Most people file a tax return because they have to, but even if you don’t, there are times when you should because you might be eligible for a tax refund and not know it. This year, there are a few new rules for taxpayers who must file. The six tax tips below should help you determine whether you’re one of them.

1. General Filing Rules. Whether you need to file a tax return this year depends on a few factors. In most cases, the amount of your income, your filing status, and your age determine if you must file a tax return. For example, if you’re single and 28 years old you must file if your income, was at least $10,350. Other rules may apply if you’re self-employed or if you’re a dependent of another person. There are also other cases when you must file. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to call.

2. Premium Tax Credit. If you bought health insurance through the Health Insurance Marketplace in 2016, you might be eligible for the Premium Tax Credit; however, you will need to file a return to claim the credit.

If you purchased coverage from the Marketplace in 2016 and chose to have advance payments of the premium tax credit sent directly to your insurer during the year, you must file a federal tax return. You will reconcile any advance payments with the allowable premium tax credit.

You should have received Form 1095-A, Health Insurance Marketplace Statement, by early February. The new form has information that helps you file your tax return and reconcile any advance payments with the allowable Premium Tax Credit.

3. Tax Withheld or Paid. Did your employer withhold federal income tax from your pay? Did you make estimated tax payments? Did you overpay last year and have it applied to this year’s tax? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, you could be due a refund. But you have to file a tax return to get it.

4. Earned Income Tax Credit. Did you work and earn less than $53,505 last year? You could receive EITC as a tax refund if you qualify with or without a qualifying child. You may be eligible for up to $6,269. If you qualify, file a tax return to claim it.

5. Additional Child Tax Credit. Do you have at least one child that qualifies for the Child Tax Credit? If you don’t get the full credit amount, you may qualify for the Additional Child Tax Credit.

6. American Opportunity Credit. The AOTC (up to $2,500 per eligible student) is available for four years of post-secondary education. You or your dependent must have been a student enrolled at least half-time for at least one academic period. Even if you don’t owe any taxes, you still may qualify; however, you must complete Form 8863, Education Credits, and file a return to claim the credit.

Which Tax Form is Right for You?

You can generally use Form 1040EZ if:

• Your taxable income is below $100,000;
• Your filing status is single or married filing jointly;
• You don’t claim dependents; and
• Your interest income is $1,500 or less.

Note: You can’t use Form 1040EZ to claim the new Premium Tax Credit. You also can’t use this form if you received advance payments of this credit in 2016.

Form 1040A may be best for you if:

• Your taxable income is below $100,000;
• You have capital gain distributions;
• You claim certain tax credits; and
• You claim adjustments to income for IRA contributions and student loan interest.

You must use Form 1040 if:

• Your taxable income is $100,000 or more;
• You claim itemized deductions;
• You report self-employment income; or
• You report income from sale of a property.

Questions?

Help is just a phone call away. Call or make an appointment today and get the answers you need right now.

• By Leon Clinton
• February 3, 2017

February 10

Employees – who work for tips. If you received $20 or more in tips during January, report them to your employer. You can use Form 4070.

Employers – Social Security, Medicare, and withheld income tax. File Form 941 for the fourth quarter of 2016. This due date applies only if you deposited the tax for the quarter in full and on time.

Farm Employers – File Form 943 to report Social Security and Medicare taxes and withheld income tax for 2016. This due date applies only if you deposited the tax for the year in full and on time.

Certain Small Employers – File Form 944 to report Social Security and Medicare taxes and withheld income tax for 2016. This tax due date applies only if you deposited the tax for the year in full and on time.

Employers – Nonpayroll taxes. File Form 945 to report income tax withheld for 2016 on all nonpayroll items. This due date applies only if you deposited the tax for the year in full and on time.

Employers – Federal unemployment tax. File Form 940 for 2016. This due date applies only if you deposited the tax for the year in full and on time.

February 15

Employers – Social Security, Medicare, and withheld income tax. If the monthly deposit rule applies, deposit the tax for payments in January.

Employers – Nonpayroll withholding. If the monthly deposit rule applies, deposit the tax for payments in January.

Individuals – If you claimed exemption from income tax withholding last year on the Form W-4 you gave your employer, you must file a new Form W-4 by this date to continue your exemption for another year.

All businesses. Give annual information statements to recipients of certain payments you made during 2016. You can use the appropriate version of Form 1099 or other information return.

February 16

Employers – Begin withholding income tax from the pay of any employee who claimed exemption from withholding in 2016, but did not give you a new Form W-4 to continue the exemption this year.

February 28

Businesses – File information returns (Form 1099) for certain payments you made during 2016. These payments are described under January 31. There are different forms for different types of payments. Use a separate Form 1096 to summarize and transmit the forms for each type of payment. See the 2016 Instructions for Forms 1099, 1098, 5498, and W-2G for information on what payments are covered, how much the payment must be before a return is required, what form to use, and extensions of time to file.

