 Summertime often sees an increase of natural disasters, with hurricane season soon after. You may want to help, but you want to make sure the organizations are not a scam. And while fewer taxpayers itemize deductions, those that do want to ensure there deductions are legitimate. Here are some tips on how to research these organizations prior to donating funds.
1. Charitable organization efficiency. For every dollar you donate, only a percentage of it is actually used to fund programs. Much of your money is used for fundraising and administrative costs. So how do you know which charitable organization is using your contribution most effectively? Here are three websites that can help you assess potential charities. 2. Avoid Fraudulent Solicitations. It is often best to avoid donating over the phone or via email solicitations. These are two common ways thieves target their victims. Instead of reacting to a phone call or email, a better idea is to proactively plan who you wish to give money to each year. An additional benefit of this approach is that you avoid the fees paid to these middlemen fundraisers out of your donations. 3. Confirm the Deductibility. Many smaller organizations will represent themselves as a qualified charitable organization, but have not kept their non-profit status up-to-date. If unsure whether your desired charity has kept their records up-to-date, you can check the IRS website for a full list of qualified organizations. Here's the link: 4. Needing a receipt. Remember cash donations $250 or more require a written confirmation from the charitable organization of your donation in addition to your canceled check or bank receipt. If you aren't sure whether a confirmation will be forthcoming, limit your deduction to some amount under this $250 threshold. "Tax Tips" are published to provide current tax information, tax-cutting suggestions, and tax reminders. If you would like more information on anything in "Tax Tips," or if you'd like to be on our mailing list to receive other tax information from time to time, please contact our office. The tax information contained in this site is of a general nature and should not be acted upon in your specific situation without further details and/or professional assistance. We are trusted CPA advisors servicing Burr Ridge, Hinsdale, Willowbrook, Darien, Naperville, and all Chicagoland area. Do you need assistance with your business and/or personal tax returns? Would you like to have a trusted source for your accounting, allowing you additional time to focus on increasing your business? Do you use QuickBooks, or plan to in the future, for your accounting? We include these in all our service packages, customized to fit your personal or business needs. We are currently accepting new clients. Your initial consultation is free, so you have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Our experienced staff is available to help you streamline your accounting, giving you more free time for yourself. Set up an appointment today by calling (630) 320-3720 or email us at [email protected]. For more free resources, such as Tax Organizers, and Record Retention Schedules, access our website www.monarchaccountinggroup.com. Mia Verc, CPA; Janice Papais, CPA
0 Comments
Taxpayers living and working abroad have until Monday, June 16, 2025, to file their 2024 federal income tax return and pay any tax due. This deadline applies to both U.S. citizens and resident aliens abroad, including those with dual citizenship.
In general, on the regular due date of their return, a U.S. citizen or resident alien residing overseas or in the military on duty outside the U.S. is allowed an automatic two-month extension to file. If they use a calendar year to file their return the regular due date of their 2024 return was April 15, 2025. Even with the tax-filing extension, interest will apply to any 2024 tax payments received after April 15. Here’s who qualifies A taxpayer qualifies for the June 16 extension if they are a U.S. citizen or resident alien and on the regular due date of their return, one of the following applies:
Qualifying taxpayers should attach a statement to the return indicating which of these two situations applies. Extensions beyond June 16 Taxpayers who can’t meet the June 16 due date can request an extension to Oct. 15, 2025. This is an extension of time to file, not an extension to pay. The fastest and easiest way to get an extension is to request it electronically. Several electronic filing options are still available. Visit Get an Extension to File Your Tax Return for details. Taxpayers may also use IRS Free File to file an extension electronically. Taxpayers who can’t request an extension electronically can complete and mail Form 4868 to the IRS. Taxpayers can also get an extension when paying a tax bill electronically. There is no need to file Form 4868 when selecting an extension and paying electronically. Businesses that need more time must file Form 7004 to request an automatic 6-month extension. Combat zone extensions Members of the military in a combat zone during tax filing season may qualify for an additional extension of at least 180 days to file and pay taxes. More information, like who qualifies, is available at Extension of Deadlines – Combat Zone Service Q&As. Spouses of individuals who serve in a combat zone or contingency operation are generally entitled to the same deadline extensions with some exceptions. Extension details and tax information for members of the military are available in IRS Publication 3, Armed Forces’ Tax Guide. Special relief for terrorist attacks in Israel Taxpayers who live or have a business in Israel, Gaza or the West Bank and certain other taxpayers affected by the terrorist attacks in the State of Israel have until Sept. 30, 2025, to file and pay. This includes most returns and taxes due from Oct. 7, 2023, through Sept. 30, 2025, including Form 1040 and 1120 series returns. Filing required to get tax benefits Many taxpayers living outside the U.S. qualify for tax benefits such as the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion and the Foreign Tax Credit, but these benefits are available only if a U.S. return is filed. Other deductions and tax credits may also be available. For details, see Publication 54, Tax Guide for U.S. Citizens and Resident Aliens Abroad, available on IRS.gov. "Tax Tips" are published to provide current tax information, tax-cutting suggestions, and tax reminders. If you would like more information on anything in "Tax Tips," or if you'd like to be on our mailing list to receive other tax information from time to time, please contact our office. The tax information contained in this site is of a general nature and should not be acted upon in your specific situation without further details and/or professional assistance. We are trusted CPA advisors servicing Burr