Archive for April, 2014

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Do You Have Any Unpaid Bills (Debt) With ANY Federal Agency? – It Will Affect Your Tax Refund!

Monday, April 21st, 2014

The exclusive purpose for the information which is provided from this website is to disseminate information, and not to provide tax advice. 

 I am reading more information from the Internet and professional publications regarding this capability of the U. S. Government, including the Internal Revenue Service.  The program is  the Treasury Offset Program (TOP) which is administered by the Bureau of the Fiscal Services Debt Management Services (DMS).

The Treasury Offset Program is a centralized offset program, administered by the The Bureau of the Fiscal Service’s Debt Management Services (DMS), to collect delinquent debts owed to federal agencies and states (including past-due child support), in accordance with 26 U.S.C. § 6402(d)Exit Fiscal Service Web site (collection of debts owed to federal agencies), 31 U.S.C. § 3720AExit Fiscal Service Web site (reduction of tax refund by amount of the debts), and other applicable laws.

How Does It Work?

Fiscal Service disburses federal payments, such as federal tax refunds, for agencies making federal payments (known as “payment agencies”), such as the Internal Revenue Service. “Creditor agencies,” such as the Department of Education, submit delinquent debts to the Fiscal Service for collection and inclusion in TOP and certify that such debts qualify for collection by offset (the reduction or withholding of a payment).

Payment agencies prepare and certify payment vouchers to Fiscal Service and disbursing officials at other federal agencies that are non-Treasury disbursed (such as the Department of Defense), who then disburse payments. The payment vouchers contain information about the payment including the name and Tax Identification Number (TIN) of the recipient.

Before an eligible federal payment is disbursed to a payee, disbursing officials compare the payment information with debtor information, which has been supplied by the creditor agency, in Fiscal Service’s delinquent debtor database. If the payee’s name and TIN match the name and TIN of a debtor, the disbursing official offsets (withholds) the payment, in whole or in part, to satisfy the debt, to the extent legally allowed.

Fiscal Service transmits amounts collected through offset to the appropriate creditor agencies. Fiscal Service maintains information about the delinquent debt in the TOP delinquent debtor database and continues to offset eligible federal payments until the creditor agency suspends or terminates debt collection or offset activity for the debt.

A creditor agency will suspend collection if the debt is subject to a bankruptcy stay or if other reasons justify suspension. A creditor agency will terminate collection of a debt if it is paid in full, compromised, discharged, or if other reasons justify termination.

Therefore,  your tax refund will be reduced by any delinquent or unpaid debts to other Federal agencies: (more…)

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New 2013 Tax Law Change – Additional Medicare Tax

Monday, April 14th, 2014

The exclusive purpose for the information which is provided from this website is to disseminate information, and not to provide tax advice. 

There were a number of tax law changes in 2013.  One tax law change that you may not have noticed is related to the additional (surtax) Medicare tax for household  incomes above certain thresholds.    The tax is also predicated upon your filing status (see below). 

What You Should Know about the Additional Medicare Tax

 

Starting in 2013, you may be liable for an Additional Medicare Tax if your income exceeds certain limits. Here are six things that you should know about this tax:  

1.   The Additional Medicare Tax is 0.9 percent. It applies to the amount of your wages, self-employment income and railroad retirement (RRTA) compensation that is more than a threshold amount. The threshold amount that applies to you is based on your filing status. If you’re married and file a joint return, you must combine your spouse’s wages, compensation, or self-employment income with yours to determine if you exceed the “married filing jointly” threshold.

2.   The threshold amounts are:

 Filing Status                   Threshold Amount
 Married filing jointly         $250,000
 Married filing separately   $125,000
 Single                            $200,000
 Head of household          $200,000
 Qualifying widow(er) with dependent child      $200,000

3.   You must combine wages and self-employment income to determine if your income exceeds the threshold. You do not consider a loss from self-employment when you figure this tax. You must compare RRTA compensation separately to the threshold. See the instructions for Form 8959, Additional Medicare Tax, for examples.

4.   Employers must withhold this tax from your wages or compensation when they pay you more than $200,000 in a calendar year, without regard to your filing status, wages paid to you by another employer, or income that you may have from other sources. Your employer does not combine the wages for married couples to determine whether to withhold Additional Medicare Tax. 

5.   You may owe more tax than the amount withheld, depending on your filing status and other income. In that case, you should make estimated tax payments /or request additional income tax withholding using Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate. If you had too little tax withheld, or did not pay enough estimated tax, you may owe an estimated tax penalty. For more on this topic, see Publication 505, Tax Withholding and Estimated Tax.

