James L. Bradley, CPA

Thankfully, IRS has relented and postponed the deadline for 2020 INDIVIDUAL income tax filings and payments until May 17, 2021. (While I'm thankful, I don't think it's long enough, given all of the work that IRS has to do to send out 2021 EIPs and re-work the 2020 forms and instructions for all of the changes made by the recently enacted American Rescue Plan signed by President Biden just one week ago! But, we'll take what we can get, at this point.) Individual income tax ret...urns for 2020, originally due on April 15, 2021, now due on May 17, 2021. NOTE: Nothing has been said about 2020 CORPORATE tax returns due on April 15, 2021; therefore, I assume that those returns are still due on April 15. The IRS specifically said that this postponement is for INDIVIDUAL returns, so my assumption is that they intend for this postponement to be ONLY for INDIVIDUAL returns. IRS is due to release more information, soon. If anything changes, I will update this post. Happy returns, everyone! UPDATE: I have corrected this post to remove my earlier statement about estimated tax payments due on April 15, 2021. Apparently, those payments are still due and have not been postponed. AICPA is currently lobbying congress to get this changed. Stay tuned. See more

If you were one of the millions of Americans who received unemployment compensation in 2020, and you've already filed your 2020 income tax return, you may want to consider amending that return. The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, signed into law by President Biden on March 11, 2021, makes the first $10,200 of 2020 unemployment benefits nontaxable. If you haven't file yet, you might want to wait, because IRS is currently working on a worksheet for paper filers and working wi...th software companies to update current tax software so that taxpayers can determine how much of their benefits are taxable. If you need to amend your 2020 return, however, IRS emphasizes that you should wait until they are able to issue additional guidance. If you have questions about this issue, or need help preparing or amending your 2020 return, give me a call - 912-739-3318. See more

"In 2020, the Social Security Administration received more than 730,000 scam complaints with victim losses hitting more than $59 million." If you have elderly relatives, please, please, please have this conversation with them. Don't assume they know. Make a conscious effort to protect them by informing them of this simple message: Social Security and IRS will NEVER call you and ask for your social security number. NEVER give anyone who calls you your social security number. The thieves and crooks are really go at what they do. Educate your relatives to keep them safe.https://www.usatoday.com//social-security-scam/4590893001/

So, here we go, again. Many, many people received unemployment benefits in 2020. Those benefits are generally taxable, and they will be reported to the recipient on a Form 1099-G. There are now reports of people receiving Forms 1099-G who never actually received unemployment benefits; never even applied for them. DO NOT IGNORE those forms. The Form 1099-G reports taxable income. If you did not actually get unemployment benefits, but you received a Form 1099-G, IRS will expect to see this taxable income on your income tax return. The 1099-G will include a phone number which you should call to begin the process of correcting the situation. Again, ignoring it is not going to make it go away.