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Upcoming events & IRS news releases     3/18/2016

Announcements & Upcoming Events:

IRS Affordable Care Act Webinars for Tax Professionals, Payroll Professionals and Employers

https://www.irs.gov/Affordable-Care-Act/Individuals-and-Families/The-Affordable-Care-Act-Whats-Trending

The Small Business Self-Employed Division of the IRS will conduct two Affordable Care Act webinars that will be of interest to employers and tax practitioners.

Affordable Care Act: Applicable Large Employers Information Return Requirements for Tax Year 2015

March 30 – 11:00 am Pacific

Register here: https://www.webcaster4.com/Webcast/Page/445/13498

  • Information on filing responsibilities for applicable large employers and government program providers
  • Rules for government entity designation, third party and multiple employer plans
  • Filing extensions granted for 2015
  • Transition relief for 2015
  • Plus a live Q&A with IRS Subject Matter Experts

Affordable Care Act: Employer Shared Responsibility Provisions

April 6 – 11:00 am Pacific

Register here:  https://www.webcaster4.com/Webcast/Page/445/13501

  • How to determine if you are considered an applicable large employer
  • What is the definition of a full-time employee
  • Learn the filing requirements and transition relief for 2015
  • Plus a live Q&A with IRS Subject Matter Experts

Certificates of completion are being offered and eligible individuals can earn 1 CE credit.

ChallegeHER: Free Event - Opportunities for Women in Federal Contracting

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/challengeher-seattle-tickets-21096061889

March 22 – 8:00 am – 1:30 pm -- Everett

ChallengeHER works specifically with the Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) federal contracting program as a tool to help to assist women business owners leverage federal awards, learn the federal procurement process, and to connect them with the right people. This is a free event, but registration is required.

Taxes, the Affordable Care Act and You: Multilingual workshops and webinars

Seattle - Wednesday, March 23  |  12 to 1 p.m.
This workshop will be in English and Spanish
Register online at http://ACA-Taxes-Mar23.eventbrite.com 

The SBA is excited to be able to offer information on taxes and the ACA in Spanish -- join us as guest experts from H&R Block discuss Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax issues from both an individual and small business owner perspective. There will be a significant amount of time at the end of the presentation to answer individual questions.

Other SBA workshops can be found here: https://www.sba.gov/offices/district/wa/seattle

SCORE Workshops

SCORE offers workshops designed to give you the skills necessary to start your own successful business. 

Seattle: http://seattle.score.org/localworkshops

Apr 6 -- Starting a New Business

Spokane: http://scorespokane.org/workshops

April 6, May 4 -- How to Start a New Business

There are also a number of online workshops available: https://seattle.score.org/onlineworkshops/tab-a    

IRS Updates & News Releases:

Did you know? One of the best ways to get information is by visiting the IRS Small Business Tax Center where you can learn everything from how to get an Employer Identification Number (EIN) online to how to best navigate an audit.

IRS Alerts Payroll and HR Professionals to Phishing Scheme Involving W-2s

https://www.irs.gov/uac/Newsroom/IRS-Alerts-Payroll-and-HR-Professionals-to-Phishing-Scheme-Involving-W2s

The IRS has issued an alert to payroll and human resources professionals to beware of an emerging phishing email scheme that claims to be from company executives and requests personal information on employees. This phishing variation is known as a “spoofing” email. It will contain, for example, the actual name of the company chief executive officer. In this variation, the “CEO” sends an email to a company payroll office employee and requests a list of employees and information including SSNs.

Free Help Preparing Tax Returns Available Nationwide

https://www.irs.gov/uac/Newsroom/Free-Help-Preparing-Tax-Returns-Available-Nationwide

Taxpayers may be eligible to receive free tax help at more than 12,000 preparation sites available nationwide. The sites, generally located at community and neighborhood centers, provide tax assistance to taxpayers with low- and moderate-incomes and the elderly. The IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program offers free tax help to individuals who generally make $54,000 or less, persons with disabilities, the elderly and individuals with limited English proficiency who need assistance in preparing their taxes. The Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) program offers free tax help for all taxpayers, particularly those who are 60 and older.

Before visiting a VITA or TCE site, taxpayers should review Publication 3676-B to be aware of the services provided. To find the nearest VITA or TCE site, taxpayers can use the VITA and TCE locator tool available on IRS.gov, download the IRS smartphone app IRS2GO or call 800-906-9887.

IRS Has Refunds Totaling $950 Million for People Who Have Not Filed a 2012 Federal Income Tax Return

https://www.irs.gov/uac/Newsroom/IRS-Has-Refunds-Totaling-950-Million-dollars-for-People-Who-Have-Not-Filed-a-2012-Federal-Income-Tax-Return

Federal income tax refunds totaling $950 million may be waiting for an estimated one million taxpayers who did not file a federal income tax return for 2012. To collect the money, these taxpayers must file a 2012 tax return with the IRS no later than this year's April tax deadline.