If you file Forms 1097, 1098, 1099, 3921, 3922, or W-2G electronically (except Form 1099-MISC reporting nonemployee compensation), your due date for filing them with the IRS will be extended to March 31. The due date for giving the recipient these forms is still January 31.

Payers of Gambling Winnings – File Form 1096, Annual Summary and Transmittal of U.S. Information Returns, along with Copy A of all the Forms W-2G you issued for 2016. If you file Forms W-2G electronically (not by magnetic tape), your due date for filing them with the IRS will be extended to March 31. The due date for giving the recipient these forms remains January 31.

Large Food and Beverage Establishment Employers – with employees who work for tips. File Form 8027, Employer’s Annual Information Return of Tip Income and Allocated Tips. Use Form 8027-T, Transmittal of Employer’s Annual Information Return of Tip Income and Allocated Tips, to summarize and transmit Forms 8027 if you have more than one establishment. If you file Forms 8027 electronically (not by magnetic tape), your due date for filing them with the IRS will be extended to March 31.

Health Coverage Reporting – If you’re an Applicable Large Employer, file paper Forms 1094-­C, Transmittal of Employer–Provided Health Insurance Offer and Coverage Information Returns, and 1095-­C with the IRS. For all other providers of minimum essential coverage, file paper Forms 1094-­B, Transmittal of Health Coverage Information Returns, and 1095-­B with the IRS. If you’re filing any of these forms with the IRS electronically, your due date for filing them will be extended to March 31.

March 1

Farmers and Fishermen – Farmers and fishermen. File your 2016 income tax return (Form 1040) and pay any tax due. However, you have until April 18 to file if you paid your 2016 estimated tax by January 17, 2017.

• By Leon Clinton
• February 1, 2017

For the past year, you’ve been faithfully creating new records, entering transactions, and recording payments. You’ve run basic reports. You’ve done your collection duties. You may have even paid employees and submitted payroll taxes.

Now that another year has come and gone, if you haven’t done so, it’s time to wrap and review those work tasks that should have been completed by December 31. First up is your annual QuickBooks wrap-up.

Create and send year-end statements.

Figure 1: As your customers wrap up 2016, too, it’s good to send statements to past-due accounts.

In an ideal world, all of the invoices that were due in December would be paid off by the end of the year. We all know that that’s not usually the reality. Two reports can help you here: the A/R Aging Summary and Open Invoices.

If you didn’t give everyone a chance to clear their accounts before December 31 by sending statements, do so now. Click Statements on the Home page (or Customers | Create Statements) to open the window pictured above.

You have multiple options here that are fairly self-explanatory. The screen above is set up to create statements for all customers who have an open balance as of the date you select, but not for inactive customers or those with a zero balance or no account activity.

That way, no one who’s paid in full to date will receive a statement. Of course, if you didn’t want statements created for anyone who’s less than 30 days past due, you’d click in the box in front of Include only transactions over and enter a “30” in the following field.

Tip: You can also find out who is overdue by clicking on the Customers tab in the left vertical pane to open the Customer Information screen. Click on the down arrow to the right of the field just below Customers & Jobs. QuickBooks provides several filters for your list.

Reduce your inventory.

Figure 2: Want to discount all or selected items in your inventory by the same percentage or amount? Open the Customers menu and click Change Item Prices.

If you only sell a few products, you probably already know what didn’t sell well in 2016. If your stable of products is larger, you can run QuickBooks reports like Inventory Stock Status by Item and Sales by Item Detail to identify your slow-sellers and discount them now. You may need to filter your reports to see the right data. Please call to discuss customization options if you’re unsure of how to do this.

Clean up your contact lists.

If you don’t maintain your customer and vendor lists, you’ll eventually start wasting time scrolling through them when you enter transactions. So this would be a good time to designate those contacts that you’ve not dealt with in 2016 as Inactive (you can delete their records entirely, but we advise against that). Simply open a Customer record, for example, and click the small pencil icon in the upper right to edit it. Click on the box in front of Customer is inactive.

Send holiday greetings to customers and vendors.

If you didn’t get around to doing this last month, then consider sending a greeting in January (Best Wishes for a Successful 2017!) when your customers’ and vendors’ lives have slowed down a bit. You’re less likely to get lost in the crowd. If your lists are short enough, personalize these cards as much as possible. At least sign them by hand if you can.

Tip: You can print customer labels for your cards directly from QuickBooks. Open the File menu and then click Print Forms | Labels.

Run advanced reports.

Finally, if you’re not already using a QuickBooks professional to create and analyze advanced financial reports (found in the Accountant & Taxes submenu of Reports) monthly or quarterly, then you should be. They’re important, and they give you insight into your business financials that you can’t get on your own. Please call if you need assistance with this task.

Thank you for being a client in 2016 and best wishes for a successful 2017!

• By Leon Clinton
• January 30, 2017