Wilkins & Holman CPAs

12/09/2022

PSA for business owners in Utah. Starting with the 2022 tax year, Utah is allowing businesses to pay the tax for their owners, circumventing the IRS $10K limit on deducting state taxes. This is most beneficial to people who itemize deductions and are exceeding the $10K cap but people who don't itemize and pay several thousand dollars in tax to UT may also benefit. This payment needs to be made by December 31st, 2022. That's a very high-level description of a nuanced topic. We're trying to reach out to our clients who can benefit but you are also welcome to touch base with us to make sure you don't miss potential tax savings.

03/31/2022

11/22/2021

Wilkins and Holman CPAs is a tax and accounting firm that is looking for a new secretary. During tax season (February through April 15th), we need someone who can work 9 am to 5 pm, Monday through Friday. Outside of those months, the hours would be 9 am to 2 pm.

You’ll answer phone calls and emails, and either help the clients directly or make sure they get to where they need to be. You’ll greet clients coming into the office and keep the office on schedule with meetings. You’d be responsible for making sure clients get copies of tax returns, forms are signed electronically, and appointment reminders are sent out. We often receive client requests that you’ll be asked to help with to help keep everything moving.

Three of our previous secretaries still work here in other roles after pursing additional training. You don’t have to want that to work here but there are opportunities to grow into other roles.

One of the best benefits of working at our office is the flexibility outside of tax season. Summer time and the end of year holiday season are particularly great that way.

The right candidate would be organized, professional, and comfortable interacting with others in person, over the phone, and via email. We want someone who is good with technology and could guide others in navigating a standard online portal after a reasonable amount of training. Previous experience as a receptionist, secretary, or admin is preferred but not required.

We are offering $13 an hour for this role with additional bonuses after tax season and at the end of the year. This job would start on December 6th.

Please send your resume to [email protected] if you are interested in applying for the job.

06/24/2021

We’ve had a lot of questions from clients about the 2021 advance payments of the child tax credit. They start next month so we wanted to send out a summary to give you a better idea of what’s happening and what you need to know. Everyone who qualifies is opted in by default but that can create big problems in 2021 so it is important to take a moment to consider whether receiving the advanced payments is right for you, especially if you don’t need the funds right now.

Situations in which we recommend you opt-out.
• You are filing jointly and made under $150K in 2020 but will make more than that in 2021. If you are filing as head of household, that number drops to $112,500 and $75K if you are single or married filing separately.
• You are claiming fewer children in 2021 than you did in 2020. This happens most often in situations where divorced parents trade years claiming kids or if one of your children will turn 18 during 2021.
• You owed money or broke even in 2020 even with the same kids you’ll claim in 2021
• At any point, if you receive more than you think you should, you should opt-out for the remaining months. Any extra payments will need to be paid back on the 2021 tax return.
• If in doubt, opt-out. You’ll get it on the return so opting out will not result in you missing out on money you’d otherwise get.

How do I opt-out?
• That can be done at the IRS website. If you are married filing jointly, both spouses need to opt-out. The process is easier if you already have an IRS account. The deadline to opt-out for July is June 28th but you’ll have the opportunity to opt-out each month. Once you opt-out, you can’t opt back in.
• If you are having trouble with the opt-out process, you can instead set the advanced payments aside to pay taxes. This approach can result in underpayment penalties in some situations so it is better to opt-out if possible.

For a more thorough summary, check out https://gordonlawltd.com/child-tax-credit-payments/ or the IRS page at https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/advance-child-tax-credit-payments-in-2021

Find details about the advance Child Tax Credit payments, including how to get them or stop getting them.

12/22/2020

A new tax bill was passed on December 21st. How does it affect you?

Second Round of Stimulus

More stimulus money will soon be hitting bank accounts across the US! The income limits are the same as last time and qualification for the stimulus will be based on the most recent tax return that you have filed. The biggest change is to the amounts. The first round of stimulus gave $1200 to each adult that claimed themselves and $500 to each dependent. The second round will give $600 to both adults and dependents.

The first stimulus was criticized for not including dependents over 16 years old. The second round is only slightly better, now allowing payments for dependents who are 17 years old on the last day of 2020. Any dependents older than that are out of luck for now. If those dependents qualify to claim themselves on the 2020 return, they will get the stimulus then.

The first round of funding was also criticized for not providing payments to families where either spouse had an ITIN instead of a SSN. This round will provide payments to families where at least one spouse has a SSN. Only the spouse with the SSN will get the payment but any dependents with a SSN will also get $600. It appears that this will retroactively apply to the first round of stimulus as well.

The money is expected to start going out before the end of December. If the IRS has your bank account information on file, you should get it in late December or early January. Those who are getting physical checks are expected to get them in late January or February.

PPP Loans

Many business owners took advantage of the PPP loan program that provided a forgivable loan to businesses that kept their employees through the pandemic. Up until this bill was passed, the IRS rules stated that the expenses paid by the PPP loan would not be deductible. This essentially made the PPP loan taxable to the business owner. The bill passed on Monday clarified that the expenses paid by the PPP loan are tax deductible and so no tax will be owed on any money received from PPP loans. Once forgiven, the loan will now be converted into equity, as though the owners of the business had contributed the money according to their ownership. PPP loan forgiveness for companies who received less than $150K has been streamlined.

Congress funded a second round of the PPP loan. To qualify for the second round, a business must have less than 300 employees and must be able to show a 25% decrease in revenue for a quarter in 2020 as compared to that same quarter in 2019. This is stricter than the first round that simply required economic uncertainty due to COVID-19. In order to be forgiven, the second round loans will need to be spent at least 60% on payroll and the remaining on other qualified expenses like rent and utilities. If you missed the first round of PPP loan funding, this is your chance to apply. If you think you qualify, we recommend reaching out to your bank to start the process.

Please keep in mind, this is a 5500 page tax bill that was passed yesterday so our understanding of all of the ramifications continues to evolve. We’ve provided this summary as a courtesy. Please call or email our office with questions before relying on any information included here.

07/06/2020

Haven’t filed yet? There’s still time! Contact us today to get your taxes done.

No more delays: What to know about the July 15 tax deadline

It’s time to do your taxes — no more delays.

04/07/2020

Apply now for small business loans! We can help clients with any financial information. Please call or email us with questions!

To help U.S. small businesses weather the COVID-19 crisis, the government is working to get SBA loans into the hands of small business owners as quickly as possible. Learn more about the aid that is now available.

03/27/2020

Utah has matched the federal tax deadline extension. Both federal and state taxes are now due by July 15th!

Utah Tax Commission to discuss emergency rules on Thursday to match federal change

03/20/2020

We all needed some good news this week! Taxes are now due July 15th.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has not posted an update on its site but I will update when it’s available.

03/13/2020

Contact us for a link to our secure client portal. You can upload your tax documents and we will contact you with any questions. Let us give you one less thing to worry about!

02/13/2020

This year’s winner came from our page- congrats to Jenna Brown Dias! You are the winner!!

02/05/2020

*Giveaway Closed* Enter to win a FREE Tax Return!! (Up to $200) Earn entries by:
1. Liking this post
2. Following this page!
3. 1 additional entry for every real friend you tag in the comments
One winner will be chosen from our Instagram and pages, so double your chances by entering both places! Giveaway winner will be announced Wednesday February 12th! Good Luck!!