Staples Tax Service

10/27/2025

If you purchased a "qualified passenger vehicle" during 2025 and took out a loan for it, you may be able to deduct interest paid on the loan. The qualifiers are that it has to be purchased for personal use, have a gross weight rating of under 14,000 pounds, and has had its final assembly in the United States.
In the future (years 2026-2028), lenders will be required to send you a notice similar to the one provided by your mortgage lender. For this year, however, they are allowed to provide the information by any means that provides accurate information. Therefore, if this applies to you, look for and keep the final monthly statement that provides the interest paid (probably the one showing your January payment due), or look for the information to come in another format.
If you are planning to purchase in the coming months, remember that this deduction currently applies only to years 2025-2028.

10/01/2025

The IRS is phasing out sending paper refund checks. They will pay by direct deposit, and there are options available for people without bank accounts, but it would be beneficial to most taxpayers to prepare for direct deposit of any refunds for the upcoming 2025 tax season.

01/16/2025

Staples Tax Service has moved to Midland, Michigan, where we are happy to continue to serve our client family. Our office is now located at 4803 W Wackerly St., Midland, MI 48640. The good news is that there are only 2 steps at the new location.

Our website has been updated, and the phone number has not changed.

We are accepting appointments at both the Midland and the Grand Rapids office.

Call now to connect with business.

06/14/2022

In light of the increases in gas prices among other things, the IRS has announced an increase in the standard mileage rate for medical travel as well as the rate for business travel beginning July 1, 2022. (Make sure you note the travel by dates!) Medical mileage moves to 22 cents/mile and business travel rates move to 62.5 cents/mile on that date.

06/14/2022

Attention all self-employed people and/or people with reimbursable expense accounts!
The IRS has just announced a change in the standard mileage rate for business travel for the last six months of 2022. The new rate will be 62.5 cents/mile, which is an increase of 4 cents/mile. Miles traveled from January 1 through June 30, 2022, will be computed at 58.8 cents/mile and from July 1 through December 31, 2022, will be computed at the new rate.

02/01/2022

This week, Friday February 4th and Saturday February 5, I have a few openings in the Grand Rapids office. If you have your information and are interested in one of these appointments, please call asap. 989-573-0022

01/29/2022

The IRS is accepting returns, so it is time to work on getting those 2021 returns filed. Before you do, double check the amounts received for Advance Child Tax Credits with the amount shown on the notice you received from the IRS about this. Some of the letters are incorrect! Spouses will each receive a notice, so both amounts will need to be used to file the returns, but make sure the numbers match what was actually received.
In addition, don't forget to check on the amount that you received in the March Economic Impact Payment aka March Stimulus Check. The one that came in January of 2021 was linked to the 2020 taxes, but you will need the amount from the March payment.

01/29/2022

IRS Notices: Just what everyone wants to find in their mailboxes! This year, the IRS has been backlogged beyond anything imaginable. Some people have received notices that the IRS does not have their returns, and they should immediately file, or resend signed paper copies of their returns. This is not a scam, but it IS an error. The IRS has promised to halt the notices, but at a time when it is difficult at best to engage with the IRS by phone, and letters just go into the mail backlog, this just seems to add insult to injury.

07/13/2021

In a year that has been the strangest filing season that I have ever seen, it is only fitting that more changes would come.
There are many questions about the Advanced Child Tax Credit that need to be addressed. "What does this do to my 2021 income tax return?" "Should I opt out?" "How do I opt out?" These questions need to be considered.
First of all, it is important to note that this is an ADVANCE credit. That means that part of the Child Tax Credit that has been showing up on your income taxes for the last few years, is being paid in advance. The credit has changed, and is now fully refundable. (In the past only "up to" $1400/child could be refunded or applied to non-income tax taxes like Self-Employment Taxes). However, getting part of the credit in advance will affect your tax return next year!
If you have been getting a sizable refund in the past, your refund may be much lower. If your employer has adjusted your withholding to account for your Child Tax Credits, you may owe more in taxes than you have had withheld. If there is a change in your circumstances and you have a lower number of dependents in 2021, or you have more income than you had previously, you may have to pay back advanced credits that you are not currently entitled to.
On the other hand, if you are currently required to file estimated payments, but qualify for Child Tax Credits, and you opt out of receiving the advanced credits, it may be possible to lower or avoid paying estimated payments for the rest of the year.
These are, obviously, general statements, but cover the basics.
If you choose to "opt out" of receiving the credit in advance, you need to unenroll. While the deadline for the first payment has passed, you can opt out of further payments by logging in to the irs.gov website (be careful to use irs.gov, to avoid scam websites!).
It is important to know that if only one spouse logs in and opts out, you will get 1/2 of the payment that would have gone to both of you, so if you want to opt out completely, BOTH spouses must individually unenroll.
Since the payments are to be made mid-month, you must unenroll 3 days before the first Thursday of the next payment month, by 11:59 p.m. EST. (Even this has to be complicated!) The out out deadline for the August payment is 8/2/21, for September the date is 8/30/21. It may take up to 7 days to process the unenrollment, and the IRS suggests that you check back to make sure the request was processed successfully. Be prepared to "verify your identity."
If you have further questions, there is FAQ page on the IRS website, or you may contact us at staplestaxservice.online, or call 989-695-2015.

05/24/2021

Many of you are still waiting for your 2020 refunds.
Yes, this is unusual, but it does not mean that something is wrong with your returns.
While the IRS was working from home, in the middle of the filing season they were tasked with the job of changing the rules, the forms, and the instructions for last year's taxes! Add to that the job of getting ready to send monthly checks to families for the Child Tax Credits and updating the website so families can opt out of getting the money ahead of time, so it can be applied to their 2021 returns.
Unfortunately, this has created a huge logjam that will take time to sort out. Patience is needed! Should you get a letter from the IRS concerning changes to your return, contact me immediately.

03/15/2021

The passage of the recent stimulus bill will make a big difference for some of you, who received unemployment compensation. We are waiting for the IRS to determine how this will show up on your tax returns, as well as how it will affect state returns. Please be patient as we all get through this together.
To speed up access to your correct finished returns, we recommend setting up an account on the portal on our website, if you haven't already. That way we can upload the returns and you can send back signature forms efficiently. The website is: staplestaxservice.online
As soon as we are able to file these returns, we will let you know.

03/10/2021

If you received Unemployment Compensation in 2020, this is for you!
As if 2020 has not caused enough disruption to our lives, we are still waiting to hear if the many people who received Unemployment Compensation can file accurate income taxes yet.
There is a provision in the current stimulus bill in congress that would make the first $10,200 of Unemployment not taxable for 2020! This would be a huge difference for many people, and we would much rather file a correct return, than file an incorrect one and have to amend the returns later.
We are holding some of these affected returns to make sure that people don't have to pay more taxes than they owe, and will amend returns that were e-filed before this was proposed, assuming the bill passes.
Patience is the order of the day for all of us!
Like everything that has been affected by the Coronavirus, we WILL get through this!