IRS UPDATE: Update on Expired Federal Tax Provisions

The industry is awaiting on Congress to act on federal tax provisions that expired at the end of 2013. The earliest any extender legislation will be taken up by Congress is after the election in November. Once again, it appears that any extension of these provisions will not take place until late December.

Right now it appears that a two year extension is on the table but it is not clear that all of the expired provisions will be extended. So we will have to wait and see what Congress does include in any extender bill that is passed in December.

With that in mind, below is a list of the some of the provisions that have either expired or have significantly changed for tax year 2014.

Provisions no longer applicable for tax year 2014 returns:

• $250 Educator Expense Deduction – Form 1040, line 23
• Tuition and Fees Deduction – Form 8917
• Itemized Deduction for Sales Tax
• 50% Bonus Depreciation
• Exclusion of gain from income for foreclosed home mortgage debt (Form 982)
• 15 year straight line depreciation allowed for qualified leasehold restaurant and retail improvements
• Tax-free distributions from IRAs for charitable purposes
• Nonbusiness energy property tax credit on Form 5695
• Contributions of capital gain real property made for conservation purposes (50% limitation applies instead of 30% limitation)

Also note that the following Section 179 Expense provisions have been reduced as follows for 2014:

• Maximum Section 179 Deduction amount: $25,000
• Maximum Cost before Section 179: $200,000
• Qualified Real Property category is eliminated

Stay tuned for more information on which provisions will be extended and what impact the lateness of any extender legislation passage will have on the start of the 2015 filing season.

See below for a complete listing of the expired federal tax provisions:

• Individual
• Business

Form 8962 (Premium Tax Credit) and Related Form 1095-A (Health Insurance Marketplace Statement)

As we approach the 2015 filing season, now is a good time to clarify how the new Form 8962 (Premium Tax Credit) is laid out and how the Form 1095-A (the information an individual will receive from the Marketplace) is related to the calculation of the premium tax credit for Tax Year 2014.

Form 1095-A (Health Insurance Marketplace Statement)
Any taxpayer who obtained their health insurance through a federal or state exchange (Marketplace) will receive Form 1095-A (Health Insurance Marketplace Statement) in the mail by January 31, 2015. The information on this form will be used to calculate the Premium Tax Credit, especially if the individual received assistance in paying for their health insurance premiums (advance premium tax credit).

Since this information return looks very different from a W-2 or 1099 that an individual is used to receiving, some education for your customers will be necessary to ensure that they understand what Form 1095-A is for and the importance for them to keep it and include it with the rest of their tax information when they have their 2014 federal tax return completed.

If the taxpayer loses the Form 1095-A, a copy may be obtained from the Marketplace where they received their health insurance.

The Form 1095-A (Health Insurance Marketplace Statement) will show the taxpayer the following information:

• Advance premium tax credit (subsidy) they received (if any) to help pay for their monthly premiums. This is shown by month in Part III along with the total for the year. The information reported in Part III will be used to complete Form 8962 (Premium Tax Credit), Part 2 (Premium Tax Credit Claim and Reconciliation of Advance Payment of Premium Tax Credit).
• Health insurance coverage information including a listing of all members of the household who were covered.

See the current draft of Form 1095-A to see how it looks and how it is different from other information returns such as a W-2 or 1099.

Form 8962 (Premium Tax Credit)
This form will be used by any taxpayer who obtained their insurance through the Marketplace and are eligible for the premium tax credit. In most cases, the taxpayer will have received an advance premium tax credit (subsidy) during the year to help pay their monthly health insurance premiums.

It is important to remember that any taxpayer who received a subsidy must complete Form 8962 and reconcile the calculated premium tax credit based on their actual 2014 income and family size with the advance premium tax credit (subsidy) that they received during the year. Also remember that the subsidy went directly to the insurance company and not the taxpayer.

If the taxpayer is required to include the Form 8962 (Premium Tax Credit) with their return and they do not, the following will occur:

• The IRS will not complete processing the return until they receive the Form 8962. This means their refund will be delayed and they will receive a notice from the IRS requesting the Form 8962 be completed and sent to them.
• The taxpayer can be denied an advance of the premium tax credit (subsidy) in future years.

See the current draft of Form 8962 to see what it looks like and how the credit is calculated.

To recap, any individual who obtained their health insurance through the marketplace will receive a Form 1095-A (Health Insurance Marketplace Statement) in the mail by January 31, 2015. If they opted (as most individuals will have done) to receive an advance premium tax credit (subsidy) to help pay for their monthly health insurance premiums, that information will be reported on the Form 1095-A which must be included on Form 8962(Premium Tax Credit) as part of the calculation of their premium tax credit and included with their 2014 federal individual income tax return.

