This means that auditors aren’t always familiar with every nuance of the tax code and so occasionally get things wrong.

For example, you may be keeping a 90-day mileage log, but your IRS auditor may disallow all of your auto expenses because you can’t provide a 12-month mileage log. And the IRS auditor would be wrong.

So how do you fight back and prove you’re right and are entitled to your deductions?
We’ll steer you in the right directions when you read my new article titled Q&A: IRS Auditor Doesn’t Know the 90-Day Mileage Log Rule.

Three ways our fact-filled article can help you:

1. You’ll learn what to do first. For starters, you can explain to your friendly auditor that you are using the “90-day sample method” as authorized in the tax code. We’ll provide a link to the relevant citation, as well as additional helpful information, when you Read the article.
2. We’ll explain the perfectly legal sample-method allowance. The IRS says you may keep an adequate record for part of the tax year and use that part-year record to substantiate your vehicle’s business use for the entire year. In fact, the IRS allows the use of two different sample methods. We’ll tell you which one you should use when Read this article.
3. We’ll tell you how to use the 90-day sample method. There are actually four easy-to-understand basics that you should be aware of before you use this strategy. Don’t wait for an audit notice to bone up on the subject. Now is the time to Read this article.

If you use triple-net leases for your rental properties, you may wonder whether you’ll get your Section 199A deduction. We don’t have a clear answer for you, so we are going to go with “maybe.” As you’ll see, we need more information.

 

A triple-net lease requires the lessee to pay the landlord rent as well as take care of real estate taxes, building insurance, and property maintenance costs. Therefore, in a triple-net lease, the lessee bears all the burdens of ownership, and the landlord usually has little to no involvement in the property management.

 

A rental property qualifies for the Section 199A deduction if the rental property qualifies as a trade or business under tax code Section 162, or you rent the property to a commonly controlled trade or business.

 

Assuming you can’t use the commonly controlled route, your rental properties need to rise to the level of a trade or business to get your Section 199A deduction.

 

To meet that requirement, you’ll generally need to have regular and continuous involvement with your rental activities. And the proposed regulations require you to look at each rental activity separately when determining whether it is a trade or business—aggregation doesn’t help you with this.

 

Many triple-net lease rental activities likely fail the regular and continuous activity test and won’t qualify for the Section 199A deduction. For example, in Neill, the Board of Tax Appeals (the precursor to the Tax Court) held that a single property leased on a triple-net basis is not a Code Section 162 trade or business.

 

In the preamble to the Code Section 1411 regulations, the IRS gives you other factors to consider when determining whether your rental activity is a trade or business:

• Type of property (commercial vs. residential vs. personal property)
• Number of properties rented
• Day-to-day involvement of the owner or its agent

Type of lease (net vs. traditional, short-term vs. long-term)

 

Depending on the particular circumstances of your triple-net lease rental activities, they may rise to the level of a trade or business, even if your involvement with each lease individually is minimal.

 

You can see why we are in “maybe” land and hoping for more information from the IRS.

Tax reform made a lot of good changes in the tax law for the small-business owner.

 

But the changes to the net operating loss (NOL) deduction rules are not in the good-changes category. They are designed to hurt you and put money in the IRS’s pocket.

 

Now, if you have a bad year in your business, the new NOL rules are designed to stop you from using your business loss to find some immediate cash. The new (let’s call them bad-for-you) rules certainly differ from the prior beneficial rules.

 

Old NOL Rules

 

You have an NOL when your business deductions exceed your business income in a taxable year.

 

Before tax reform, you could carry back the NOL to prior tax years and get refunds of taxes paid in those prior years.

 

Alternatively, you could have elected to waive the NOL carryback and instead carry forward the NOL to offset some or all of your taxable income in future tax years.

 

New NOL Rules

 

Tax reform made two key changes to the NOL rules:

 

1. You can no longer carry back the NOL (except for certain qualified farming losses).

Your NOL carryforward can offset only up to 80 percent of your taxable income in a tax year.

 

The changes put more money in the IRS’s pocket by

 

• eliminating your ability to get an immediate tax benefit from your NOL carryback, and
• delaying your ability to get tax benefits from future NOL carryforwards.

Jesse Lothamer J.D., C.P.A., E.A.

