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The Latest

January 22, 2025 by Josh Bailey-Green Leave a Comment

Welcome to Tax Season 2024!

The official start of the tax filing season is quickly approaching!

We are constantly upgrading our processes and seeking ways to better serve you.

In preparation for the 2024 filing season, we have enhanced some of our procedures:

We encourage you to submit your complete tax information/documentation to us as soon as possible. Returns will be scheduled to be prepared four weeks from the receipt of all your tax information required for the year and your completed signed engagement letter.

If you choose to begin uploading documents as they become available, please email us once all your documents are in the portal.

The deadlines for submission of tax information/documents to CHVL for 2024 calendar year returns are as follows:
Partnership and S Corporation is February 7, 2025
Individual/Personal returns is March 15, 2025
Tax Exempt Organizations is April 15, 2025

Tax files with missing information after these dates will automatically be put on extension and scheduled to be prepared eight weeks from the receipt of all the tax information required for the year and your completed signed engagement letter.

To be more efficient, we will only begin working on returns once all supporting documentation is received, including but not limited to:

W-2, 1099, 1098, K-1 etc.
Federal and State estimated payments made for tax year 2024 if not done by CHVL.
Itemized expenses– please provide a listing of expenses, you do not need to send individual receipts, stubs etc. You can keep those for your records. Itemized expenses include:
Medical, Dental & Vision bills
Charitable contributions
Non-Cash donations
Date of donation
Name and Address of the 501(c)3 Organization that received the donation.
Brief description of the donation
Fair market value of the donation
For Schedule C filers, please provide business expenses by category such as meals, gas, travel, supplies, postage etc. (See Sample Worksheets in the public portal attached).
For those participating in the healthcare marketplace provide a copy of the form 1095A
For those filing in a state with a health mandate please provide a copy of your form 1095B for each taxpayer and dependent listed on your tax return.

Additional filings may be required it you have had any of the following transactions in 2024:

if you directly or indirectly hold any interest or signatory authority in any assets in a foreign country.
if you have received, sold, exchanged, or otherwise acquired any virtual currency.
if you have made any gifts totaling more than $18,000 in value.

If you had any of these transactions, please let us know so we can review the additional reporting with you and send you an arrangement for additional services.

To help assist you in collecting and reporting information necessary for us to prepare your 2024 income tax return, we have attached a link to the 2024 Tax Return Questionnaire to this email, we will also add a personalized organizer to your Smart Vault containing your 2023 tax information before the end of January.

Here is the link to our Public Documents folder:
https://CHV.smartvault.com/users/secure/ElementBrowser.aspx?type=Folder&id=k-cWZZYM50qgVUrXsz67bw

As always, we are here to answer any questions you may have please contact us at officemanager@chvfirm.com.

Thank you for entrusting us with your tax preparation and filing, we truly appreciate your business.

The Cronin, Hanley, Van Zile & Lorenzo Team

Please note this is a general automated reminder.

Cronin, Hanley, VanZile & Lorenzo
17 Kiel Avenue, Suite 1
Kinnelon. NJ 07405
www.chvfirm.com
O: (973)492-3069
F: (973)850-0197

Filed Under: Uncategorized

January 22, 2025 by Josh Bailey-Green Leave a Comment

It is 1099 filing season!

1099s must be issued and filed by January 31, 2025, to avoid late filing penalties.

We must receive the W-9’s you collected and your list of eligible vendors/contractors by January 15, 2025. If we do not receive all the information by this date, we cannot guarantee filing and mailing for the forms by the required deadline.

As a courtesy – please let us know if you do not need this service this year.

If we do not hear back from you by January 17th – we are going to assume that you do not require this service for this year.

You will need to file Form 1099-NEC or Misc for each individual/company (not including C & S corporations) to whom you have paid $600 or more during the year via check, bank transfer or cash. If you do not have a form W-9 for a service provider or contractor that shows they do not require a 1099 then one needs to be filed. The IRS only accepts a valid W-9 form as proof that a vendor can be excluded from this.

