Avoid Your Tax Refund Delay, Renew Your ITIN Quickly
2 million ITINs will expire by the end of 2019. To avoid your refund delays, renew your ITIN quickly. The IRS made a recent announcement that that US taxpayers with expiring Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs) can get their ITINs renewed more quickly and avoid refund delays next year by submitting their renewal application the sooner […]
Avoid These Common Mistakes When Filing Your ITIN Application
Many common errors can delay an ITIN renewal application. These mistakes generally center on missing information or insufficient supporting documentation. Not renewing your ITIN on time can cause delays in receiving your refund. Don’t get stuck with your application renewal. Here are some common mistakes to avoid now so as not to get stuck later. […]
New Relief Procedure for Accidental Americans
On Friday, September 6, the IRS announced new procedures that would allow certain “accidental Americans” who have relinquished, or intend to relinquish, their U.S. citizenship to come into compliance with their U.S. income tax and reporting obligations and avoid being subject to the “exit tax.” Under U.S. tax law, an individual who renounces or relinquishes […]
Better Tax Planning Tips
If you don’t want to spend your summer thinking about your taxes, we don’t blame you. But tax planning should happen all year long, not just the week before your filing deadline. An important part of your planning is recordkeeping. – Even during the summer, keeping track of your records makes it easier to prepare […]
IRS Takes the Next Step in Virtual Currency Compliance Efforts
Last summer the IRS announced a Virtual Currency Compliance campaign aimed at addressing taxpayer noncompliance related to the mining, ownership, and use of virtual currency through a variety of approaches including outreach and examinations. On Friday, the IRS announced that it has taken the next step in its compliance efforts and has begun sending letters […]
THE ISRAEL TAX AUTHORITY IS NOT YOUR FACEBOOK FRIEND
A little twist on our regular ” blog” focus on Israeli technology. This time we want to highlight an interesting development — how the Israeli Tax Authority is focusing on social media to target tax avoidance. This may well be predictive of how IRS auditors could approach the examination of a return. Did you post […]
New Tax Forms Designed to Help Senior Citizens
On July 11, the IRS released an early draft of a simplified individual income tax return for taxpayers aged 65 or over. The new form, Form 1040-SR, U.S. Tax Return for Seniors, is designed to make it easier for seniors to file their U.S. federal income tax return by highlighting retirement income streams such as […]
New FBAR Ruling Could Cost Much More Than You Think
A California district court recently ruled that the non-willful penalty for failing to timely file an FBAR is imposed on a per account basis rather than on a per-year basis. United States citizens that have a financial interest in or signature authority over foreign financial accounts, in Israel or anywhere around the world, must file […]
GILTI Update
In somewhat of a surprise, the U.S. Treasury Department and IRS have taken a first step towards further lessening the burden of the new GILTI tax on US shareholders of a controlled foreign corporation (“CFC”). On Friday, June 14, the Treasury Department and IRS issued proposed regulations that would expand the existing GILTI high tax […]
MasAmerica Presents Israeli Tech & US Tax: D-ID
We communicate sensitive personal data all through the day. Sometimes this is intentional, as when we bank online or make a purchase from our favorite website. We constantly post, e-mail and text information and media. Recent articles have publicized how our conversations can be recorded by devices that we bring into our homes for entertainment […]
New Cryptocurrency Guidance Coming Soon
In a letter dated May 16, 2019, IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig stated that the IRS intends to issue new cryptocurrency guidance in the near future. The letter from Commissioner Rettig was in response to a request from 21 representatives in Congress for the IRS to provide clarity on reporting cryptocurrency transactions. In his letter, Commissioner Rettig […]
MasAmerica Presents Israeli Tech & US Tax: SeeVoov
Many of us are starting to look ahead to the summer and are doing some timely vacation planning. While one can sometimes find last-minute deals, it is often better to book well in advance and lock in lower rates (and you also avoid sold-out flights and hotels). There are a number of Israeli startups that […]
MASAMERICA PRESENTS: ISRAELI TECH AND US TAX – UPDATE
Apparently, the IRS reads our blog (just kidding … I think). A few weeks ago (April 9), we wrote a post regarding the impact of the tax law on professional sports franchises. In that post, we noted that a change enacted in connection with the 2017 tax reform, limiting the like-kind exchange exception to gain […]
GILTI NO More!
In a somewhat surprising development, yesterday, the US Treasury Department published proposed treasury regulations that explicitly provide that an individual US shareholder of a CFC (controlled foreign corporation) who makes a Section 962 election will be entitled to the 50% Section 250 deduction with respect to his or her GILTI inclusion amount. This means that many […]
CHANGING YOUR NAME AFFECTS YOUR TAX RETURN – HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
There are tax consequences for people who legally change their name, especially if you are changing it during tax-filing season. Reasons for changing your name could include: Getting married and taking your spouse’s name or hyphenating your names Reverting to a former name after a divorce Giving an adopted child the new family last name […]
Could the government Shutdown be an Opportunity to Resolve Your Tax Debt?
When a door slams in your face, look for the window and jump through it. – The longest government shutdown in history could be a major opportunity to resolve your tax problems. Due to the major backload of communications to handle tax issues, IRS agents may use this opportunity to close out cases for a […]