Texas has 2.5 million residents (more than any other state) who are eligible for tax credits to reduce the cost of buying health insurance for new exchanges. These findings were unveiled in a study released Tuesday, November 12th, 2013 by the Kaiser Family Foundation. 25% of Texans are currently uninsured and the new tax credits are intended to provide financial assistance to those who need it most. Texans in certain income brackets can apply for credits or subsidies to help offset the cost of plans purchased through the health care exchange.
Millions of Americans Will Qualify
The report estimates that 17 million Americans qualify for the credits. It has been spotlighted that eligibility for these tax credits will be based primarily on income.
Those qualifying must earn between 100 and 400% of the federal poverty level (between $23,550 and $94,200 annually for a family of four). Qualifiers must also be ineligible for health coverage from an employer or from Medicaid.
Determining Tax Credit Eligibility
If a single person earns no more than $45,960 of income in 2014, he/she will qualify for a health care credit. A family of four can qualify despite earning as much as $94, 200. Tax credits are only available for those who apply for coverage through state and federal health insurance marketplaces. Those with the lowest incomes will receive the largest tax credits.
How it Works
The payments made under Obamacare are really government-funded subsidies, although they are called credits. Texans may still receive the credit despite not owing income taxes. It is paid directly to health insurance companies when people enroll in health insurance plans. This means Texans will not be required to wait until their taxes have been filed and processed to receive the credit.
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The Obamacare tax credit can make the cost of purchasing health insurance through the Marketplace more affordable for individuals and families with low to moderate incomes. For assistance with this or any other tax issue, contact McAllen’s Certified Public accountants of Gonzalez & Arrambide, Inc. at 956-447-9009.
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You may have to hold onto those tax returns for just a little bit longer. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced on December 18th that tax returns would not be processed until January 31st. Last year’s government shutdown is responsible for the tax-filing season being delayed once again. Think the deadline will be pushed back to give taxpayers enough time to file their returns? Think again. The deadline is still April 15th, which makes this tax season even shorter than last year’s.
Shutdown Interfered with Important IRS System Updates
The federal government shutdown which lasted about 16 days last October interrupted the updating of IRS systems for the upcoming tax season, according to the IRS website. Approximately 90% of IRS operations were closed during the shutdown, forcing the service to fall behind schedule. The postponed start to this year’s tax season will directly impact individuals and business owners as well as tax preparers due to the delay in the updating of important tax-related laws and forms. Taxpayers are encouraged to use e-file as their filing method as it is the fastest way to receive a refund.
Avoid the Crowds and Visit Your CPA Today
The good news is that you may begin filing your tax returns even though it will not be processed immediately. Keep in mind that if you do file your tax return now, it will be ready for the IRS when the time comes for processing. Taxes are stressful enough without the added pressure of having a shorter timeframe to complete them. You can avoid the crowds of taxpayers coming in after January 31st by visiting your certified public accountant’s office and getting started on your taxes today.
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Do not wait until the last minute. We encourage taxpayers to get a head start and file their tax returns as soon as possible. If you have any tax-related questions or would like to get started on processing, contact McAllen’s certified public accountants at Gonzalez & Arrambide, Inc. at 956-447-9009.
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The consistent and proper maintenance of financial records is crucial to the success of any business. Despite this, the expense of adding a bookkeeping service may seem unnecessary for some. This strategy, however, is the key to increasing overall productivity and profitability for expanding businesses whose bookkeeping starts to become complex. Below are a few reasons why businesses large and small choose to outsource bookkeeping to trusted professionals.
Leave it to the Professionals
If an employee in charge of payroll and tax filings doesn’t have the necessary background to successfully complete certain tasks, it can create financial liability problems for your business. Seasoned business owners know that payroll and tax filing issues can be avoided by outsourcing these details to a certified public accountant (CPA). Our CPAs will combine all of your financial services into one comprehensive service for added convenience and less stress.
Relieve the Stress of Employee Withholding
For business owners in any industry, withholding taxes from employee paychecks is an important task that can seem intimidating. The last thing you want is to be in trouble with the IRS for faulty bookkeeping. Procuring a bookkeeping service is worth the cost if it means your business continues to run smoothly. Our professional CPAs are qualified to deal with different tax withholding situations.
Spend Less Time on Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable
The less time you spend dealing with a client’s finances and dealing with other accounts receivable and accounts payable issues, the more time you can spend focusing on your business. Even if your business is doing great, a professional bookkeeping service can help you boost productivity by making this process easier and giving your business a more powerful presence.
