Joshua A. Kirk, CPA

01/10/2021

Actually its more likely that it won't blow up your tax bill since, In this article, they say that "in his platform, Biden vowed to amend the tax code to make forgiveness through the income-based repayment program tax free, saying “Americans shouldn’t have to take out a loan to pay their taxes when they finally are free from their student loans.”

If the stars don't align, the resulting "tax bomb" could cost you thousands.

01/06/2021

The biggest penalty I've seen for an early distrubution from an IRA (actually it was a 401k, but the same penalty applies) was $8,000. This had to be paid on top of the regular tax on the distribution. Ouch!

Do you have to pay a penalty if you cash in an IRA to pay student loans? Learn more about your options. Get tax answers from H&R Block.

01/04/2021

IRS says Prince's estate valuation was off, so they want another $32 million in estate tax plus 6 million in penalties. The estate laeyers are standing strong and want to take it toTax Court since they believe their estate valuation is accurate and that its the IRS that's off. The item in question is the publishing royalties and how much they are worth.

The ongoing controversy over the money left behind by Prince when he died without a will is heating up again after Internal Revenue Service calculations showed that executors of the rock star's estate undervalued it by 50%, or about $80 million. The IRS determined that Prince’s estate is worth $16...

01/01/2021

In addition to discussing whether a settlement payment is taxable, this article also illustrates how you have to be careful when your tax person comes to you with a tax planning idea. Don't get me wrong, tax planning can really work to your advantage, but be careful. The taxpayer in this story ended up paying $456,000 to the IRS because they followed bad advice from their CPA. They sued their CPA and won. The advice they followed was on a list of known tax shelters kept by the IRS. The IRS list of tax shelters, which is not all inclusive, can be found very easily online with a quick search, and is located here right on the IRS website: https://www.irs.gov/businesses/corporations/abusive-tax-shelters-and-transactions

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.forbes.com/sites/anthonynitti/2014/09/12/client-sues-tax-advsior-for-bad-advice-is-the-settlement-payment-tax-free/amp/

The next time you're with your tax advisor, take a good, long look at him (or her). Only when you do, try to look past the framed degree commemorating his six-and-a-half years at an affordably priced correspondence college. Look past the license acknowledging that on only his eighth try, he successf...

08/24/2020

Think and Grow Rich (and they stress that riches cannot always be measured in money, but rather in lasting friendships, harmonious family relationships, sympathy and understanding between business associates, and introspective harmony which brings one peace of mind measurable only in spiritual values), written in 1937, four years after the end of the Great Depression. Someone told me this was a great book 25 years ago, but I never got around to reading it. I'm 6 pages in, and I can tell this will be a great book!
"When the opportunity came, it appeared in a different form, and from a different direction than Barnes had expected.
That is one of the tricks of opportunity. It has a sly habit of slipping in by the back door, and often it comes disguised in the form of misfortune or temporary defeat. Perhaps this is why so many fail to recognize opportunity"

04/15/2020

If you want to, here's the link to find out when your stimulus money gets in. A lot of people got theirs today.

Use Get My Payment to get information about your payment status and payment type.

04/02/2020

https://www.yahoo.com/money/social-security-beneficiaries-others-dont-191845224.html

The Treasury Department now says Americans who don't file taxes can still receive a $1,200 coronavirus stimulus check without taking extra steps.

04/01/2020

https://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyphillipserb/2020/03/31/irs-adds-to-confusion-about-whether-seniors-have-to-file-tax-returns-to-get-stimulus-checks/

The IRS has posted some guidance about Social Security benefits and stimulus checks - and it raises more questions than it answers.

04/01/2020

https://www.yahoo.com/news/over-3-million-americans-delinquent-100939367.html

The Treasury Department, which has a database of the deadbeats, has the power to intercept the coronavirus cash.

04/01/2020

WASHINGTON — The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service today launched the Employee Retention Credit, designed to encourage businesses to keep employees on their payroll. The refundable tax credit is 50% of up to $10,000 in wages paid by an eligible employer whose business has been f...

03/25/2020

WASHINGTON – To help people facing the challenges of COVID-19 issues, the Internal Revenue Service announced today a sweeping series of steps to assist taxpayers by providing relief on a variety of issues ranging from easing payment guidelines to postponing compliance actions.

03/17/2020

IRS created a new pages for changes specific to the coronavirus. So far, only details about high deductible health plans have been posted.

To explain the tax relief for those affected by coronavirus