NOTE: This headliner is current through the publication date. Since changes may have occurred, no guarantees are made concerning the technical accuracy after the publication date.
Headliner Volume 221
January 10, 2008
Viewers who tuned into IRS’ January 8th Tax Talk Today Web cast, “Getting Ready for the Filing Season: Part 2 (Businesses),” learned about the latest tax law changes, updates to IRS forms, processing issues, and common errors for business filers to avoid.
Moderated by host Les Witmer, the show’s panelists included Elizabeth Buckingham, enrolled agent and tax principal at Murray Wells Wendeln & Robinson CPAs, Inc.; Curt Freeman, Branch Chief, Business Forms & Publications, Internal Revenue Service; Jerry Heschel, Field Director, Submission Processing, Ogden, Internal Revenue Service; and Floyd Douglas Thomas, CSA, owner, F.D. Thomas Tax and Financial Services.
The program began with an update on the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) patch legislation. Congress passed and the President signed the legislation into law late last year for one more year. It protects millions of taxpayers from the AMT. Without the legislation, estimates indicate the number of taxpayers who could be subject to AMT would have increased to approximately 25 million in 2007 from four million in 2006.
Averting a worst case scenario had the legislation not been passed or been seriously delayed even further, the IRS expects to begin processing returns for the vast majority of taxpayers on schedule. The April 15 filing season deadline has not changed.
The AMT will receive the same treatment in 2007 as in 2006. The IRS has released all impacted forms, including Form 6251 and the personal credit forms, on IRS.gov. However, taxpayers using five forms related to the AMT legislation may have to wait until February 11 when the IRS anticipates the completion of reprogramming for the new law. The IRS is working with tax software vendors and strongly advised viewers to download updates for the latest versions prior to filing. The five forms include:
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Form 8863, Education Credits.
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Form 5695, Residential Energy Credits.
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Form 1040A’s Schedule 2, Child and Dependent Care Expenses for Form 1040A Filers,
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Form 8396, Mortgage Interest Credit; and,
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Form 8859, District of Columbia First-Time Homebuyer Credit.
The show’s panelists urged viewers to use electronic payment options (e.g. EFTPS) and electronic filing with direct deposit of refunds. They pointed out that practitioners can also sign up for on-line E-Services to help their clients including Disclosure Authorization, Electronic Account Resolution and Transcript Delivery System.
A new simplified reporting option for married couples with partnerships was also discussed. Form 1065, "U.S. Return of Partnership Income," need not be filed if the couple instead files with their Form 1040 two Schedules C that reflect each partner's actual participation in the partnership. As long as the Schedules C are filed with the couple's Form 1040, no other election or notice is required. The filing method is available to both existing and newly formed partnerships.
All of this information, a discussion of new tax preparer penalties, and the entire January 8th Web cast are accessible for viewing via archive for 12 months at Tax Talk Today. A transcript of the show is also available, as well as an audio podcast.
Sponsored by the IRS, Tax Talk Today is a free, live, monthly interactive Web cast aimed at educating tax professionals on the most contemporary and complex tax issues. In addition to viewing live Web casts or podcasts, subscribers can order transcripts and audio and video recordings.
More information on Tax Talk Today, including registration and CPE credits is available at Tax Talk Today Web site.
Tax Talk Today takes a break in February, but returns on Tuesday, March 11 at 2 p.m. when the theme of the show will be “International Tax Issues: Understanding Tax Treaties.”
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