructions. 
• You will need your driver’s license (or state-issued ID) information. If you don’t have one, leave it blank.

A confirmation email of information submitted.

You will receive an e-mail from Customer Service at Free File Fillable Forms that either acknowledge you have successfully submitted your information, or that tells you there is a problem and how to correct it. 

Free File Fillable forms will use the information to automatically complete a Form 1040 and transmit it to the IRS to compute and send you a payment.  Source IRS.gov

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Click the link below to get general information regarding the Fed Small Business Loan.


https://www.natptax.com/TaxKnowledgeCenter/covid19resources/Documents/irs-payments-poster.pdf?utm_source=mkt&utm_medium=email&utm_content=040620commish&utm_campaign=gen

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The Economic impact federal check.

IR-2020-61, March 30, 2020

According to The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service, the distribution of economic impact payments will begin in the next three weeks and will be distributed automatically, with no action required of your part. 

Taxpayers who typically do not file returns will need to submit a simple tax return to receive the economic impact payment.

Social security beneficiaries who are not required to file tax returns will not need to file an abbreviated tax return to receive an economic impact payment. The IRS will use the information on Form SSA-1099 to generate a $1,200 payment. 

Who is eligible for the economic impact payment?

Tax filers with adjusted gross income up to $75,000 for individuals and up to $150,000 for married couples filing joint returns will receive the full payment. For filers with income above those amounts, the payment amount is reduced by $5 for each $100 above the $75,000/$150,000 thresholds. 

Single filers with income exceeding $99,000 and $198,000 for joint filers with no children are not eligible. Social Security recipients and railroad retirees who are otherwise not required to file a tax return are also eligible and will not be required to file a return. 

Eligible taxpayers who filed tax returns for either 2019 or 2018 will automatically receive an economic impact payment of up to $1,200 for individuals or $2,400 for married couples and up to $500 for each qualifying child.

How will the IRS know where to send my payment?

The IRS will calculate and automatically send the economic impact payment to those eligible.

For people who have already filed their 2019 tax returns, the IRS will use this information to calculate the payment amount. For those who have not yet filed their return for 2019, the IRS will use information from their 2018 tax filing to calculate the payment. 

The economic impact payment will be deposited directly into the same banking account reflected on the return filed.

Taxpayer who failed to provide direct deposit information in their tax return. Can do the following:

Wait for the IRS web-based portal for taxpayers to provide their banking information to the IRS.  This facilitates receive payments immediately as opposed to checks in the mail.

Where can I get more information?

The IRS will post all key information on IRS.gov/coronavirus as soon as it becomes available.

Can my Health Savings Account (HSA) covers my Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) testing expenses?

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COVID-19 Testing and treatment cost

According to the IRS, and taking into consideration that most corporate high deductible plans differ from others, you could be able to use your health savings account (HSA) account to pay for these testing and treatment expenses.  This also means that an individual with a High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) can cover these costs.

The IRS said that health plans that otherwise qualify as HDHPs will not lose that status merely because they cover the cost of testing for or treatment of COVID-19 before plan deductibles have been met. 

As in the past, any vaccination costs continue to count as preventive care and can be paid for by an HDHP.

Today's notice applies only to HSA-eligible HDHPs. Employees and other taxpayers in any other type of health plan with specific questions about their own plan and what it covers should contact their Plan Administrator.  Source IRS.gov

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What I need to know if I received an inceptive option in the form of company stock

What is an incentive stock option?

Some time companies give employees the right to buy shares of the company in lieu of compensation. Other times the intention is to give the right as an incentive in exchange for work performance, meet some goals, due dates, etc. The option price at which the employee paid could vary. 

What is the Taxpayer Tax Treatment?

If you receive an option as an incentive, the taxpayer needs to keep a few dates in mind: Date was granted, the date is exercised.  Also: when and what is considered compensation or capital gain.   

The best option for taxpayers is to consult a CPA.

Source: IRS.gov