Consumer Alert: Scammers Change Tactics, Once Again

https://www.irs.gov/uac/Newsroom/Consumer-Alert-Scammers-Change-Tactics-Once-Again

Aggressive and threatening phone calls by criminals impersonating IRS agents remain a major threat to taxpayers, but now the IRS is receiving new reports of scammers calling under the guise of verifying tax return information over the phone. The latest variation tries to play off the current tax season. Scam artists call saying they have your tax return, and they just need to verify a few details to process your return. The scam tries to get you to give up personal information such as a Social Security number or personal financial information, such as bank numbers or credit cards. See the article for a list of five things the scammers often do but the IRS will not do, such as demanding immediate payment over the phone. If you get a phone call from someone claiming to be from the IRS and asking for money or to verify your identity, the article has information on what to do.

IRS Statement on IP PIN

https://www.irs.gov/uac/Newsroom/IRS-Statement-on-IP-PIN

As part of its ongoing security review, the Internal Revenue Service temporarily suspended the Identity Protection PIN tool on IRS.gov. The IRS is conducting a further review of the application that allows taxpayers to retrieve their IP PINs online and is looking at further strengthening the security features on the tool.
 
Taxpayers received 2.7 million IP PINs by mail for the current filing season. About 5 percent of those — approximately 130,000 — used the online tool to try retrieving a lost or forgotten IP PIN. For taxpayers retrieving a lost IP PIN, the IRS emphasizes it has put strengthened processes and filters in place for this tax season to review these tax returns. These strengthened review procedures — which are invisible to taxpayers — have helped detect potential identity theft and stopped refund fraud. Through the end of February, the IRS had confirmed and stopped 800 fraudulent returns using an IP PIN.
 
Taxpayers who have been issued an IP PIN should continue to file their tax returns as they normally would. The online tool is primarily used by taxpayers who have lost their IP PINs and need to retrieve their numbers. Most taxpayers receive their IP PIN via mail and never use the online tool.

IRS Statement on “Get Transcript”

https://www.irs.gov/uac/Newsroom/IRS-Statement-On-Get-Transcript

Following an incident involving the IRS’s “Get Transcript” application discovered last May, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration conducted a nine-month long investigation looking back to the launch of the application in January 2014 for additional suspicious activity.

Foreign Account Filings Top 1 Million; Taxpayers Need to Know Their Filing Requirements

https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/foreign-account-filings-top-1-million-taxpayers-need-to-know-their-filing-requirements

Strong and sustained growth of taxpayers complying with foreign financial account reporting reflects improving awareness and compliance of this important part of offshore tax rules. Taxpayers with an interest in, or signature or other authority over, foreign financial accounts whose aggregate value exceeded $10,000 at any time during 2015 must file Form 114, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts, known as the "FBAR.". It is due by June 30 and must be filed electronically through the BSA E-Filing System website.

Interest Rates for the Second Quarter of 2016

https://www.irs.gov/uac/Newsroom/Interest-Rates-for-the-Second-Quarter-of-2016

The Internal Revenue Service has announced that interest rates have increased for the calendar quarter beginning April 1, 2016.

Tax Tips

http://www.irs.gov/uac/IRS-Tax-Tips

Visit this page for the latest IRS tax tips.  Here is a sample of the tips available:

Avoid Errors; File an Accurate Return
Five Things You Should Know about the AMT
Visit the IRS Small Business Tax Center for All Your Tax Needs
Still Time to Make Your IRA Contribution for the 2015 Tax Year

Health Care Tax Tips

https://www.irs.gov/affordable-care-act/health-care-tax-tips2

Check out the tax tips for your health care questions on this page.

Six Things to Know about the Employer Shared Responsibility Provisions
Health Care Law: Do You Have Minimum Essential Coverage?
New Reporting Responsibilities for Certain Employers in 2016
What to Do if You Don’t Receive Your Health Care Information Forms
Mark Your Calendars: Health Coverage Information Return Deadlines
Filing Health Coverage Information Returns

Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) Marketplace

https://www.healthcare.gov/small-businesses/

The Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) Marketplace helps small businesses provide health coverage to their employees. The SHOP Marketplace is open to employers with 50 or fewer full-time equivalent employees (FTEs). This includes non-profit organizations. You can enroll in SHOP any time of year - there’s no restricted enrollment period. For more information, visit HealthCare.gov.

The Affordable Care Act and Employers
Information on Key Tax Provisions Affecting Employers 

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