Ridge, Hinsdale, Willowbrook, Darien, Naperville, and all Chicagoland area. Do you need assistance with your business and/or personal tax returns? Would you like to have a trusted source for your accounting, allowing you additional time to focus on increasing your business? Do you use QuickBooks, or plan to in the future, for your accounting? We include these in all our service packages, customized to fit your personal or business needs. We are currently accepting new clients. Your initial consultation is free, so you have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Our experienced staff is available to help you streamline your accounting, giving you more free time for yourself. Set up an appointment today by calling (630) 320-3720 or email us at [email protected]. For more free resources, such as Tax Organizers, and Record Retention Schedules, access our website www.monarchaccountinggroup.com. Mia Verc, CPA; Janice Papais, CPA Now What? For some reason, some believe it's better to receive than to give when it comes to filing taxes. While that may help your savings account, it's not always a great idea. Here's why.
You are the bank. You are giving the IRS an interest-free loan. And now with higher interest rates, you could be giving away a lot of earned interest on that overpayment to the government. Debt costs a lot. Consider lowering your withholdings throughout the year and using the extra money to pay down your debt. Even better, the benefit of paying down a home loan in the early years of a mortgage can yield tremendous savings! IRS identity theft is common. The longer you have your money in the hands of the IRS, the higher the chance some unsavory character is going to try to get it for themselves. Should this happen to you, the IRS will fix the problem, but it is typically taking two years according to a recent taxpayer advocate report. In the meantime, there is paperwork and hurdles to overcome while your refund is delayed. You could fund something else. Instead of money being parked at the IRS, you could be investing in your retirement or funding a Health Savings Account to pay for medical expenses in pre-tax dollars! So in addition to saving money, you could also be lowering your tax bill! So you received a refund. Congratulations. Now you have an opportunity to make tax tips work for you. "Tax Tips" are published to provide current tax information, tax-cutting suggestions, and tax reminders. If you would like more information on anything in "Tax Tips," or if you'd like to be on our mailing list to receive other tax information from time to time, please contact our office. The tax information contained in this site is of a general nature and should not be acted upon in your specific situation without further details and/or professional assistance. We are trusted CPA advisors servicing Burr Ridge, Hinsdale, Willowbrook, Darien, Naperville, and all Chicagoland area. Do you need assistance with your business and/or personal tax returns? Would you like to have a trusted source for your accounting, allowing you additional time to focus on increasing your business? Do you use QuickBooks, or plan to in the future, for your accounting? We include these in all our service packages, customized to fit your personal or business needs. We are currently accepting new clients. Your initial consultation is free, so you have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Our experienced staff is available to help you streamline your accounting, giving you more free time for yourself. Set up an appointment today by calling (630) 320-3720 or email us at [email protected]. For more free resources, such as Tax Organizers, and Record Retention Schedules, access our website www.monarchaccountinggroup.com. Mia Verc, CPA; Janice Papais, CPA Better to be surprised now than during an audit Before you file away your tax return and all its related records, now is the time to make a final review of the material. This can be in either paper or digital form as long as you know where it is, it's securely stored, and you feel it will meet the requirements of substantiation. Here are some tips:
The checklist Use this checklist to help your record keeping. At a minimum, your records should include the following;
Capital improvements Now is also a good time to review your capital improvement files. Capital improvements are payments made to improve the value of your home, secondary residence, or other high value property/equipment. These records are needed to support your calculation of value and gain/loss when you sell your property. Consider creating a spreadsheet that recaps each of these expenditures. When to toss Don’t toss old records too soon. The typical rule is to retain federal tax records for as long as they may be needed. This is usually the later of 3 years after the filing due date or when you actually file your tax return. But be careful, state rules can differ and if your income is understated by more than 25%, the look back timeframe for a potential audit increases to 6 years. Finally, remember to keep records of fixed assets as long as you own them plus three years "Tax Tips" are published to provide current tax information, tax-cutting suggestions, and tax reminders. If you would like more information on anything in "Tax Tips," or if you'd like to be on our mailing list to receive other tax information from time to time, please contact our office. The tax information contained in this site is of a general nature and should not be acted upon in your specific situation without further details and/or professional assistance. We are trusted CPA advisors servicing Burr Ridge, Hinsdale, Willowbrook, Darien, Naperville, and all Chicagoland area. Do you need assistance with your business and/or personal tax returns? Would you like to have a trusted source for your accounting, allowing you additional time to focus on increasing your business? Do you use QuickBooks, or plan to in the future, for your accounting? We include these in all our service packages, customized to fit your personal or business needs. We are currently accepting new clients. Your initial consultation is free, so you have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Our experienced staff is available to help you streamline your accounting, giving you more free time for yourself. Set up an appointment today by calling (630) 320-3720 or email us at [email protected]. For more free resources, such as Tax Organizers, and Record Retention Schedules, access our website www.monarchaccountinggroup.com. Mia Verc, CPA; Janice Papais, CPA It is now easier than ever to check your report Most of us go through life without being concerned with, or ever checking on, our Social Security records. We assume the money deducted each payday and an equal amount paid in by our employer is applied properly to this valuable retirement benefit.
