COVID-19 RESOURCES

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

Just a quick update as we are getting a lot of questions on recent changes.

The newest Stimulus Bill is the American Rescue Plan or ARP. Some may ask, does this stand for "Accountants Rethinking Professions"... we're staying positive and going with just "Accountants Rethinking (tax) Planning".

Most of the changes in this relief bill are related to 2021 and we'll elaborate on those in future newsletters. Today, we want to just address the 2 main issues affecting 2020 filings.

BREAKING NEWS: Literally as I was writing this email about changes, the IRS just changed the tax filing deadline to May 17th instead of April 15th! ARP. We ask that if you already have an appointment, please try and keep it. We're running low on openings and shifting our employees very tight schedules is already a challenge. But if you have NOT made an appointment and want one, we have updated our calendar hours and have additional times in the post-April 15th world now available.

Make Your Appointment Now

UNEMPLOYMENT CHANGES

If your Adjusted Gross Income is under $150,000 and you received unemployment payments in 2020, you now do not have to pay federal tax on the first $10,200 received. This is per person, so a married couple could potentially have double that amount of tax-free unemployment insurance.

What if you already filed your taxes?
The IRS has said to wait for guidance. This means either they will fix it automatically and send additional refunds OR we will need to amend after the tax deadline. Either way, we wait. Here at Fox Tax, we're on it and we'll reach out if amendments are needed.

What if I haven't filed?
Super tax nerds (like us) love when there is an "income cliff" on tax rules. It leaves some curious tax planning issues and opportunities to save thousands of dollars with small adjustments to income. We may suggest some new options when you file this year: Maybe a separate tax return if joint income is over $150,000 OR adding IRA or HSA contributions to lower your income. Many of these options expire on April 15th, so if you received unemployment and have income around $150,000, we suggest you make your appointment now so that we have time to enact a plan that may save you several thousand dollars.

Premium Tax Credit

If you have insurance through MNSure or other Affordable Care Act plans (in other states), the eligibility for discounts on your insurance just increased. Again, we'll let you know if we need to fix any tax returns that were already filed OR (hopefully) the IRS will just send the refunds now due.

For 2021, it means many more of you may qualify for a discount. If you currently do not have health insurance or have a private plan NOT through the government portal, it may be worth looking into changing plans. There is a Special Enrollment Period going on now for many people, so you may not even need to wait until 2022 to get this now (more) Affordable Care Act insurance!

SCHEDULE YOUR APPOINTMENT NOW
with Your Accountant

Some of our Accountant's Calendars are already full through April 15th. UPDATE: the deadline has been extended until May 17th. We will continue to operate Monday - Friday through any extended deadline and our online calendars have been updated with additional hours.

If you want an appointment, please get on the schedule soon! Then we ask that you upload all of your documents at least TWO BUSINESS DAYS before said appointment.

OR if you'd prefer, you can just upload your information to our Secure Portal and your tax preparer will reach out via email with questions once they've reviewed the information that you've sent. We will do our best to get to your return as soon as we can.

All of the changes this year have slowed down our process; we're spending extra time on each return to assess all the new rules and programs and how they may apply to each of you. We are doing our best to get to every tax return as soon as we can but it's just taking longer, which apparently the IRS is now understanding. We're sorry for any delays but thank you for your patience in this (second) challenging Covid-tax-season!

Thanks again for sticking with us this year and we look forward to seeing many of you (if only on Zoom) in the next ~~four~~ EIGHT busy weeks!

Mark, Alyssa and the Fox Tax Quaranteam

NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE

ADDITIONAL LINKS / RESOURCES

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

UNEMPLOYMENT CHANGES

Premium Tax Credit

SCHEDULE YOUR APPOINTMENT NOW with Your Accountant

SCHEDULE YOUR APPOINTMENT NOW
with Your Accountant