Schedule Overview: January 2018: Collect tax documents and backup information for deductions and expenses Mid-January thru Mid-February: Tax documents are delivered electronically or by mail (W-2, 1099s, etc). Brokerage consolidated 1099s are usually delivered near President s Day in mid-feb. January 29, 2018: The IRS begins processing US individual tax returns. February, 2018: The processing priority in Feb is to complete all Form 1041 (Trust) tax filings because the resulting K-1s need to be delivered for personal tax filings (1040s). March 2, 2018: This is the deadline to provide health insurance coverage Forms 1095-B and 1095-C. These are not required for filing. Do not wait to receive them; only send for backup purposes when received. March 2018: This is the crunch mode to complete most Form 1040 (Personal) tax filings. Please deliver all tax information by March 20, 2018. April 2018: The processing backlog is worked until the filing deadline. Extensions are filed as needed. May 2018: Complete all extensions by May 25, 2018 (Memorial Day Weekend). Tax document processing notes: All source docs are scanned / merged into a PDF file and we work from that consolidated PDF file Clips preferred over staples or leave pages loose; all staples must be removed to scan to PDF format Mobile device photos are very difficult to process please avoid those and send paper docs if you cannot conveniently scan paper documents. Delivery: Bulk delivery of info is preferable to incremental delivery. A single data entry pass is more efficient and less error prone than multiple passes when processing the tax filing. o Mail: USPS or private delivery to the respective TFA office, Andover or Newburyport. o Electronic: Please use Sharefile instead of email to better protect personal information. Use your own Sharefile account or the respective office file drop. Access links are in the Sharefile section of our web site. Refunds and Balance Due payments Please include a void or cancelled check image to confirm and verify electronic information for direct deposit of any refund and electronic funds transfer to make any balance due payment. Balance due payments will be scheduled for 4/10/2018 unless otherwise specified.
Filing deadlines: US: Tuesday 4/17/2018. (Emancipation day in D.C. is observed on Monday 4/16/2018) MA: Tuesday 4/17/2018. (Patriot s Day in MA is observed on Monday 4/16/2018). ME: Tuesday 4/18/2018. (Patriot s Day in ME is observed on Monday 4/17/2018). NH (Interest & Dividends): Monday 4/16/2018. CA, CT, NJ, NY, RI, VT (most other states): Tuesday 4/17/2018. (Same as US, except DE, HI, IA, LA, VA) Tax payments: Estimated tax payments made, if any, for US and state. o Provide amounts and dates for each quarterly US & state payment. Details are important this is a common source of discrepancy notices after filings are processed. Health Insurance coverage: Form 1095-A: Health Insurance Marketplace provided if you received health insurance through a government exchange. This form is required to reconcile health insurance tax credits. Form 1095-B: Health Coverage provided by your health insurance provider(s) to report your coverage. Medicare and other government health insurance providers send Form 1095-B. Form 1095-C: Employer-Provided Health Insurance Offer and Coverage provided by large employers (50+ employees) to report employer-sponsored coverage. Form 1099-HC (MA residents only): Individual Mandate Massachusetts Health Care Coverage provided by your health insurance provider(s) to comply with MA state tax requirements. Most MA residents will receive both Form 1095-B for US purposes and Form 1099-HC for MA purposes. Health Savings Accounts: o o Form 5498-SA: Contributions Form 1099-SA: Distributions Note: Form 1095-B and Form 1095-C may not be received until early March. These are not required to complete and submit the tax filings. Do not wait for these forms before delivering the rest of your tax information, but deliver these after received to have on file as backup. Form 1095-A, however, is required to complete the tax filing.
Tax Documents for Charles Schwab accounts managed by TFA: Schwab tax documents: 1099-R for retirement accounts (IRAs, etc) Consolidated 1099 for non-retirement accounts (TOD, Trust, etc) Note: TFA has access to Schwab accounts and tax documents as long as the account is still open. Clients do not need to provide these tax documents for open accounts. Clients must provide the tax documents for any closed accounts. Income: W-2s: Earnings from work as an employee 1099-MISC: Earnings from Self-employment 1099-INT: Interest 1099-INT: Tax-Exempt Interest 1099-DIV: Dividends (Most investment firms provide a consolidated 1099-INT, 1099-DIV, 1099-B document) 1099-B: Capital gains transactions and cost basis details Rental property. (Schedule E) Provide income and expenses 1099-R: Pension and Annuity income 1099-R: Retirement plan distributions IRA, 401k, 403b, etc SSA-1099: Social Security benefits income 1099-G: State income tax refund 1099-G: State Unemployment income W-2G: Gambling, lottery, or prize winnings K-1: Trust, Partnership or S-Corporation income Alimony received Any other income sources (Ex. Executor or Fiduciary compensation; Jury duty pay; Not for profit ore related party rental income; Hobby income; Royalties; Sales of collectibles, etc).