Finally, remember that the calculation of the Premium Tax Credit is a three-step process as follows:

• Step 1 – Calculate the actual premium tax credit for 2014 based on the taxpayer’s 2014 income and family size.
• Step 2 – Enter the advance premium tax credit that the taxpayer received each month of 2014.
• Step 3 – Subtract the advance premium tax credit from the calculated premium tax credit which will result in a:
• Refundable credit if the calculated credit is greater than the total advance premium tax credit (which will be reported on Form 1040, line 69); Or
• Additional Tax if the total amount of advance premium tax credit is greater than the calculated premium tax credit (which will be reported on Form 1040, line 46).

IRS to Limit the Number of Direct Deposit Refunds into Single Account

As part of the ongoing IRS effort to combat fraud and identity theft, beginning with the 2015 filing season, the IRS will limit the number of refunds that may be electronically deposited into a single bank account or pre-paid debit card to three. Read more.

Once the limit of three is reached, any subsequent refunds will be switched to a paper check which will be mailed to the taxpayer at the address that is included on their federal return.

If this occurs, the taxpayer will receive a notice informing them they have exceeded the limit of direct deposits that may be made to a single account and that they will receive a paper check within 4 weeks.

It will also prevent tax preparers from obtaining payment of their tax preparation fees by having part of the taxpayer’s refund deposited into their bank account through the use of Form 8888 (Allocation of Refund) or by preparers opening a joint account with the taxpayer. Read more

Click here to read the entire CrossLink Tax Update that includes further information on the IRS's limit on direct deposit refunds into a single account.

IRS Announces New Voluntary Program for Professional Tax Return Preparers

The IRS announced on June 26, 2014 that they will soon be issuing guidance on a new voluntary program for unenrolled professional tax return preparers. Under this new program, tax return preparers would be able to obtain a record of completion from the IRS for completing a required number of hours of continuing education. All tax return preparers who elect to participate in this program and receive a record of completion will be included in a database on IRS.gov that will be available by January 2015 to help taxpayers determine return tax preparer qualifications.

In order for an unenrolled tax return preparer to obtain an IRS record of completion, they must complete the following number of hours of continuing education:

• For the upcoming 2015 filing season only:
• Complete 11 hours of continuing education (CE) from an IRS approved CE provider as follows:
• 6 hours – Federal tax filing season refresher course (which includes a comprehensive test at completion)
• 3 hours – Other federal tax law topics
• 2 hours – Ethics

This requirement will need to be met by December 31, 2014.

• Each year after 2015:
• Complete 18 hours of continuing education (CE) from an IRS approved CE provider as follows:
• 6 hours – Federal tax filing season refresher course (which includes a comprehensive test at completion)
• 10 hours – Other federal tax law topics
• 2 hours – Ethics

Once the continuing education requirement is met, a professional tax preparer will also be required to consent to the duties and restrictions related to practice before the IRS that are detailed in Circular 230, Section 10.51.

A list of all IRS approved CE providers (https://ssl.kinsail.com/partners/irs/publicListing.asp) is available on IRS.gov and now includes a new column indicating which providers plan to offer the qualifying courses.

For further details, see the New IRS Filing Season Program Unveiled for Tax Return Preparers (http://www.irs.gov/uac/Newsroom/New-IRS-Filing-Season-Program-Unveiled-for-Tax-Return-Preparers) news release on the IRS website.

IRS Update: Changes to Small Business Health Care Tax Credit

Since 2010, the Small Business Health Care tax credit has been available to eligible small businesses that offer health insurance and have 25 or fewer employees. The purpose of this credit is to help small businesses pay for the premiums on health insurance for their employees.

The following changes have been made to this credit for tax years beginning in 2014:

• The maximum credit has increased to 50% of health insurance premiums paid.
• To be eligible for the credit, the small employer must purchase their health insurance through a Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) offered through a health insurance exchange (marketplace).
• Read more

The credit will work with the new changes as follows:

• Credit is available to employers with 25 or fewer full-time equivalent employees whose average annual salaries are not more than $50,000.
• Credit is calculated on a sliding scale with a maximum credit of 50% of the employer's contribution toward their employees' health insurance premiums.
• Read more

An eligible employer claims the credit by completing Form 8941 (Credit for Small Employer Health Insurance Premiums) and including it with their federal return.

Click here to read the entire CrossLink Tax Update that includes further information on changes to the Small Business Health Care tax credit.