Lothamer Tax Resolution

The new 2018-19 FAFSA form has become available to apply on since Oct. 1st of this year. We have decided to make a checklist to help make sure you are on track to be eligible to apply for the new school year. Below is a checklist of things you need to have completed and ready in order to be able to apply for FAFSA for you or your kids who are ready to start college!

• Create an account for your FSA ID on fafsa.gov (create this early to make sure you do not fall behind on the process even if you are not ready to complete the FAFSA form.
• Meet the basic criteria:
  • Have a Social Security Number (or Alien Registration Number)
  • Have a driver’s license number ready (if you do not have a license then ignore this step)
  • Have a high school diploma or GED certificate
  • Register with Selective Service if you are a male 18-25 and not currently on active duty in the US Armed Forces
• Be up to date with all your tax returns
  • FAFSA now requires you to report your income information from the earlier tax year
  • For the 2018-19 form you will need your 2017 tax information
    • Tax Return information ready
    • W-2 available for reference
    • Records of untaxed income (if applicable)
    • Records of assets (if applicable)
    • Bank statements/records of investments (if applicable)
  • IF you have a conviction for possession or sale of illegal drugs, you must complete the Student Aid Eligibility Worksheet to determine if you are eligible or partially eligible for aid.

With each new year comes new changes to the tax brackets due to inflation and new bills passed by Congress. We made a table for these changes and here are the most important revisions we think you need to know!

	2017	2018
Standard Deduction – Single	$6,500	$12,000
Standard Deduction – Jointly Married	$13,000	$24,000
Personal Exemption – Single/Joint	$4,000/$8,000	ELIMINATED
Child Tax Credit (Under 17)	$11,000	$12,000
Limits for Retirement Savings	$18,000	$18,500
Savings in IRAs – Single	$62K-$72K	$63K-$73K
Savings in IRAs – Married (w/ employer plan)	$99K-$119K	$101K-$121K
Contribution to IRAs – Single	$118K-$133K	$120K-$135K
Contribution to IRAs – Married (jointly)	$186K-$196K	$189K-$199K
Top Rate – Individual	39.6% at $418.4K+	39% at $500K+
Top Rate – Married (joint)	39.6% at $470.7K+	39% at $600K+

 

Payroll Taxes

 

Delinquent Payroll Taxes Are Aggressively Pursued By The IRS & State Authorities and Put Many Companies Out of Business. Let Us Help Your Business.

 

The IRS and State agencies take payroll tax debt very seriously: delinquent Employment Payroll Taxes can result in the assessment of substantial penalties and interest along with the seizure of assets including liquidation of the business.

 

Payroll taxes in particular are the most aggressively collected and penalized of all tax types—Federal and State Payroll Tax laws give the government much greater power to try to recover what is owed. This authority includes the ability to collect the payroll liabilities from business owners, officers and even employees personally.

 

Contact us as soon as possible if your business is experiencing Payroll Tax Problems or a Payroll Tax Audit. Any discussion you have or information you provide to the IRS or State tax agency can be used in an attempt to collect the delinquent tax. For example, providing a list of accounts receivable gives the IRS or State a source to Levy.

 

Lothamer has successfully represented thousands of large and small businesses with payroll tax issues and other business tax problems. Our Enrolled Agents will fight for you to reduce the amount you owe and keep your business operating. Our accounting and legal backgrounds give us the knowledge to restructure your business in a way to allow for resolution.

 

Let us worry about the IRS so you can focus on growing your business. If you need assistance with payroll tax problems please contact us at (800) 619-8277 to schedule a initial consultation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Your IRS Questions Answered Here… 

 

Question: 

      I just heard about a Nanny Tax. What is it?

 

  Answer: 

When you hire someone to work in your home, the government considers you an employer. As an employer, you are responsible for paying employment taxes. These employment taxes are commonly known as “nanny taxes” although they don’t only apply to nannies – they apply to anyone working in your home. This includes anyone who works in and/or around your home such as babysitters, caretakers, house cleaning workers, domestic workers, drivers, health aides, housekeepers, maids, nannies, private nurses, and yard workers. According to the IRS, a person is an employee if you’re telling them what they will do and how they will do it, as opposed to an independent contractor that you tell only what results you’re looking for. Families that misclassify their household empl oyee as an independent contractor (by providing a Form 1099 for filing taxes) can be charged with tax evasion.