Let Us Take Care of It
These are just some of the reasons business owners in McAllen and beyond choose to relieve their financial burdens by entrusting their records with our CPAs in McAllen. Bookkeeping is a stressful part of operating a business, though it doesn’t have to be. Consider a better way to manage finances and speak to a bookkeeping service expert today about how to increase efficiency for your business.
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Gather your paperwork as soon as possible to benefit from the perks of early tax filing this year. With tax season fast approaching, you can get your refund within three weeks of filing your return as well as reducing the risk of identity theft. Check out what’s happening within the tax world in 2015.
IRS Comes Early in 2015
The Internal Revenue Service is stepping into gear early this year as the tax season kicks off on January 20th. The government will start processing paperwork and electronic returns even though you may not have your W-2 form by then. Employers have until the end of the month to mail out the necessary tax forms. Don’t stress, you will have until April 15th to file your federal taxes.
Despite Congress extending 50 tax breaks in December, the start of the tax season will not be delayed. If you happened to catch any of those last-minute tax breaks only effective in 2014, you could see a bigger refund. Some of these items include charitable contributions, commuting costs, tuition payments and big sales purchases.
Healthcare Proof Requirement
There may be a few bumps in the road when it comes to filing your taxes this year. Mandates from the Affordable Care Act require proof of health insurance when citizens file their taxes. As mentioned above, you can start filing yours as early as January 20th, and if you have health insurance, expect to file more forms. One of those is the 1095-A form, which is released by your insurance provider. Some insurers may not release these forms until the end of the month, so you’ll have to sit tight until then.
If you’re not insured or were not insured for at least three months in 2014, you may see a tax penalty. Depending on your reported income, the fine will either be $95 or 1% of your modified income. However, you may eligible for an exemption if you became insured within the last three months of 2014 or have an income that is below the poverty line. If you became insured in October of 2014, you may qualify for this exemption to avoid the penalty. For more information about the Affordable Care Act and your 2015 taxes, please visit www.healthcare.gov.
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Let Gonzalez & Arrambide help plan your taxes to make life a little bit easier this year. To learn more about tax preparation and how we can serve you, contact the McAllen CPAs from Gonzalez & Arrambide at 956-447-9009.
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At least 18 states reported fraudulent activity for state tax returns completed with Intuit’s TurboTax software.
Various state revenue and tax commission agencies released statements on February 5th about fraud concerns in state tax returns. Between Alabama and Utah, there were at least 26,000 potentially affected tax returns reported, all of which were sourced to be from third-party commercial tax preparation software. Evidence pointed to Intuit’s TurboTax software.
In Utah, the fraudulent activity was detected by the Tax Commissions’ fraud detection systems that sourced the activity from outside software. Alabama made their detection through ADOR’s fraud detection system and claimed the compromised data also originated from an outside source. Both states confirmed that their own systems were not compromised. Only the state of Minnesota reported a pause in the acceptance of tax returns without releasing information on how many taxpayers were affected. For safe measure, Intuit temporarily paused state tax filing across the country on February 5th.
Intuit Taking Action
To address taxpayer concerns, Intuit teamed up with state agencies to tackle the issue.
“We’re working with the states to share that information and remedy the situation quickly. We will continue to engage them on an ongoing basis in an effort to stop fraud before it gets started,” said Intuit president and CEO Brad Smith.
An initial investigation with a third party security expert, Palantir, revealed that the instances of fraud did not result from a security breach of its systems, according to Intuit. The company now believes that the information used to file the most recent fraudulent returns was obtained from sources outside the tax preparation process.
“We understand the role we play in this important industry issue and continuously monitor our systems in search of suspicious activity,” said Smith. “We’ve identified specific patterns of behavior where fraud is more likely to occur.
On February 5th, Intuit temporarily paused state e-filing tax returns in all states and announced they will continue the investigation. The plan for Friday, February 6th is to work with all states in an effort to turn transmissions back on.
What You Should Do
If you filed your state tax return with Intuit software during the pause on the 5th, be patient. The company will have all returns transmitted as soon as possible. According to Intuit, these recent fraudulent activities will not affect filing of federal income tax returns or tax payers who did not e-file their state tax returns. Intuit spokesperson Julie Miller confirmed that the fraudulent returns were exclusive to state tax returns.
If you or someone you know may be a victim of tax fraud, Intuit has provided a toll-free, 1-800-944-8596, number with access to specially trained identity protection agents. You may call this number even if you did not use Intuit software but are still a victim of tax fraud. The trained agents can provide comprehensive support and filing assistance.
Reliable Tax Services
We’re just two weeks into the tax season, so there is still time to get your taxes filed. Contact us at 956-447-9009 to file your taxes with qualified and experienced professionals who have your best interests in mind. There’s no need to fret over paperwork or worry about fraud, we have you covered.
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