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The tax information reporting event of the year is coming in October! Sovos will present the 2019 GCS Intelligent Reporting Summit in San Antonio Oct. 28-30. You can’t afford to miss it! Here’s why:  NEW! Unclaimed Property Regulations: De-mystify unclaimed property reporting and learn how to protect your company from risk you might not even […]

California Governor Gavin Newsom is poised to sign into law a bill that would recategorize gig economy workers such as ride-share drivers from being independent workers to full-time employees.  The bill, California AB5, could have a profound impact on tax withholding and information reporting at state levels, with other states closely monitoring California’s activity. It […]

Retailers with e-commerce channels have a lot to gain during Cyber Monday or Cyber Week. According to BlackFriday.com, Cyber Monday spending is anticipated to grow 20% this year, with consumers spending nearly $9.5 billion online. Cyber Monday also falls on December 2 this year, one week later than last, giving consumers fewer weeks before Christmas […]

Almost every state has moved away from paper reporting in favor of electronic reporting, welcoming the unclaimed property reporting process into the digital age. Many of the slow-moving processes can be easily streamlined and brought up to date with simple, intuitive technology. First, let’s describe the difference between the two types of filings as many […]

You operate a lean tax compliance and reporting team. Maybe your company has reduced staff over the past 5-10 years while continuing to grow its business through organic means as well as merger and acquisition.  But now your staff of 10 is down to four or five. What was once a manageable manual process of […]

If you have no new unclaimed property records for a particular state this filing year, does that mean you are off the hook? Well, not necessarily.   Most states want you to file with them each year. If you’ve reported in the past, they want to hear from you even in the years when you […]

Article written By Bill Dadmun, Records and Receipts Manager, State of Virginia   How many of you use the aggregate function when reporting?  Does it make your life easier?  Listen to this scenario and tell me if it sounds familiar.   You get a call from someone that is due $49.95 from a credit balance.  […]

This isn’t the first time I’ve blogged about the dangers of reciprocal filing, but I feel like it is a topic worth covering again for those who may have missed it. Reciprocal or exchange filing means reporting records to a state even though the last known addresses for the records are not in that state. […]

Have you ever been confused about which property code to use for a certain type of property? We have all been there. NAUPA, the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators, has a list of standard codes that you can view here starting at the bottom of page 17.   Property Types   There are many types […]

Due Diligence is the act of sending letters to lost owners or publishing their names in newspapers. Almost every state and every jurisdiction within a state requires companies to perform due diligence. Benefits Due diligence not only benefits owners of unclaimed property, it can also benefit your business. Many of your lost owners are customers […]

Many of you know Illinois is now operating under new legislation. If you haven’t had a chance to review the legislation, you’ll want to do so before filing this year’s unclaimed property report. One change to take note of is the repeal of the general business-to-business exemption. Not only is the exemption no longer allowed, holders […]

With unemployment low and productivity high, the US economy appears to be steaming along. But one key metric suggests otherwise: the yield curve is inverted, historically a sign that a recession is on the way. A downturn in the economy could have a major impact on how the IRS enforces tax reporting compliance.  A yield […]

Anyone familiar with the Discovery Channel’s Shark Week and the portrayal of hungry sharks setting their sights on surfers may be surprised to learn that tax and IT professionals may be feeling every bit as wary as those surfers as they enter their own version of shark-infested waters. The reason: IT and tax pros are […]

Many times in my twelve years of providing customer support, I’ve heard, “This is my first time reporting and I don’t know what to do. Can you help me?” My heart goes out to those people because I know how daunting it can be to figure out how to get a report to the state. […]

Finding the best way to manage unclaimed property risk is very challenging, especially if you are filing for the first time and not under state audit. If you find your company is in an initial compliance situation you need to immediately initiate an outreach program and make every effort to contact the owners of the […]

The IRS sent letters to more than 10,000 cryptocurrency holders last week, educating them about their income tax obligations associated with cryptocurrency transactions. The IRS also included information in that correspondence about applicable penalties for taxpayers who fail to report income and pay crypto taxes.  The agency sent three letters to taxpayers: Letter 6173 https://www.irs.gov/pub/notices/letter_6173.pdf […]

At the Nationwide Tax Forums in Chicago last week, the IRS communicated details about the first wave of backup withholding penalty notices that payers should expect to receive in September and October.  These new penalty notices are related to the enforcement campaign that kicked off from the IRS Cincinnati office in July. Background – Backup […]

Are unclaimed gift cards reportable as unclaimed property? It all depends. A recent ruling favoring the state of Delaware against an online retailer brought escheatment of unclaimed gift cards into the spotlight. Unclaimed property is escheated to the state of the property owner’s last known address, but challenges arise with gift cards due to lack […]