Blog

ACA Regulatory Update: Why a “Good Faith” Reporting Year Doesn’t Zero Out Penalties

The Affordable Care Act Employer Mandate is in full force for tax years 2016 & 2017, despite the ongoing dialogue in Washington DC.  Although it is a “good faith” filing year, corrections and replacements are still required and penalties can be enforced. The Affordable Care Act Employer Mandate has been a crucial talking point for […]

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Cayman Islands Releases CRS Guidance and Extends FATCA Deadline

Recently, the Cayman Islands published its version 2.0 for CRS Guidance. The Guidance is a very important document for CRS reporting as it contains important information for due diligence and reporting requirements. In particular, Cayman will require Reporting FIs to send separate reports for each of its jurisdictions where it maintains reportable accounts. Moreover, it […]

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Germany Releases FATCA Schema Files & Guidance

Germany’s BZSt released both FATCA schema files (XSD files are provided in the [zip file|www.bzst.de/SharedDocs/Downloads/DE/FATCA_downloads/ELANKOM_Schema_FATCAXML2.0_230317_zip.zip?__blob=publicationFile]), and guidance ([Communications Manual Part III, version 2.0|www.bzst.de/DE/Steuern_International/FATCA/Kommunikationshandbuch/Kommunikationshandbuch_FATCA_Teil_III.pdf?__blob=publicationFile]). Both provide important information on how to properly create FATCA returns. Information about the releases can be found in the latest [Infobrief|www.bzst.de/DE/Steuern_International/FATCA/Infobrief/Aktuell/Infobrief_Aktuell.pdf?__blob=publicationFile]. In addition, Germany published guidance on notifications (“[Verarbeitungsprotokolle FATCA|www.bzst.de/DE/Steuern_International/FATCA/zul.Korrekturwege/Verarbeitungsprotokolle.pdf?__blob=publicationFile]”), and […]

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1099 Updates: April 1- April 15

Regulatory and legislative updates to 1099 form requirements that took place in recent weeks. Individual states and the IRS introduce new 1099 form requirements and changes to existing legislation on a frequent basis. Sovos documents each of these updates in its Taxport Compass portal to arm clients with the most current and accurate information and […]

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SSA Releases 2017 Draft Form W-2 and Form W-2c Specifications

SSA has released Draft Form W-2 and Form W-2c Specifications for TY2017 Reporting. There are a number of changes from the previous revisions of the two form specifications. Form W-2 Changes Form W-2 has a new box 12 Code FF money field, Permitted Benefits Under a Qualified Small Employer Health Reimbursement Arrangement (Code FF), and […]

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Tension Escalates as CRS Deadlines on the Horizon

Paul Banker, General Manager – Sovos Compliance, attended a meeting of Working Party No. 10 on Exchange of Information and Tax Compliance, as a member of the CRS Business Advocacy group that works with the OECD on the automatic exchange of information (AEOI). ‘Roles are now at stake’ in financial institutions around the world as […]

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AEOI Updates: March 25 – April 7

Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) legislation is constantly evolving worldwide as the standard is rolled out around the world. The Sovos research team continually monitors new regulations and updates across the globe and publishes them in our Taxport Compass tool. Here are some important changes that occurred in recent weeks: Cayman Island Publishes List of […]

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Large Challenges Await Financial Institutions: An Interview with Corinna Hedtke, Standard Chartered Bank

Financial institutions (FIs) will face major challenges when preparing for the Common Reporting Standard (CRS). Among the most significant of these will be compiling and organizing their data at the risk of failing to achieve compliance and suffering from damaged reputations. According to Corinna Hedtke, Senior Manager for Client Tax Information Compliance, Europe at Standard […]

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North Dakota Publishes Updated Guideline to “Income Tax Withholding: Oil and Gas Royalty Payments”

North Dakota recently released an updated version of Publication 28262 – “Guideline to Income Tax Withholding: Oil and gas Royalty Payments.” The Guideline provides withholding criteria regarding oil and gas related royalty payments. There is one change from the previous version of this publication involving remittance of 1099-MISC forms under the Combined Federal/State Program administered […]

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Maine Publishes Updated Instructions for “Employers Return of Maine Income Tax Withholding”

Maine recently published updated instructions for Form 941-ME, the “Employer’s Return of Maine Income Tax Withholding.” Generally, Form 941-ME is used to report employee or payee income tax withholding to the Maine Revenue Service. The 2017 version of these instructions include a few changes, mostly related to amended returns. • Amended Returns: This section was […]

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Arizona Releases Updated A1-QRT: Quarterly Withholding Tax Return

Arizona has released its 2017 Quarterly Withholding Tax Return, the A1-QRT. This form is the quarterly reconciliation and reporting form used for withholding payments made over the course of a quarter. The form has undergone extensive formatting changes, but relatively few material changes. The form now requests more detail related to business closures and successive […]

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1099 Updates: March 2017

Regulatory and legislative updates to 1099 form requirements that took place in recent weeks. Individual states and the IRS introduce new 1099 form requirements and changes to existing legislation on a frequent basis. Sovos documents each of these updates in its Taxport Compass portal to arm clients with the most current and accurate information and […]

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Arizona Electronic Filing Requirement Signed into Law

The Arizona Governor signed into law House Bill 2280 which ultimately requires electronic filing and payment of most business taxes. The Arizona Department of Revenue favors e-filing as simpler, more secure and faster than traditional paper returns. While many taxpayers already file Arizona’s Transaction Privilege Tax (TPT) return electronically, the requirement to e-file for TPT […]

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Industry Report Blog Series: Automation, Security and Comprehensiveness

Sovos recently partnered with Aberdeen Group to survey 179 compliance decision makers across a number of industries to find out how they have handled Affordable Care Act (ACA) reporting. This is the third in a series of four blogs that detail some of the survey’s more notable results and findings. This installment will address how […]

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Utah Exempting Car Wash Services Beginning July 1, 2017

The Utah Governor recently signed Senate Bill 16 into law. The law creates a new sales tax exemption for the service of cleaning or washing the exterior of a vehicle, beginning on July 1, 2017. However, an important exception exists. If the service includes any charges related to cleaning the interior of the vehicle, then […]

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Virginia to Exempt Aviation Parts Beginning July 1, 2018

On March 29, 2017 the Virginia Governor signed legislation that will exempt the sale of parts and engines used in the maintenance, repair or reconditioning of any manned or unmanned aircraft system. However, as a compromise measure intended to limit the fiscal impact of the new exemption, the rule will not come into effect until […]

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ACA Regulatory Update: ACA Remains the Law of the Land for US Employers

The Employer Mandate — along with all associated reporting obligations and penalties — will live on throughout Tax Year 2017, and likely beyond. This news emerged in the wake of the showdown between the recently introduced American Health Care Act and the incumbent Affordable Care Act. The short-lived AHCA legislation came to an anticlimactic end […]

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AEOI Updates: March 10-24

Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) legislation is constantly evolving worldwide as the standard is rolled out around the world. The Sovos research team continually monitors new regulations and updates across the globe and publishes them in our Taxport Compass tool. Here are some important changes that occurred in recent weeks: Germany Releases Infobriefs for FATCA […]

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