Rich Graves CPA LLC Easton Office

12/28/2021

Keep an eye out for these letters about stimulus payments and advance child tax credit for 2021. You will need them to file your taxes.

IR-2021-255, December 22, 2021 — The Internal Revenue Service announced today that it will issue information letters to Advance Child Tax Credit recipients starting in December and to recipients of the third round of the Economic Impact Payments at the end of January. Using this information when p...

07/30/2021

Everyone should get an ID Protection PIN to make it harder for fraudsters to file tax returns in your name. I've got mine!

Find out what an IRS-issued Identity Protection PIN is and how to get one if you are eligible.

07/20/2021

Everyone should get an IRS account as soon as possible. I've had mine for years and it's great, but it's about to get more useful, very soon.

IR-2021-154, July 19, 2021 — The Internal Revenue Service today launched a new feature that will give taxpayers digital control over who can represent them or view their tax records, a groundbreaking step in the agency’s expansion of electronic options for taxpayers and tax professionals.

03/31/2021

https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-to-recalculate-taxes-on-unemployment-benefits-refunds-to-start-in-may

IR-2021-71, March 31, 2021 — To help taxpayers, the Internal Revenue Service announced today that it will take steps to automatically refund money this spring and summer to people who filed their tax return reporting unemployment compensation before the recent changes made by the American Rescue P...

03/30/2021

The Internal Revenue Service today warned of an ongoing IRS-impersonation scam that appears to primarily target educational institutions, including students and staff who have “.edu” email addresses.

The IRS’ [email protected] has received complaints about the impersonation scam in recent weeks from people with email addresses ending in “.edu.” The phishing emails appear to target university and college students from both public and private, profit and non-profit institutions.

Taxpayers who believe they have a pending refund can easily check on its status at “Where’s My Refund?” on IRS.gov.

The suspect emails display the IRS logo and use various subject lines such as “Tax Refund Payment” or “Recalculation of your tax refund payment.” It asks people to click a link and submit a form to claim their refund.

The phishing website requests taxpayers provide their:

Social Security Number
First Name
Last Name
Date of Birth
Prior Year Annual Gross Income (AGI)
Driver's License Number
Current Address
City
State/U.S. Territory
ZIP Code/Postal Code
Electronic Filing PIN
People who receive this scam email should not click on the link in the email, but they can report it to the IRS. For security reasons, save the email using “save as” and then send that attachment to [email protected] or forward the email as an attachment to [email protected]. The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) and IRS Criminal Investigation have been notified.

Taxpayers who believe they may have provided identity thieves with this information should consider immediately obtaining an Identity Protection PIN. This is a voluntary opt-in program. An IP PIN is a six-digit number that helps prevent identity thieves from filing fraudulent tax returns in the victim’s name.

Taxpayers who attempt to e-file their tax return and find it rejected because a return with their SSN already has been filed should file a Form 14039, Identity Theft Affidavit, to report themselves as a possible identity theft victim. See Identity Theft Central to learn about the signs of identity theft and actions to take.

03/27/2021

Do not call the IRS as our phone assisters don’t have information beyond what is available on IRS.gov.

https://www.irs.gov/coronavirus/third-economic-impact-payment

We’re sending the third Economic Impact Payments to help people during the coronavirus pandemic. Find out if you’re eligible.

03/19/2021

If you filed a return with unemployment income before the new tax law passed, excluding 10,200 of unemployment, the IRS will automatically adjust your return and send you a refund (or reduce your balance due), so YOU DO NOT HAVE TO FILE AN AMENDED RETURN.

States will have to decide how they will handle this.

The IRS will automatically process refunds for individuals who paid taxes on their unemployment benefits before Congress passed a law making those payments tax-free, Commissioner Chuck Rettig said.

03/06/2021

If you had unemployment income in 2020, you should hold off filing your taxes, or plan to amend. MD has exempted UI and the feds might exempt 10,200 of UI.

About 400,000 low-income workers, defined as those who receive the earned income tax credit, will receive direct payments of $300 for an individual and $500 for a couple.

03/03/2021

If you received Maryland unemployment last year, there's a good chance you might be able to avoid paying MD taxes on it. Give us a call so we can discuss your situation and your options.

410-819-3040

02/19/2021

https://www.accountingtoday.com/news/lawmakers-ask-irs-to-extend-tax-season-until-july-15-due-to-covid

Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee are urging the Internal Revenue Service to extend tax season beyond April 15 to give taxpayers another three months until July 15.

02/17/2021

New MD law just signed this week.

Marylandtaxes.gov