6.   If you owe this tax, file Form 8959, with your tax return. You also report any Additional Medicare Tax withheld by your employer on Form 8959.

Visit IRS.gov for more on this topic. Enter “Additional Medicare Tax” in the search box. You can also get forms and publications on IRS.gov or call 800-TAX-FORM (800-829-3676).

Additional IRS Resources:

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Action To Take IF You Are Not Ready To File Your Tax Return(s)

Thursday, April 10th, 2014

The exclusive purpose for the information which is provided from this website is to disseminate information, and not to provide tax advice. 

What You Should Know if You Need More Time to File Your Taxes

 

The April 15 tax deadline is approaching. What happens if you can’t get your taxes done by the due date? If you need more time, you can get an automatic six-month extension from the IRS. You don’t have to explain why you’re asking for more time. Here are five important things to know about filing an extension:

1.   File on time even if you can’t pay.  If you complete your tax return but can’t pay the taxes you owe, do not request an extension. Instead, file your return on time and pay as much as you can. That way you will avoid the late filing penalty, which is higher than the penalty for not paying all of the taxes you owe on time. Plus, you do have payment options. Apply for a payment plan using the Online Payment Agreement tool on IRS.gov. You can also file Form 9465, Installment Agreement Request, with your tax return. If you are unable to make payments because of a financial hardship, the IRS will work with you.

2.   Extra time to file is not extra time to pay.  An extension to file will give you six more months to file your taxes, until Oct. 15. It does not give you extra time to pay your taxes. You still must estimate and pay what you owe by April 15. You will be charged interest on any amount not paid by the deadline. You may also owe a penalty for not paying on time.

3.   Use IRS Free File to request an extension.  You can use IRS Free File to e-file your extension request. Free File is only available through the IRS.gov website. You must e-file the request by midnight on April 15. If you e-file your extension request, the IRS will acknowledge receipt. You also can return to Free File any time by Oct. 15 to prepare and e-file your tax return for free.

4.   Use Form 4868.  You can also request an extension by mailing a Form 4868, Application for Automatic Extension of Time to File U.S. Individual Income Tax Return. You must submit this form to the IRS by April 15. Form 4868 is available on IRS.gov.

You don’t need to submit a paper Form 4868 if you make a payment using an IRS electronic payment option. The IRS will automatically process your extension when you pay electronically. You can pay online or by phone.

5.   Electronic funds withdrawal.  If you e-file an extension request, you can also pay any balance due by authorizing an electronic funds withdrawal from your checking or savings account. To do this you will need your bank routing and account numbers.

Visit IRS.gov for more information about filing an extension and the many options you have to pay your taxes.

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“Minimum Essential Coverage” (MEC) Under the Affordable Care Act

Thursday, April 10th, 2014

The exclusive purpose for the information which is provided from this website is to disseminate information, and not to provide tax advice. 

Find Out if Your Health Insurance Coverage is Considered
Minimum Essential Coverage Under the Affordable Care Act

 

The Affordable Care Act calls for individuals to have qualifying health insurance coverage for each month of the year, have an exemption, or make a shared responsibility payment when filing their federal income tax return next year.

Qualifying health insurance coverage, called minimum essential coverage, includes coverage under various, but not all, types of health care coverage plans. The majority of coverage that people have today counts as minimum essential coverage.

Examples of minimum essential coverage include:

  • Health insurance coverage provided by your employer,
  • Health insurance purchased through the Health Insurance Marketplace in the area where you live, where you may qualify for financial assistance,
  • Coverage provided under a government-sponsored program for which you are eligible (including Medicare, Medicaid, and health care programs for veterans),
  • Health insurance purchased directly from an insurance company, and
  • Other health insurance coverage that is recognized by the Department of Health & Human Services as minimum essential coverage. 

Minimum essential coverage does not include coverage providing only limited benefits, such as:

  • Coverage consisting solely of excepted benefits, such as:
    • Stand-alone vision and dental insurance
    • Workers’ compensation
    • Accident or disability income insurance
  • Medicaid plans that provide limited coverage such as only family planning services or only treatment of emergency medical conditions.

More information about the types of coverage that qualify and don’t qualify as minimum essential coverage can be found on the IRS Individual Shared Responsibility page and answers to specific questions can be found on the question and answer page.

More Information

Find out more about the tax-related provisions of the health care law at IRS.gov/aca.

Find out more about the health care law at HealthCare.gov.

Subscribe to IRS Tax Tips to get easy-to-read tips via e-mail from the IRS.

 

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