A host of tax law changes, including changes in filing deadlines, face tax professionals and their clients this year.

W-2, 1099 Deadlines Change

Chief among the changes that will be felt first in early 2017 are the new filing deadlines for employers to file Form W-2, and for organizations paying non-employee compensation reported on Box 7 of Form 1099-MISC.

As  reported in W-2 and 1099 Filing Deadlines Compressed Next Year (AccountingToday), payors reporting on Form W-2 or Form 1099-MISC, Box 7, must now  file those forms with the IRS and Social Security Administration by January 31, the same day copies are due to recipients (payees). Previously, payors had to file with recipients by January 31, but had until February 28 to file with IRS and SSA, allowing more time for corrections.

Affordable Care Act Reminders

Of note: Forms 1095-B and 1095-C, required under the Affordable Care Act, are also required to be filed by January 31.

Separately, the IRS published a reminder last month, IRS Urges Taxpayers to Check Their Withholding; New Factors Increase Importance of Mid-Year Check Up (IRS).  In related news, see: Affordable Care Act Mid-Year Checkup: Count Your Contingent Workers (Musette Vincente, Jackson Lewis, P.C., National Law Review).

Income Tax Deadlines Shift

The 2016 tax year (returns filed in 2017) marks the first year that changes in federal income tax return deadlines take effect. These changes, supported by the AICPA, move up the filing deadline for certain returns, so that the related information returns (such as K-1s sent under Form 1065 partnership returns) will be received on a more timely basis by individuals and corporations to enable them to incorporate the information in their respective returns. In a related move, the IRS extended by one month the deadline for C-corporation returns to be filed.

The MACPA’s advocacy efforts were successful in winning a conforming change to the due date for C-corp returns in Maryland. (See: It’s a Wrap: Maryland General Assembly Ends 2016 Legislative Session.)

A recap of the new federal filing deadlines is available in: New IRS Filing Deadlines for Many Tax and Information Returns by Jim Moran of Baker Newman Noyes.

See also: Maryland Tax Legislation Enacted, Including New Private Letter Ruling Program, by Grant Thornton.

Hot Topics: Recent Tax Law Changes

Walter H. Nunnallee, JD., LL.M., CPA, adjunct professor at North Carolina Central University School of Law, shares some of the hot topics that tax practitioners and their clients should watch out for this year.

Nunnallee, the expert speaker at the MACPA’s upcoming Don Farmer Tax Workshops, will cover these topics in-depth in the 3-part series (offered in-person and via simulcast on the dates shown further below).

• Impact Of Expanded 50% Section 168(k) and Section 179 Deductions on Writing Off the Costs Of Improvements To Commercial Buildings (Covered In “Update” and “Corporate/Business” Seminars).

• Proposed Legislation Addressing Potential $100/Day Penalty For Employer Insurance Premium Reimbursement Plans (Covered in “Update,” “Individual,” and “Corporate/Business” Seminars).

• Discussion of Medicare Anti-Abuse Penalty That Could Apply to Employers That Reimburse Employees’ Medicare Premiums (Covered in “Update,” “Individual,” and “Corporate/Business” Seminars).

• New IRS Procedure Allowing Individuals to “Self Certify” That They Satisfied an Exemption to The 60-Day IRA Rollover Requirement (Covered in “Update” and “Individual” Seminars).

• Review of Selected New Tax Provisions Contained in A 42-Item Checklist That Are First Effective in 2016 (Covered in “Update,” “Individual,” and “Corporate/Business” Seminars).

Don Farmer Tax Workshops – Fall 2016

Nunnallee will be discussing the above hot topics and more at the MACPA’s upcoming Don Farmer Tax Workshops, known as, “The most fun you can have at a tax seminar.” Don’t take our word for it, see, NCCU’s Walter Nunnallee ‘Makes Tax Law Fun’ (TaxProf Blog), in which Duke law professor Larry Zelanak describes Nunnallee as ‘a real Pied Piper.’

Each of the MACPA’s Don Farmer Tax Workshops featuring Walter Nunnallee are offered in-person (at Martin’s West in Baltimore) and online (via simulcast) – choose which version best meets your needs. Each day’s program runs from 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., offering up to 8.0 CPE per day.

For additional information and to register, see:

• Oct. 28: Corporate/Business Income Tax Workshop (Early bird rate expires Sept. 28!)

• Nov. 10-11: Individual Income Tax Workshop (Early bird rate expires Oct. 10!)

• Dec. 2: Federal Tax Update (Early bird rate expires Nov. 2!)