Tax News

At J.E Wiggins & Co. we feel that an informed customer is our best customer. We know that there is a lot of information on the Internet, and it can be tough to determine what is valuable.

Check back frequently to get the latest information on breaking income tax news.

2011 Highlights

These days its seems like we can’t get through a calendar year without Congress in Washington passing some new legislation to change our tax law. In the last ten years alone, there have been over 4,400 changes made to the tax code.

Many of these changes are only a small part of other legislation but still affect us. For instance, the huge sweeping health reform laws contained many changes to tax law even though their primary areas of focus were health care and insurance issues.

On the other hand, the 2010 Tax Relief Act was primarily a revision to the tax code and is understandably packed with new law. The following is a brief list of some of the changes that may affect you in 2011:

• The Alternative Minimum Tax has been ‘patched’ through 2011
• The state and local general sales tax deduction has been extended through 2011
• Bonus depreciation and Sec. 179 expensing of certain new business assets has been extended
• Higher education credits have been extended
• The $1,000 child tax credit and higher Earned Income Tax credit for taxpayers with three or more qualifying children have been extended
• Higher education tuition and fees deductions have been extended
• $250 deduction for elementary and secondary school teachers has been extended
• The phase out of itemized deductions and personal exemptions has been postponed
• Current tax rates and brackets have been extended through 2011
• The special capital gains and qualified dividend rates have been extended through 2011
• New credits for small business owners covering new hires, health insurance coverage and unemployed worked retention have been added
• New energy efficient home credit has been extended
• Adoption credit limits have been increased
• 2011 tax brackets have changed which may alter your need for estimated payments
• A new Form 8949 and a revised Schedule D are required to report the sale of stocks, mutual funds and other securities

Electronic Filing Requirements

Beginning in 2009, the State of Ohio required tax preparers to file all returns electronically. This year the IRS requires us to do the same. Only under rare circumstances can returns be filed via the mail or other delivery service.

In any case, if you wish to have your refund directly deposited to your personal bank account, proof of the account must be presented. A check, or some other document with your name, account number and routing transit number should be adequate.

IRS Preparer Registration

The preparer registration requirement for all paid tax return preparers is one of the main provisions in a new oversight program to help regulate the tax preparation industry. Anyone paid to prepare all, or substantially all, of any federal tax return or claim for refund must have a PTIN to identify them as a registered preparer with the IRS.

It is important for taxpayers to know that when they pay a tax professional to prepare their taxes, the preparer must sign the return. Any preparers who will not sign the return should not be considered reputable.

All of the tax preparers at J.E. Wiggins & Co. have registered and meet all of the criteria to be qualified tax return preparers.