Blog

New IRS Program Increases Focus on Backup Withholding

In a recent presentation at the American Payroll Association’s Capital Summit in Washington D.C., IRS Director of Examination Operations and Specialty Tax Daniel Lauer announced upcoming changes to the way the IRS monitors and manages backup withholding in relation to Forms 1099. After reviewing feedback and anecdotal evidence from its income tax agents and tax […]

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How to Respond to the Growing Challenges of 1099-R Reporting

The demographics don’t lie: Reporting for form 1099-R is only going to grow more difficult as baby boomers retire. The form used to report distributions from IRA, pensions, annuities and other similar retirement accounts is poised to explode in volume. As such, financial institutions (FIs) and insurance companies can’t afford to mishandle 1099-R reporting. The […]

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As Legal Sports Gambling Grows, So Does Growth in W-2G Reporting

With the NCAA basketball tournament approaching, the US is gearing up for its biggest gambling weeks of the year. And while most “March Madness” pools might technically be illegal, legitimate sports betting is sweeping the US following last year’s landmark Supreme Court decision allowing states to legalize sports gambling in casinos.   As legal sports […]

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IRS Notice Is a Reminder that ACA Is Still in Place

The IRS recently published a notice reminding filers that, despite the repeal of the individual mandate of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in last year’s tax reform bill, individuals must still indicate on their returns whether they had health coverage. The ACA remains the law of the land for Tax Year 2018, with individuals still required to […]

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TIGTA Report Could Trigger IRS Action on 1099-K Threshold

The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) recently released a report making some significant recommendations to the IRS to improve taxpayer compliance in the gig economy. While the scope of the audit was intended to focus on compliance with self-employment taxes, the TIGTA quickly realized that the threshold and transaction limits for form 1099-K […]

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Government Shutdown, New Tax Law to Blame for Weak IRS Processing Numbers

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the volume of returns received and processed by the IRS is down this filing season compared to last year. The question is why, and the answer likely has more to do with the government shutdown and new tax law than with filers missing deadlines. Although it is early […]

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IRS Forms 1099-MISC vs. 1099-K: States Close Tax Reporting Gap

The rise of the so-called “gig economy” in the US has exploded in the last few years – last year, the Bureau of Labor & Statistics reported that 55 million people in the US are “gig workers” which represents about 35 percent of the US workforce — and it is supposed to rise to an […]

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3 Reasons Why Financial Institutions Struggle with Use Tax Management

It is the “other” tax, the one that doesn’t generally get the attention that income tax gets. But use tax can be full of nasty surprises for financial institutions (FIs) that don’t have it under control. With jurisdictions cracking down with audits, developing processes to handle use tax is becoming a significant concern for financial […]

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3 Major Challenges Insurers Face with 1099 Reporting

Note: Sovos attended a series of Insurance Accounting and Systems Association (IASA) events in 2018. What follows are some observations from speaking with attendees at those events. Like any other type of company, insurers are not immune to the complexities of 1099 reporting. The cumbersome chore, which most insurance companies tend to take on primarily […]

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Make Tax Compliance the Core of Your Financial Management Suite

As global enterprises further their digital transformation initiatives to move financial applications to the cloud, many are at a crossroads with how they choose a deployment strategy that consolidates disparate financial and other departmental solutions and processes. Many organizations that consolidated under the auspice of a single enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution to combine administrative […]

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IRS Uses Unprecedented Methods to Enforce ACA Reporting Penalties

With recent enforcement measures, the IRS has offered definitive proof that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is still alive and that the agency plans to strictly enforce ACA reporting. Last spring, the agency issued Letter 226J to Applicable Large Employers (ALEs) that failed to cover 95 percent of employees. ALEs are companies with 50 or […]

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Government Shutdown Will Not Move IRS 1099 Reporting Deadlines

UPDATE (Jan. 8): Reporting season is moving forward according to plan. The IRS has announced that it will process tax returns on schedule and without delays. While the agency will clarify its contingency plan in the coming days, organizations should proceed as planned with 1099 reporting and other seasonal filings. The IRS will recall a […]

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The 5 Biggest Stories in Indirect Tax Compliance 2018

2018 was a volatile year in indirect tax compliance for tax, finance and IT professionals worldwide. With an increase in globalization and tax gaps surpassing tens of billions in some countries, it’s not surprising that one of the biggest challenges governments are addressing is revenue collection. Like enterprises, governments are creating new, technology-driven processes to […]

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ACA, and Reporting Requirements, Remain in Place Despite Judge’s Decision

Affordable Care Act (ACA) reporting requirements for eligible employers remain in effect for Tax Year 2018 despite a ruling last week from a federal judge that held that the law is unconstitutional without penalties to enforce an individual mandate to purchase health insurance. With no injunction in place to shut down the law, the ACA […]

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7 Developments in 1099 and ACA Reporting to Look for in 2019

Season for Tax Year 2018 has arrived, meaning tax professionals will have to carry out reporting while keeping in mind all the regulatory and policy changes that went into effect in the previous year. But what should tax pros know about the developments likely to take place in 2019? Here are a few trends worth […]

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7 Regulatory Changes to Be Aware of before Tax Reporting Season Arrives

If there’s one lesson to take from 2018, it’s that tax information reporting isn’t getting any easier. Tightened deadlines, new forms and the end of the extension of time for reporting form 1099-MISC with nonemployee compensation are sure to cause some chaos when reporting season kicks off in January. In fact, 2018 ushered in a […]

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Lack of Clarity in Cryptocurrency Regulations Hasn’t Stopped IRS Enforcement

The IRS is getting ready to inundate tax professionals with guidance on taxation of cryptocurrency. When, exactly, that will happen is unclear. What is clear, however, is that the agency plans to enforce existing 1099 reporting regulations for crypto for now, something it has already shown a willingness to do. The question is how those […]

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10 Challenges of Native SAP Tax Compliance – Part Three

In my last blog, I discussed three additional challenges of native SAP tax management for growing companies facing multifaceted indirect tax requirements and continuous compliance mandates. These ranged from sales and use tax nexus rules to VAT requirements and filings. Additional challenges your IT, finance and tax teams face from native ERP tax management due […]

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