You need to issue a 1099 for payments that are made from your trade or business bank accounts that total more than $600 to an individual or vendor. You are not required to report payments made by credit card or payments made from your personal accounts that are not part of your business. Note: other payments may have lower filing thresholds such as interest and royalties please let us know if you have any other special filings.

Payments for the following services/activities need to be reported.
Rents (1099-MISC)
Services performed by someone who is not your employee: whether a contractor or vendor who is a service provider. (1099-NEC)
Payments to an attorney (regardless of type of entity) (1099-NEC)
Prizes and awards (1099-MISC)
Other income payments, i.e., interest on a personal loan
see the full list at https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i1099mec

If you have not already, please request each individual/company who meets the above conditions to fill out the attached Form W-9. You should obtain a new W-9 form each year from each of your vendors. The latest W-9 provided by the IRS shows a revision date of 03-2024. Any forms with a revision date prior to this may not be accepted by the IRS as valid proof.

Misclassification is the practice of classifying employees as independent contractors. Misclassification is illegal regardless of whether the misclassification was intentional or due to a mistaken belief that workers are independent contractors. It is your responsibility for all hiring decisions and employee classification for your business. If you have questions regarding worker classification, you should consult with your legal counsel.

Here is a link to the NJ website that provides guidance on how to classify your workers. Even though this is for NJ most states follow the same general guidelines.
https://www.nj.gov/labor/worker-protections/myworkrights/independentcontractors.shtml

The IRS imposes penalties for failure to file information returns electronically on a timely basis (as well as the failure to furnish returns to payees on a timely basis). In addition, the IRS may also assess penalties if a filer fails to include all the information required to be shown on a return (e.g., taxpayer’s TIN) or reports incorrect information (e.g., incorrect dollar amount).

Here is the current schedule of penalties relating to forms 1099.
If you correctly file late within 30 days of deadline: $60 per form.
If you correctly file late after 30 days but file by August 1: $130 per form.
If you correctly file late after August 1: $330 per form.
Intentional disregard (no filing): $660 per form

Please contact us with any questions.

Cronin, Hanley, VanZile & Lorenzo
17 Kiel Avenue, Suite 1
Kinnelon. NJ 07405
www.chvfirm.com

Filed Under: Uncategorized

November 6, 2024 by CHVL

New Important Tax Filing Deadline – Beneficial Ownership Reporting Due by January 1, 2025

There is a new Beneficial Ownership Reporting that is due for small businesses by January 1, 2025.

What is the new requirement?

In 2021 a new bi-partisan law was passed requiring substantially all small businesses to register with the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes (FinCen) Division by the end of 2024.

I don’t have a business, why am I getting this email?

The timelines are short, and the penalties are severe if you do not file.  We are letting all our clients know even if they currently don’t file business tax returns.  These are some instances where you may be affected:

  1. If you created a business earlier this year, you may already be late. If you create(d) a business at any time during 2024 your deadline for filing is not January 1, 2025, but is 90 days from the date you filed the formation documents with your Secretary of State.  You may not have informed us about these new businesses, instead, waiting until tax season to do so.
    – Please note that if you form a business during 2025 the deadline will be 30 days from formation.
  2. You may have an LLC that you don’t consider a business, but the Treasury does:
    a. A single member LLC that has not had any income yet
    b. An LLC (single or multi-member) that holds property and does not file a separate tax return

 

  1. If you receive a K-1 from a business, the business that provides you with the K-1 may request information from you to prepare the business filing.

 What Business/Entities are Required to File?

A small business is defined as having less than $5 million in sales AND less than 21 full-time employees.

Despite there being 23 exemptions for this reporting, it is expected that over 99% of small businesses will not meet any of these exemptions.

 I closed my business during 2024 do I still need to file?

Yes.  If you filed with the Secretary of State to dissolve your LLC or business during 2024 you are still required to file.

 What is Required to be Filed?

