Cederwalls International Law Firm

The Supreme Courts took the easy way out and it looks like GILTI is here to stay or?

www.supremecourt.gov

We are working on getting the new annual services survey out. We are waiting on our IT support. If you are looking for it you have not missed it. We hope to get it out this week.

Some potential tax relief for the holidays.

IRS helps taxpayers by providing penalty relief on nearly 5 million 2020 and 2021 tax returns; restart of collection notices in 2024 marks end of pandemic-related pause | Internal Revenue Service IR-2023-244, Dec. 19, 2023 — In a major step to help people who owe back taxes, the Internal Revenue Service today announced new penalty relief for approximately 4.7 million individuals, businesses and tax-exempt organizations that were not sent automated collection reminder notices during the pan...

The office will be closed between December 25 and January 2nd. For urgent matters please e-mail [email protected] or text +46707756355

Today the Supreme Court of the United States heard oral arguements in one of the biggest tax cases in decades. Here is a link to the oral arguements.

Oral Argument - Audio File

Many of you may be interested in this webinar. Setting up the online account was a game changer for me.

How to Set Up an Online IRS & Social Security Account for Americans Abroad Democrats Abroad strives to provide Americans abroad a Democratic voice in our government and elect Democratic candidates by mobilizing the overseas vote.

Just a heads up to our clients. We are seeing new IRS scams via e-mail. Please note the IRS will NEVER e-mail you. If you get such an e-mail please check if your private e-mail to see if it has been breached. It is not always the case that there is anything wrong with your e-mail. Sometimes the scams are just sent to you because someone you know's e-mail was breached or randomly, but it is always good to check that your password has not been leaked. For example Google can show if your password shows up in known leaks. Stay safe in your e-mails by usuing 2 factor authentification (they send a message to another e-mail address or your phone) when you log-in from an unknown place. It is a pain but solving identity theft is a much bigger one so use it.

If you wonder where your refund is or why you did not get an answer when you called the IRS for the 20th time here is your answer.

www.gao.gov

Cederwalls wants to wish all of our clients a Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Holidays as we enter the holiday season.

We also want to take the opportunity to thank you for letting us assist you and your families in 2022. We will be closing the offices for the period December 21 through January 2nd to allow all of our associates the opportunity to get some well deserved rest and relaxation. We will have coverage on an all call basis for urgent matters, but we look forward to assisting you again in the new year.

We are helping the Democrates Abroad get their tax survey out and your opinion matters! Complete the Democrats Abroad Tax Survey by April 30
https://demsabroad.typeform.com/taxsurvey?typeform-source=url11.mailanyone.net.

Only 6 more days before the Democrats Abroad tax survey closes on April 30, be sure to complete it before the deadline! Your opinion is important to help us shape our tax advocacy priorities. We want to hear about the tax issues and problems you care about the most. The deadline is nearly here – so be sure to do it sooner rather than later. And feel free to forward the link to any friends or family that are Americans living abroad.

2022 Tax Survey of Americans Abroad All Americans abroad are invited to participate in the 2022 Tax Survey from Democrats Abroad. Be quick, the survey closes April 30.

Be prepared. https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2022/01/10/treasury-irs-filing-season/

Treasury warns of ‘enormous challenges’ this tax-filing season that could delay refunds Officials predict refunds and other services will be delayed.

Hej we at Cederwalls have been made aware that there is a attempted fraud going on. People (not our clients) are receiving payment notifcations from e-mail address that appear to be from Cederwalls. The e-mail address is a misspelling of Cederwalls ".com".

If you ever have a question as to whether the bill is authentic please contact us at [email protected].

The fraud has been reported to the police.

Democrats abroad are doing a survey about GILTI. They are working on getting relief from this tax, but in order for them to convince the right people they need some statistics. They are asking us to spread the survey to get as many responses as possible. I have read and contributed to some of the questions. I hope those of you who can will help by filling in the survey. Anything to get relief from this tax is a good thing.

https://www.democratsabroad.org/carmelan/let_s_get_gilti_tax_reform_this_year_congress_needs_data_take_this_survey

Let's Get GILTI Tax Relief This Year. Congress needs data. Take this survey. Let's get GILTI Tax relief into legislation this year. Congress needs data on Americans abroad who have small businesses hit by GILTI Tax. If you are an American living abroad ...

