If you get your health insurance through the Marketplace and receive a tax subsidy to help lower your monthly premium, it’s important to keep your information updated. Life changes, like getting a new job, losing a job, having a change in your household, or making more or less money than expected, can affect how much of a subsidy you qualify for. For example, if you lose your job and your income goes down, you may qualify for a larger subsidy, which could lower what you pay e

If you’re adopting a child—or planning to adopt—there’s some good news to know about the adoption tax credit. For 2026, the credit has been increased, and part of the credit is now refundable, which could make a significant difference for eligible adopting parents. How Much Is the Adoption Tax Credit in 2026? For 2026, eligible taxpayers can claim a credit for up to $17,670 of qualified adoption expenses per eligible child. Qualified expenses can include costs such as: Adopti

The 2026 tax filing season has gone relatively smoothly for many taxpayers, according to the IRS National Taxpayer Advocate. Most taxpayers were able to file their returns and receive their refunds without significant delays. That’s notable considering the IRS has been dealing with staffing reductions, leadership changes, outdated technology, and other challenges that could have affected the agency’s ability to process returns efficiently. However, not everyone has had the sa

If you receive health insurance through the Marketplace and qualify for a premium tax credit, it’s important to keep your information up to date throughout the year. Your premium tax credit is based on information such as your household income, family size, and other circumstances. If any of these change, your subsidy may change as well. What Changes Should You Report? You should notify the Marketplace if you experience a significant change in your circumstances, including: Y

The IRS is getting ready to make penalty relief a whole lot easier for some taxpayers. Instead of having to call or write the IRS to ask for a first-time penalty abatement, qualifying taxpayers will soon have those penalties waived automatically. The new program, called Automatic Exemption From Penalty (AEP), is expected to roll out sometime this summer and will apply to original 2025 tax returns. If you've been compliant with your tax obligations for the past three years and

IRS Still Working Through Employee Retention Credit Backlog The IRS is continuing to work through a large backlog of Employee Retention Credit (ERC) claims, with approximately 20,600 claims still in the pipeline as of May 30, 2026. The ERC was a COVID-19 relief program designed to provide a refundable payroll tax credit to eligible businesses that experienced certain government-ordered shutdowns or significant declines in gross receipts during the pandemic. Where Are the Clai

The IRS and the Department of Justice continue to increase enforcement efforts targeting undisclosed foreign financial accounts. If you're a U.S. taxpayer with foreign bank or financial accounts, it's important to understand your reporting obligations. If the combined value of your foreign accounts exceeded $10,000 at any point during the year, you're generally required to file FinCEN Form 114, commonly known as the FBAR. While the standard filing deadline is April 15, there'

Donating to charity is a great way to support organizations you care about, but not every charitable contribution comes with a tax deduction. One situation to be especially careful about is donating the right to use your vacation home to a nonprofit organization. Schools, churches, and other nonprofits sometimes accept vacation-home stays as prizes for fundraising dinners, galas, or charity auctions. While this may sound like a good way to support a cause and potentially rece

If you're claiming a net operating loss (NOL) carryover on your tax return, make sure you have the documentation to support it. If the IRS audits your return, you'll need to prove not only the amount of the loss you're carrying forward but also that the original NOL was valid in the first place. Simply providing copies of prior-year tax returns may not be enough. Taxpayers should keep records that support how the original loss was calculated and how it was carried forward fro

If you gamble, there are two major tax changes that took effect in 2026 that could affect your tax return. The first change impacts the deduction for gambling losses. Beginning with 2026 tax returns, taxpayers who itemize deductions can deduct only 90% of their gambling losses, and those losses can only be claimed up to the amount of their reported gambling winnings. This is a change from previous years, when qualifying losses could generally offset winnings dollar for dollar

Occasionally, clients call and ask why they received a penalty notice for failure to pay quarterly tax payments. The IRS did not enforce these penalties for a few years, beginning in 2020 due to the COVID shutdowns. They are clearly now assessing these again. There is a formula that determines how much and whether you should pay quarterly. The safest thing is to pay within $1,000 of what you will owe no later than January 15. For example: You owe $5,000 when filing you

Figuring out whether an activity is a hobby or a business can get complicated if you don't qualify for the IRS safe harbor rule. Instead of using one simple test, the IRS looks at the overall picture by considering several factors that help determine whether you're truly trying to make a profit. Some of the things they evaluate include your experience and knowledge, whether you seek advice from experts, how professionally you run the activity, how much time and effort you inv

One of the most common IRS audit red flags is reporting large losses from an activity that appears to be a hobby rather than a legitimate business. The IRS closely monitors taxpayers who repeatedly claim losses on Schedule C or Schedule F to offset wages, investment income, or other taxable earnings. It's important to understand the difference between a hobby and a business. While any income you earn from a hobby is taxable and must be reported as "Other Income" on Schedule 1

Some taxpayers do not realize the implications of losing a spouse, or a dependent child beginning to earn their own income. In the year you lose a spouse, you can still file a Married Joint tax return. In the year after your spouse passes, your filing status would change to Single (unless you have dependent children). This could create tremendous tax implications. We recommend that you come in and meet with us to discuss Your new tax situation for the first year you are f

We have noticed there is a need for some tax planning in this area. Taxpayers who have retirement accounts in the range of $500K or larger often have their own investment advisor. The advisor normally but not always will advise them on how to best take their distributions. The problem is with taxpayers with smaller IRA accounts, normally in the $100-250K range. They do not have their own investment advisor, and do not realize they may have a brewing problem. Here are 2

The filing deadline for Individual and C-Corp is April 15. We have begun filing extensions for these returns. Please let us know if you would like us to file an extension for you. We will try our best to ensure your extension is filed timely. If you do not receive a notification from us that the extension has been filed, then please let us know. We will probably be able to have your tax return completed by the filing deadline if we have already received your documents.

The IRS has recently issued a memo regarding reasonable compensation. This is a new initiative we can expect for them to begin enforcing. For business owners who are not paying themselves payroll, or who are significantly under-paying, we may need to review your compensation package in order to avoid a painful and costly payroll and reasonable compensation audit.

Please be aware that the IRS has imposed new requirements on paper check refunds. If you choose to not have direct deposit, your refund will be delayed several months. Additionally, we will need to have you sign an additional form, indicating you are choosing to have a paper check mailed to you.

There are 2 aspects to this. For any child born in 2025-2028, you can request and receive $1,000 in seed money from the government to fund the account. For all others, you can open an account for any child before the age of 18. Once opened, you can fund the account with after-tax dollars, up to $5K per year, per child. In the year the child turns 18, the account basically converts to an IRA with the cost basis of your cumulative contributions. This means that the contrib

This is a new tax deduction, beginning 2025. You can deduct loan interest paid for NEW vehicles purchased in 2025-2028. There are a few criteria, including it must have been assembled in the US.