  1. Information for the Business – Name, DBA(s), Physical Operating Address (no PO Boxes), EIN, Date and State Formed. If you have not yet filed for an EIN, you will need to do so.
  2. Information for Business Owners who directly or indirectly own 25% of the ownership interest.  – Name, Tax ID Number, Address, and a valid unexpired copy of your Federal or State issued ID (generally a Driver’s license or Passport).
  3. Information for Important Business Decision Makers, Senior Officers and or anyone that has substantial control even if they have no ownership percentage – (Same Information as for Business Owners.
  4. For businesses formed January 1, 2024, or later you also need to report the information listed above for up to two Company Applicants (the information on the person/people who formed the entity for you).

 

How often do I need to file?

If any of the 51 points of information filed with the Treasury changes, you have 30 days to report the changes or face substantial penalties.  Even if this is several times a year.

Some of the data points include updates to addresses, changes in ownership, issuance of new form of ID.

 

What are the penalties?

The willful failure to report complete or updated beneficial ownership information to FinCEN, or the willful provision of or attempt to provide false or fraudulent beneficial ownership information may result in a civil or criminal penalties, including civil penalties of up to $591 for each day that the violation continues, or criminal penalties including imprisonment for up to two years and/or a fine of up to $10,000. Senior officers of an entity that fails to file a required BOI report may be held accountable for that failure.

 

Will you file these forms for us?

Since this is not an accounting service, we have partnered with a company to help us help you with these filings.

If you would like to engage our firm to file these reports for you, please respond to this email so that we can send you the engagement letter and invoice to start the filing process for you.

Clients with complex ownership structures should contact their attorney for a legal analysis of who the beneficial owners are.  

What is the Fee for Filing?

Our fee for filing these forms on your behalf is $500 per reportable entity (as tracked by EIN) per filing.   If you choose to engage us, we will need your information no later than December 1st to ensure time to properly file your reports.  Information received after December 1st cannot be guaranteed to be filed by the January 1st deadline – there are no extensions. This represents the time needed to accurately and completely file the report(s) with FinCen.

If you are required to file multiple reports, again, this fee is per filing.  The FinCen system does not have a log in to update information, each report will need to be filled out in its entirety each time there is an update or change.

FinCen does not currently charge a filing fee. 

Can I file myself?

Yes.  The treasury department has provided a guide for you to read to accurately complete the filings.  It is recommended that you read all 57 pages of the filing guide prior to filing your report.

https://fincen.gov/boi/small-entity-compliance-guide

There is also a Frequently Asked Questions Resource at:

https://fincen.gov/boi-faqs

After reading the instructions you would file your report using the following link:

https://boiefiling.fincen.gov/

You should print a confirmation of your filing once completed and save it for your records.

Caution should be exercised as it is very easy to incorrectly complete the form.

Fraud

The FinCen system is a secure filing system under the Department of Treasury much like the IRS.

Be wary of any company that is soliciting your information via mail and do not provide your information to anyone other than your trusted legal or accounting advisor or directly to FinCen.  Many of these requests are fraudulent.

The letters often appear to be directly from FinCen but they are not and are after your personal and business information.

What to do next?

If you wish to engage us to prepare these report(s) for you, please reply to this email.  We will then contact you with an engagement letter, payment information and a data gathering form to complete so that we have the appropriate information to file.

 

Filed Under: Businesses & Sole Proprietors

July 11, 2024 by pennerwebdesign Leave a Comment

Attention all Businesses & Sole Proprietors IRS Released a new form W-9 – Effective 3-2024

What does this mean to you?

You should be getting an updated W-9 from each person, contractor, or business (aka vendors) that you pay via cash, check or Zelle® before you make your next payment.  Here is a link to the latest version of form W-9 for your convenience: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw9.pdf

The best practice is to obtain the W-9 forms now before you make your next payment, so that you have the most up to date information available. Vendors that are seeking payment from you are more inclined to provide the form now to receive their payment.

Good business practice is to obtain an updated W-9 each year from all your vendors.  Vendors’ names change, business classifications change and addresses change.

