Obviously, I am not a fan of flawed and expensive tax preparation software. But I do find that the Turbo Tax blog often provides good information. However, its slogan – “It’s all about the refund” – is WRONG. What too many taxpayers do not understand is it should NOT be all about the refund – it should be all about the tax liability!
* Have you subscribed to my free monthly e-mail tax
newsletter yet? Click here to see the
August issue.
You can subscribe to this free monthly e-letter by
sending an email to rdftaxpro@yahoo.com with ROBERT D FLACH’S 1010 EMAIL LETTER in the
subject line.
* A Facebook tax pro group member posted some information
from a CSEA (California Society of Enrolled Agents) IRS Panel Discussion. The first three -
“1) New audits being
opened again
2) Most
will be remote audits
3) IRS was receiving 1M pieces of mail per week
during shutdown. Will take a while to
catch up. Opening 5M pieces a week but
still receiving mail.”
* Brett Hersh, the OVERNIGHT ACCOUNTANT, new to me, provided
a detailed primer on “Deducting Business Meals, Real Estate Agents and Sole Proprietors” 2 weeks ago (just discovered this thanks to Joe Kristan).
“The rules are confusing and accompanied by a
great deal of rumor and misinformation.”
* We begin a trifecta from the FORBES.COM TaxGirl
Kelly Phillips Erb with “Despite Questions, President Trump Issues Executive Order To Create Temporary Payroll Tax Cut”.
This is currently a deferral of, I believe, 4th
Quarter 2020 federal payroll taxes – Social Security and Medicare taxes. And it is clearly an act by Trump to try to
make himself look good when Congress failed to act on additional stimulus legislation
(if you ask me the breakdown of the talks was purposely orchestrated by
Republican leaders so Trump could make this move). We all know that Trump could care less about
the plight of the American people – and his only interest is in staying in the
White House.
As Kelly says (highlight is hers) - “There’s a
lot to unpack here, so stay tuned: more is sure to come.”
* A good reminder from KPE in “Working From Home? You May Not Be Able To Claim The Home Office Tax Deduction” (high light is KPE’s)-
“As a result of the Tax Cuts and
Jobs Act (TCJA), for the tax years 2018 through 2025, you cannot deduct home office
expenses if you are an employee.”
I weighed in on the subject of a home office deduction for employees forced to work at home during the pandemic in “Don’t Expect a Home Office Deduction for Employees on the 2020Form 1040”
* And KPE explains “Even COVID-19 Can’t Stop Sales Tax-Free Shopping” and provides “a look at states offering taxpayers a break on sales tax for back-to-school items this year”.
BTW – congratulations to KPE for being named the
National Association of Enrolled Agents’ “2020 Outstanding Supporter of
Enrolled Agents”!
THE LAST WORD
The 2020 election truly is a referendum on Trump.
You are either for Trump, or
You have a brain and a conscience.
TTFN
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