Horizon Accountants' Tax Update 2017

January 9, 2018

RE: Tax Update

Dear clients,

The Internal Revenue Service will begin accepting individual e-files January 29, 2018. This year the IRS will hold refunds claiming the EITC or the ACTC until February 15, 2018. Affected taxpayers may not receive refunds until the last week of February. The filing deadline to submit 2017 tax returns is Tuesday April 17, 2018.

To check status of refunds go to irs.gov and access Where's My Refund? There is a new on line tool that allows taxpayers to check their IRS account. This can be found at irs.gov under "payments/finding-out-how-much-you owe.

The IRS is requiring every taxpayer to verify and confirm their bank account information in writing. A special form will be presented to you when you bring your information in and you will either confirm last year's routing and checking account number or provide updated routing and checking account numbers for 2017. You will be required to sign and date the form. We cannot submit the electronic file until the ETF information is checked.
This year the IRS will reject e-filed tax returns if ACA information is not included in the submitted electronic file. This means if you have an Obama Care Exchange plan you will need to have a copy of form 1095-A and possibly B or even C. Bring them all along.

There are not many changes this year that will affect our clients; probably the most significant is the adjusted gross income threshold for medical expenses is back to 7.5% for this year.
The recently passed tax bill in December 2017 will affect many taxpayers in 2018 and beyond. We will be communicating those during your tax appointment this year. If your organization would like us to present our views we can.

We look forward to visiting with you and preparing the best possible return for you in 2017! Please call if you have questions or want further clarification.

Sincerely,

Lawrence R. Yoder, CPA
HORIZON ACCOUNTANTS