Once your vendor sends you a form, please review the forms you receive to make sure that they are complete, signed, and legible. Then keep IRS form W-9 in a folder until the end of the year.  We will reach out to you in early January regarding the 1099’s that you need to file.

Why get a W-9?

The IRS requires a form 1099 to be issued to certain vendors working for your business.

You will need these forms in early January to determine which vendors need to receive form 1099 from your business by the January 31st deadline.

Some (but not all) examples of vendors who may need a 1099 issued to them are:

  • services performed by any person or business who is not your employee (does not receive a W-2) such as a handyman, landscaper, website designer etc.
  • payments to an attorney
  • payments to a financial advisor or bookkeeper
  • payments of commissions
  • your landlord for rent paid
  • prizes and awards
  • interest paid to someone for a loan

Avoid Penalties

W-9’s from your vendors protects you and your business from substantial IRS fines and penalties.

Please note, the penalties listed below for the prior tax year (2023).  The penalties increase each year.

  • $60 Per Form for 1099’s filed between 02/01/2024 – 03/02/2024.
  • $120 Per Form for 1099’s filed between 03/03/2024 – 08/01/2024.
  • $310 Per Form for 1099’s filed after 08/01/2024.
  • $630 Per Form for intentional disregard (no filing)

If you have any questions regarding form W-9 – please call our office.

Filed Under: Businesses & Sole Proprietors

January 26, 2024 by CHVL Leave a Comment

Welcome to Tax Season!

The official start of the tax filing season is quickly approaching!

We are constantly upgrading our processes and seeking ways to better serve you.

In preparation for the 2023 filing season, we have enhanced some of our procedures:

  • The deadlines for submission of tax information/documents to CHVL for 2023 returns are as follows:
    • Partnership and S Corporation is February 15, 2024
    • Individual/Personal returns is March 15, 2024
  • We encourage you to submit your complete tax information/documentation to us as soon as possible.  Files submitted after these dates will automatically be put on extension if we have a signed engagement letter, and your return will be completed within 4 weeks of receiving all your documentation.
  • To be more efficient, we will only begin working on returns once all supporting documentation is received, including but not limited to:
    • W-2, 1099, 1098, K-1 etc.
    • Federal and State estimated payments made for tax year 2023 if not done by CHVL.
    • Itemized expenses– please provide a listing of expenses, you do not need to send individual receipts, stubs etc. You can keep those for your records. Itemized expenses include:

o   Medical, Dental & Vision bills

o   Charitable contributions

o   Non-Cash donations

  • Date of donation
  • Name and Address of the 501(c)3 Organization that received the donation.
  • Brief description of the donation
  • Fair market value of the donation
    • For Schedule C filers, please provide business expenses by category such as meals, gas, travel, supplies, postage etc.
    • For those participating in the healthcare marketplace provide a copy of the form 1095A
    • For those filing in a state with a health mandate please provide a copy of your form 1095B

Additional filings may be required it you have had any of the following transactions in 2023:

  • if you directly or indirectly hold any interest or signatory authority in any assets in a foreign country.
  • if you have received, sold, exchanged, or otherwise acquired any virtual currency.
  • if you have made any gifts totaling more than $17,000 in value.

If you had any of these transactions, please let us know so we can review the additional reporting with you.

To help assist you in collecting and reporting information necessary for us to prepare your 2023 income tax return, we have attached a 2023 Tax Return Questionnaire to this email, we will add a personalized organizer to your Smart Vault containing your 2022 tax information by the end of the week.

As always, we are here to answer any questions you may have please contact us at officemanager@chvfirm.com.

 

Thank you for entrusting us with your tax preparation and filing, we truly appreciate your business.

The Cronin, Hanley, Van Zile & Lorenzo Team

Filed Under: Uncategorized

January 26, 2024 by CHVL Leave a Comment

Attention – New Business Filing Requirement starting Jan. 1, 2024

Attention – New Business Filing Requirement starting January 1, 2024

Starting January 1, 2024, most businesses will have to file a “Beneficial Ownership Information” report with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCen). This requirement is based on the Corporate Transparency Act passed by congress in 2021. This is a new filing and is in addition to any filings you may already be sending into the FinCen.