Adjustments to Income (Expenses): Educator (teacher) expenses (up to $250) Health Savings Account (HSA) contributions Self-employed health insurance premiums Penalty for early withdrawal of savings (CDs) IRA contributions (Traditional or Roth) Student loan interest paid (1098-E) Alimony paid Tuition and fees (1098-T) Moving expenses (work-related, 50+ miles) Deductions (Expenses): Medical (Ex. Insurance premiums, co-pays, fees, prescriptions, equipment, supplies, dental, vision, long-term care premiums, miles driven) a list is fine; keep your receipts for backup Mortgage interest, points (1098) Real estate taxes paid (1098 for escrow or tax bills) Excise taxes paid (auto, boat, motorcycle, etc) Charitable donations: cash a list is fine; keep your receipts for backup Charitable donations: non-cash personal property (clothing, furniture, household goods) include charity name and address and date of each contribution. Take photos for your backup records! Child care expenses. Include amounts, payee information (tax id number, name and address). Unreimbursed job related expenses (Ex. Professional books, journals, dues, union dues, etc; Safety clothing and uniforms; Tools and other equipment) Tax prep fees (if prior year was not prepared by TFA) Investment and advisory fees, safe deposit box, IRA custodial fees Gambling losses (limited to winnings) Residential energy improvements (to the extent not previously used)
Special Situations: Real Estate purchases and sales: If you bought or sold a house during the year, please provide a copy of your HUD settlement statement. For sales, please include the HUD settlement statement for the original purchase and a list of home improvements and costs during your ownership. You may also receive a Form 1099-S tax document that reports Proceeds from Real Estate Transactions Foreign assets: All accounts and assets such as real estate held outside the US with total aggregate value of $10,000 or more must be reported on Form 114 by the annual US tax filing deadline per Treasury Regulations. This is the FBAR Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts. Beginning in 2011 taxpayers with more than $50,000 in foreign assets also need to file form 8938 with their tax return. Please provide an account list with the maximum value of each account for the calendar year of the filing. Household Employees: If you hired someone to provide services in your home and paid more than $1,000 in any quarter or more than $2,000 for the year 2017 then you have a household employee. This requires a W- 2 filing for the employee and state filing requirements such as unemployment insurance and worker s comp in MA. Gifts greater than $14,000: Please list dates and amounts for gifts of money or property greater than $14,000 each person made to any other individual. This is for gift tax reporting Form 709. Charitable donations of vehicles or other goods of more than $500: o Vehicles: Obtain Form 1098-C from the charity. This shows the value received for the vehicle donated. o Personal Property: Provide list with date of donation, name & address or organization, original cost of item(s), fair market value of item(s). Document personal property donations with photos. MA Residents Retirement Plan Distributions: Prior year contributions to IRA, SEP-IRA, SIMPLE IRA, and Solo 401k plans can be recovered tax-free on MA return because no MA tax deduction was allowed at time of contribution. We need to document the history of contributions to show and track the recovery of the tax-free amounts.
Massachusetts Tax Filers: Form 1099-HC: Health Insurance - sent by Health Insurance providers to MA residents Rent paid for primary home (Max deduction is 50% of first $6,000; Max benefit is $3,000 x 5.10% = $153) Commuter expenses (Max deductible amount is $900; Max benefit is $750 x 5.10% = $38) o EZDriveMA tolls paid annual tax statement is available on the EZDriveMA web site (https://www.ezdrivema.com) o MBTA or Commuter rail costs Prepaid tuition or College Savings Plan deduction (MA 529 contributions) new in 2017 o Single: Maximum deduction benefit is $1,000 x 5.10% = $51 o Joint: Maximum deduction benefit is $2,000 x 5.10% = $102 Use tax (out-of-state / internet purchases): o Elect safe-harbor amount (MA AGI x 1% x 6.25% use tax) or o List all purchases of $1,000 or more + total amount of all purchases less than $1,000 Circuit Breaker Credit (age 65+ as of 12/31/2017): o Max 2017 credit: $1,080 o Income limits (Total MA income): $86,000 joint; $57,000 single o Assessed value of home (Max: $747,000) o Total property taxes paid o Total water/sewer bills
New York Tax Filers: NY now requires driver license or state id details on tax filings to assist in preventing fraud. Please provide a copy of state id for NY tax filings: o Reference: https://www.tax.ny.gov/pdf/pit/driver-license-requirements.pdf o If the taxpayer has either a driver license or state-issued ID, the following information is required: license or ID number issuing state issue date expiration date document number (NYS-issued licenses and IDs only)