 

We at Lothamer Tax Resolution are experts in IRS tax problem resolution and help taxpayers with their IRS Problems every day.  There is a solution to EVERY problem. Generally, you’ll never have to meet or speak with the IRS once you bring us into the picture. Call us today!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

August Google Reviews

1. H. of Mason, MI– Throughout the process of dealing with my tax issues, Lothamer has maintained a highly detailed, organized, and informative plan of action. The expertise and execution of the many idividuals involved was exemplary. While my experience with Lothamer in this matter is still ongoing, I have ultimate confidence in them achieving the optimum outcome.

D.M. of Lowell, MI – After using TurboTax for years, we were audited. We had audit protection and was represented by a CPA during the audit and ended up with a tax bill of over $100,000. Brian and the Lothamer Tax Resolution team helped us eliminate that debt and continue to provide top notch tax representation! Thank you!!

1. H. of Sturgis, MI– We were very grateful for Lothamer in assisting us with our tax situation…it went on a bit longer than expected and there were a few ” hiccups” along the way, but the end result was gratifying. Good luck to you..God bless!
2. G. of Belleville, MI-They were able to resolve debt in a timely and efficient manner.
   Staff was professional at every level.
   Saved me thousands of dollars.

We appreciate all your kind words.

 

Please Leave a Review

 

We would really appreciate it if you could take the time do write us a google review based upon your experience with our firm. We thank you kindly for choosing Lothamer for your tax resolution. It is important that you use a Gmail account when writing a Google review.

Copy the link for the location and paste it to your web browser, then click on google reviews and this will take you to Write a review.

 

Lansing –  https://goo.gl/gqugVw

Grand Rapids –  https://goo.gl/4Xk8Zk

Detroit –  https://goo.gl/73y6QJ

Flint –  https://goo.gl/Mhp4qW

Traverse City –  https://goo.gl/pYw58J

 

 

Lothamer Referral Program

Refer a friend, family, neighbor or coworker……
…..You will get a $100.00 AMAZON GIFT CARD!!

Jeff of Berkley, MI  got his $100.00 gift card this month!!

Way to go!! Keep the referrals coming in!

Phone # 1-800-619-8277      

Email –            

Text – 1-877-955-9020 

          

 

   If you get a questionable notice, phone call, have unfiled tax returns or unpaid taxes feel free to call or email Lothamer at 517-484-1040, or call toll free at 1-800-619-8277 or

                                            

         We here at Lothamer Tax Resolution will make sure all your rights are protected!                                                                     

 

 

 

                Recent Lothamer results of Offer in Compromise settlements:

 

Amount of Tax Owed      Settlement Amount     Total Amount Saved     Offer #

 

$70,769.05                          $500.00                           $70,269.05                    3471

$254,641.40                      $15,366.00                   $239,275.40                    3067

$135,165.47                          $7,500.00                         $127,665.47                    6726

$39,982.15                          $6,400.00                        $33,582.15                  10390

 

 

               Call us 8 am – 6pm            877-TAX-BILL             www.Lothamer.com  

 

 

         

                                     

 

Thank you!

Thanks to YOU, the word is spreading. Thanks to my clients and friends who graciously referred me to their friends, clients and relatives last month! I enjoy building my business based on the positive comments and referrals from people just like you. I just couldn’t do it without you!

 

 

I’d Like to Hear From You!

If you have an IRS issue, or just want to refer a friend, relative or client, we’d love to hear from you.

We at Lothamer Tax Resolution are experts in tax resolution and help taxpayers with their IRS

Problems every day.

 

Call us at 800-619-8277

Email us at

As you likely know by now, your travel meals continue under tax reform as tax-deductible meals subject to the 50 percent cut.

 

And tax reform did not change the rules that apply to your other travel expense deductions.

 

One beauty of being in business for yourself is the ability to pick your travel destinations and also deduct your travel expenses. For example, you can travel to exotic locations using the seven-day travel rule and/or attend conventions and seminars in boondoggle areas.

 

From these examples, you can understand why the IRS might want to see proof of your business purpose for any trips, should it examine them.