Who needs to file:

This filing is for businesses to report information about their beneficial owners, i.e., the individuals who ultimately own or control the company.

When to file – initial filing:

If your company was created or registered prior to January 1, 2024, you will have until January 1, 2025, to report BOI.

If your company was created or registered on or after January 1, 2024, and before January 1, 2025, you must report BOI within 90 calendar days after receiving actual or public notice that your company’s creation or registration is effective, whichever is earlier. Some lawmakers are currently seeking a delay to these deadlines.

If your company is created or registered on or after January 1, 2025, you will need to file BOI within 30 calendar days after receiving actual or public notice that its creation or registration is effective.

When to file – subsequent filings:

Any updates or corrections to beneficial ownership information that you previously filed with FinCEN must be submitted within 30 days.

Some examples of this are:

  • a change in beneficial ownership or officers at the company.
  • a change would be a shareholder that is a minor reaching the age of majority.

What is reported:

For each beneficial owner and/or company officer you will need to provide:

  • Full legal name
  • Date of birth
  • Complete current address
  • Unique identifying number and issuing jurisdiction from, and image of, one of the following non-expired documents:
    • U.S. passport
    • State driver’s license
    • An identification document issued by a state, local government, or tribe.
    • If an individual does not have any of the previous documents, a foreign passport.

Non-Compliance:

The willful failure to report complete or updated beneficial ownership information to FinCEN, or the willful provision of or attempt to provide false or fraudulent beneficial ownership information may result in a civil or penalties, including civil penalties of up to $500 for each day that the violation continues, or criminal penalties including imprisonment for up to two years and/or a fine of up to $10,000.

Senior officers of an entity that fails to file a required BOI report may be held accountable for that failure.

Additionally, a person may be subject to civil and/or criminal penalties for willfully causing a company not to file a required BOI report or to report incomplete or false beneficial ownership information to FinCEN.

Next Steps:

  1. Log into the FinCen website to review the filing information that you need:
    https://www.fincen.gov/sites/default/files/shared/BOI_Small_Compliance_Guide.v1.1-FINAL.pdf
  2. File your report with the FinCen Agency
    Note – this is not a tax return, business owners need to go online and make these filings, this will not be prepared as part of your tax returns.
  3. You may want to inform your contractors and small business vendors about this requirement as well to protect them from being noncompliant.

Additional Help:

https://www.fincen.gov/boi-faqs

If you have any questions, please give the office a call.

 

Thank you,

The Cronin, Hanley, Van Zile & Lorenzo Team

Filed Under: hidden, Uncategorized

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Recent Posts

  • Welcome to Tax Season 2024!
  • It is 1099 filing season!
  • New Important Tax Filing Deadline – Beneficial Ownership Reporting Due by January 1, 2025
  • Attention all Businesses & Sole Proprietors IRS Released a new form W-9 – Effective 3-2024
  • Welcome to Tax Season!

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Company Profile

Cronin, Hanley, Van Zile & Lorenzo, LLC is a boutique accounting and tax firm located in Kinnelon, NJ with over 25 years of experience in our field. Our dedicated team of professionals provides high quality services to businesses, individuals, trusts, and estates located throughout the United States.  Our services include tax planning and compliance, all stages of IRS and state filings, advocating in response to IRS and State tax notices, bookkeeping, bill pay services for high-net-worth individuals, QuickBooks management and more. We pride ourselves on providing personalized services to our clients.

Through our in house tools and expertise we are able to assist clients with federal and state tax filings and problem resolution, general financial personal and business issues, and support for budgeting, accounting, and financial reporting.

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  • Welcome to Tax Season 2024!
  • It is 1099 filing season!
  • New Important Tax Filing Deadline – Beneficial Ownership Reporting Due by January 1, 2025

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