Tag Archives: Tax Tips

Do You Need to Make the Switch to EFTPS?

IRS has issued proposed regs designed to expand the making of electronic tax deposits. The regs would eliminate the use of paper-based federal tax deposit (FTD) coupons after 2010. The existing rules for making electronic deposits would otherwise generally remain unchanged.

Currently, taxpayers whose aggregate annual deposits of certain taxes exceed $200,000 are generally required to use Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) to make FTDs. Taxes taken into account in determining whether the $200,000 threshold has been met include withheld income and FICA taxes, corporate income and estimated taxes, certain taxes imposed on tax-exempt organizations, taxes withheld on nonresident aliens and foreign corporations, estimated taxes of certain trusts, FUTA taxes, and excise taxes, as well as others. Once taxpayers exceed the $200,000 threshold, they have a one–year grace period before being required to use EFT, and then they are required to use EFT in all later years even if their deposits fall below the threshold. The Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS) is the EFT system currently used by IRS to collect FTDs. Continue reading →

IRS Continues Efforts to Ensure Accurate Return Preparation; Reminds Tax Preparers to Sign Up for PTINs

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service has started sending out more than 10,000 letters to tax return preparers nationwide to remind them of their obligation to prepare accurate tax returns on behalf of their clients.

Also, during the 2011 filing season, IRS representatives will visit approximately 2,500 tax return preparers who received these letters to further discuss their responsibilities as a return preparer and to verify their compliance with existing requirements.

The tax agency is sending the letters to paid preparers who completed tax returns in which the IRS has identified common errors. The letter includes an enclosure that reminds tax return preparers of their responsibilities and consequences of filing incorrect returns. Continue reading →

Interest Rates Decrease for the First Quarter of 2011

WASHINGTON – The Internal Revenue Service today announced that interest rates for the calendar quarter beginning January 1, 2011, will decrease by one percentage point.  The rates will be:

  • three (3) percent for overpayments [two (2) percent in the case of a corporation];
  • three (3) percent for underpayments;
  • five (5) percent for large corporate underpayments; and
  • zero and one-half (0.5) percent for the portion of a corporate overpayment exceeding $10,000. Continue reading →

Nearly 70 Percent of Taxpayers Used IRS e-file in 2010

WASHINGTON — Nearly 99 million individuals filed their federal income tax returns electronically during 2010, a 3 percent increase in the IRS e-file rate. Of the 141.5 million returns filed so far this year, almost 70 percent were filed electronically.

Each year, more taxpayers chose to e-file their tax returns. Last year, nearly 95 million taxpayers or 67 percent used e-file. In the past decade, the number of individual tax returns e-filed has increased by 145 percent. The overall number of individual tax returns increased only by 8 percent. IRS e-file is no longer is the exception; now it is the norm. Continue reading →