 

With deductions for lodging, a meal, or other travel expenses, the rules governing receipts, business reasons, and canceled checks are the same for corporations, proprietorships, individuals, and employees. The entity claiming the tax deduction must keep timely records that prove the four elements listed below:

 

1. Amount. The amount of each expenditure for traveling away from home, such as the costs of transportation, lodging, and meals.
2. Time. Your dates of departure and return, and the number of days on business.
3. Place. Your travel destination described by city or town.
4. Business purpose. Your business reason for the travel, or the nature of the business benefit derived or expected to be derived.

 

When in tax-deductible travel status, you need a receipt, a paid bill, or similar documentary evidence to prove

 

• every expenditure for lodging, and
• every other travel expenditure of $75 or more, except transportation, for which no receipt is required if one is not readily available.

 

The receipt you need is a document that establishes the amount, date, place, and essential character of the expenditure.

 

Hotel example. A hotel receipt is sufficient to support expenditures for business travel if the receipt contains

 

• the name of the hotel,
• the location of the hotel,
• the date, and
• separate amounts for charges such as lodging, meals, and telephone.

 

Restaurant example. A restaurant receipt is sufficient to support an expenditure for a business meal if it contains the

 

• name and location of the restaurant,
• date and amount of the expenditure, and
• number of people served, plus an indication of any charges for an item other than meals and beverages, if such charges were made.

 

You can’t simply use your credit card statement as a receipt. Like a canceled check, it proves only that you paid the money, not what you purchased. To prove the travel expenditure, you need both the receipt (proof of purchase) and the canceled check or credit card statement (proof of payment).

 

In a nutshell, a travel expense is an expense of getting to and from the business destination and an expense of sustaining life while at the business destination. Here are some examples from the IRS:

 

• Costs of traveling by airplane, train, bus, or car between your home and your overnight business destination
• Costs of traveling by ship (subject to the luxury water travel rules and cruise ship rules)
• Costs of renting a car or taking a taxi, commuter bus, or airport limo from the airport to the hotel and to work destinations, including restaurants for meals
• Costs for baggage and shipping of business items needed at your travel destination
• Costs for lodging and meals (meal costs include tips to waiters and waitresses)
• Costs for dry cleaning and laundry
• Costs for telephone, computer, Internet, fax, and other communication devices needed for business
• Tips to bellmen, maids, skycaps, and others

 

The travel deduction rules are the same whether you operate your business as a corporation or a proprietorship, with one important exception. When you operate as a corporation during the tax years 2018 through 2025, you must either

 

• have the corporation reimburse you for the expenses, or
• have the corporation pay the expenses.

 

There are many intricacies to travel deduction rules. To ensure you are deducting business travel properly let Lothamer Tax Resolution help guide you.

 

 

Jesse Lothamer J.D., C.P.A., E.A.

Lothamer Tax Resolution

 

 

If you operate what you think is a business, but that business loses money, it may not be a business at all under the tax code.

 

Such a money-losing activity can look like a tax shelter to the IRS, and that substantially increases your chances of an IRS audit.

 

The tax code contains a business loss safe harbor that’s known as a presumption of profit. You meet this safe harbor when your activity produces a profit in three of five years (two of seven for breeding, training, showing, or racing horses).

 

When you meet the safe harbor, you are presumed a business unless the IRS establishes to the contrary.

 

We know this for-profit tax code section as the hobby loss section. But you can see that this tax code section creates trouble for much more than what you would consider a simple hobby.

 

Here’s an example of how badly the recent tax reform under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act can treat a business that loses money.

 

Example. Henry has an activity that fails the business test and loses money. Last year, he had $70,000 of income and $100,000 of expenses. Under pre-tax-reform law, Henry could claim the hobby-related business deductions up to the amount of his income. So Henry deducted $70,000 (subject to some minor adjustments) and reported close to zero taxable income.

 

Not this year. Tax reform is going to make Henry suffer. With the same facts, Henry’s business deductions are zero. His taxable income is $70,000.

 

Think about that. Henry lost $30,000 ($70,000 – $100,000) in real money. He now pays taxes on $70,000 of phantom income.

 

What can Henry do to make this problem go away? He has two choices.

• First, he could create a “for profit” business defense in the hope that he would defeat the IRS in an audit.
• Alternatively, he could stop the taxation on his phantom income by operating his activity as a C corporation.

 

If you would like to discuss either or both of these possibilities, please allow Lothamer to guide you through avoiding a tax problem with the IRS.

Jesse Lothamer J.D., C.P.A., E.A.

Lothamer Tax Resolution