Paid to Care for Family at Home? Those Medicaid Waiver Payments May Be Tax-Free
Medicaid waiver payments under IRS Notice 2014-7 are excludable difficulty-of-care income when the recipient lives in your home — but the W-2 still arrives.
#irs-reporting
Irs Reporting
IRS reporting requirements for cryptocurrency and investments
The 10-Year IRS Collection Clock: When Tax Debt Legally Expires
The IRS generally has ten years from assessment — not filing — to collect. Offers, payment-plan requests, CDP hearings and bankruptcy all pause that clock; here is how to reconstruct your real CSED from transcripts.
Switching Payroll Providers Before January 1: The Migration, Tax-Deposit, and W-2 Checklist to Start in October
A January 1 payroll cutover is the cleanest one because a single provider owns all four Forms 941, the Form 940, and every W-2 — but it takes roughly twelve weeks of prep. This checklist covers the October-to-January timeline, the year-to-date and fringe-benefit data that must migrate, Form 8655 authorization and revocation, and the five handoff mistakes that generate IRS notices.
Someone Claimed Your Dependent: What IRS Notice CP87A Means and What to Do Next
IRS Notice CP87A means two returns claimed the same dependent's Social Security number. It is not an audit and not a bill — if you are entitled to the claim, the IRS says do nothing. This guide covers the five qualifying-child tests, the tie-breaker ladder, why a divorce decree loses to overnight counts without a signed Form 8332, the 2025 IP PIN fix for e-file rejections, and when to amend with Form 1040-X.
Phantom Interest Income: Why Original Issue Discount Taxes You on Money You Haven't Received Yet
Original issue discount makes you report interest income each year on bonds that pay no cash until maturity. This guide covers where OID hides — zero-coupon bonds, T-bills, TIPS, seller-financed notes — the 0.25%-per-year de minimis threshold, how to read Boxes 1, 2, 6 and 8 of Form 1099-OID, and the basis and state-tax mistakes that make investors overpay.
When Your Nonprofit's Bingo Night Owes the IRS: UBIT, the Volunteer and Bingo Exceptions, and W-2G
The IRS treats charity gaming as an unrelated business, so raffle and bingo profits can owe UBIT on Form 990-T even when every dollar funds programs. Two exceptions usually save the event — substantially-all-volunteer labor and traditional bingo (never pull-tabs) — while raffles paying $600-plus at 300 times the wager trigger Form W-2G, with 24 percent withholding above $5,000.
Filed Early and Found a Mistake? How a Superseding Return Replaces Your Original Before the Deadline
A superseding return is a complete second return filed before the deadline (including extensions) that legally replaces your original, unlike a Form 1040-X amendment filed after it. It preserves elections reserved for original returns and can stop interest and penalties — but when filed during an extension period it does not reset the three-year assessment or refund clocks, which run from the first valid return.
You Won Money on Kalshi or Polymarket. Here's What You Owe the IRS (and What Nobody Can Tell You Yet)
Prediction market winnings from Kalshi and Polymarket are taxable even without a 1099, but the IRS has issued no guidance on how — ordinary income, gambling income under Section 165(d) with a 90% loss-deduction cap starting in 2026, or Section 1256 60/40 treatment. Here are the forms to expect, the crypto-settlement wrinkle, and the recordkeeping that survives an audit.
Are Your Lawsuit Settlement Proceeds Taxable? What the IRS Says About Every Dollar
Whether lawsuit settlement money is taxable depends on what the payment replaces. Compensatory damages for physical injury or sickness are tax-free under IRC Section 104(a)(2), while punitive damages, pre- and post-judgment interest, back pay, and emotional-distress awards without physical harm are taxable. Learn how the attorney-fee gross-income trap, W-2 versus 1099-MISC reporting, and settlement-agreement allocation decide how much of the check you keep.
The $2,000 1099-NEC Threshold for 2026: W-9s, Backup Withholding, and the Vendor Playbook That Keeps You Penalty-Free
For payments made on or after January 1, 2026, the federal 1099-NEC/1099-MISC reporting threshold rose from $600 to $2,000 under P.L. 119-21 — but royalties ($10), attorney gross proceeds ($600), and backup withholding on any withheld amount are unchanged. Here is the vendor-onboarding and W-9 workflow that prevents penalties either way.
How Far Back Can the IRS Audit Your Small Business? The 3-Year, 6-Year, and Unlimited Rules Every Owner Should Know
The IRS normally has three years from the filing date to assess additional tax under IRC 6501(a), six years if you omit more than 25% of gross income, and unlimited time if you never filed or filed fraudulently. Parallel clocks run alongside it - 10 years to collect, 3 years to claim a refund, 4 years for employment tax records, and property basis until disposition plus 3 - which is why most CPAs tell small businesses to default financial records to six years.
The New IRS Schedule 1-A: Your Guide to the Four New Deductions for Tips, Overtime, Car Loans, and Seniors
Schedule 1-A is the new IRS form for tax years 2025-2028 holding four below-the-line deductions — up to $25,000 for tips, $12,500/$25,000 for the FLSA overtime premium, $10,000 for new-car loan interest, and $6,000 per person age 65+. Each phases out on its own MAGI threshold, and this guide covers who qualifies, how the math works, and what records defend the claim.