Ignoring is problematic The Social Security Administration (SSA) is being inundated with fraudulent W-2s and 1099s, and doesn't have the ability to catch them all. This is creating a high degree of reporting errors, even when a tax return is not filed by identity thieves! In addition, the SSA and your employer occasionally have their own errors. Unfortunately, the only way these problems are caught is if YOU catch them. Waiting until retirement may be too late to correct an error made 10 or 20 years back. Common problems created by these errors and their impact are: Incorrect amounts. If the SSA does not receive a W-2 wage statement from an employer, you will not see credit for these earnings. Since your Social Security retirement check amount averages your lifetime earnings, if you have earnings that are missing, your retirement check will be permanently lower! Missing the correct length of time. In addition to receiving credit for earnings, you also need to work 40 quarters or 10 years to be fully eligible for retirement benefits. These missing earnings reports reduce your number of working quarters. Mess up here and you may not qualify for benefits at all! The three-year correction time limit. Per the SSA, an earnings record can be corrected at any time up to three years, three months, and 15 days after the year in which the wages were paid or the self-employment income was derived. While there are exceptions for fraud and obvious clerical errors, why risk the hassle by not finding errors and fixing them when they happen? Action to take Thankfully, it is now easier to confirm the accuracy of your account by going to www.ssa.gov and using the SSA's online tool that allows you to review your historic earnings statements. To use the tool, you will need to go through a signup process that includes many safety measures to ensure your identity is protected. This is usually done using a tool called ID.me and will require a valid ID and a way to take a photo of yourself and your ID. Once you log in, review your statement for any errors. If you see an error, takes steps to immediately correct it. You can do this by contacting the SSA: Telephone: 1.800.772.1213 By mail: Social Security Administration Office of Earnings Operations PO Box 33026 Baltimore, MD 21290-3026 Since you may have just completed last year's tax filing, now is a great time to get in the habit of reviewing your Social Security records. It is your future. "Tax Tips" are published to provide current tax information, tax-cutting suggestions, and tax reminders. If you would like more information on anything in "Tax Tips," or if you'd like to be on our mailing list to receive other tax information from time to time, please contact our office. The tax information contained in this site is of a general nature and should not be acted upon in your specific situation without further details and/or professional assistance. We are trusted CPA advisors servicing Burr Ridge, Hinsdale, Willowbrook, Darien, Naperville, and all Chicagoland area. Do you need assistance with your business and/or personal tax returns? Would you like to have a trusted source for your accounting, allowing you additional time to focus on increasing your business? Do you use QuickBooks, or plan to in the future, for your accounting? We include these in all our service packages, customized to fit your personal or business needs. We are currently accepting new clients. Your initial consultation is free, so you have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Our experienced staff is available to help you streamline your accounting, giving you more free time for yourself. Set up an appointment today by calling (630) 320-3720 or email us at [email protected]. For more free resources, such as Tax Organizers, and Record Retention Schedules, access our website www.monarchaccountinggroup.com. Mia Verc, CPA; Janice Papais, CPA |
BLOGTo better serve our clients and friends, to keep you up-to-date and informed, our blog is a resource for tax tips and overall accounting related articles. We hope you find this useful! CATEGORIES
All
ARCHIVES
September 2025
|
RSS Feed
|
Phone: (630) 320-3720
Monarch Accounting Group Inc 145 Tower Drive, Suite 10 Burr Ridge, IL 60527-7836 Email: [email protected] |
|
|
|