We at Cederwalls hope that all of you are having an amazing summer and finding some time to relax and recharge the batteries. We will also be taking a much needed break and will close the office between August 1 and August 15th. If you have an urgent matter you can always e-mail [email protected].

We know many of you are waiting for refunds or stimulus checks or even possibly a response from the IRS. We know that the IRS is running on more than a 16 week backlog for processing some forms of returns and even more for others. So do not worry if you are waiting on these things, they are just taking more time. Happy Summer

Hej good news for those of you with expired or expiring US Passports who cannot get a time at the embassy.

U.S. citizens may directly return to the United States with certain expired U.S. passports.

If you are overseas and your passport expired on or after January 1, 2020, you may be able to use your expired passport to return directly to the United States until December 31, 2021.

You qualify for this exception if all the following are true:
• You are a U.S. citizen.
• You are currently abroad seeking direct return to the United States.
• You are flying directly to the United States, a United States territory, or have only short-term transit (“connecting flights”) through a foreign country on your direct return to the United States or to a United States Territory.
• Your expired passport was originally valid for 10 years. Or, if you were 15 years of age or younger when the passport was issued, your expired passport was valid for 5 years.
• Your expired passport is undamaged.
• Your expired passport is unaltered.
• Your expired passport is in your possession.

You do not qualify for this exception if:
• You wish to depart from the United States to an international destination.
• You are currently abroad seeking to travel to a foreign country for any length of stay longer than an airport connection en route to the United States or to a United States territory.
• Your expired passport was limited in validity.
• Your expired passport is a special issuance passport (such as a diplomatic, official, service, or no-fee regular passport).
• Your expired passport is damaged.
• Your expired passport is altered.
• Your expired passport is not in your possession.

Please be advised that currently, routine passport processing in the United States can take 10-12 weeks. If you need a passport in less than 10-12 weeks due to international travel plans, you can pay an additional $60 fee to expedite your passport, which will shorten the processing time to 4-6 weeks.

Looks like the IRS can only charge one penalty per year for non-willful FBAR violations. In other words not $10,000 per account. This is good news if it sticks.
https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2021/03/24/19-55585.pdf

cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov

Well once in a while the IRS gives you a break. The IRS is extending not only the filing deadlines from the April 15 deadline, but also extending certain payments.

https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/tax-day-for-individuals-extended-to-may-17-treasury-irs-extend-filing-and-payment-deadline

Many of you have asked Cederwalls for help with understanding the IRS-supervised Economic Impact Payments (Stimulus checks). We understand how confusing it is to try and understand if, when, and how you can expect to receive an Economic Impact Payment.

Unfortunately, we at Cederwalls do not have any other information than that which is available on the IRS website (https://www.irs.gov/coronavirus/economic-impact-payments).

What we have been able to gleen is that we have seen a slightly greater tendancy for Swedish banks to cash the checks, but usually only if you are a long standing client.

If you have a US account usually you can cash the check through an app on your phone.

Additionally, we know that the option to update your bank account information was turned off once the checks started rolling out again.

As we understand it at this point if you did not yet receive the money, and you are eligible for it, the only way to receive the money is by filing your 2020 tax return. An adjustment will be made on the return reflecting either over payment (if you were not entitled to the payment but received one anyway) or underpayment if you were entitled to the payment but did not receive it.

If and when we obtain more information will will update this post. Thank you in advance from the Cederwalls Team.

Economic Impact Payments | Internal Revenue Service We’re committed to helping you get your economic impact, or stimulus, payment as soon as possible. See if you are eligible for an Economic Impact Payment.

Maybe just maybe. https://www.google.se/amp/s/www.bloomberg.com/amp/opinion/articles/2020-12-11/a-letter-on-tax-from-9-million-u-s-expats-to-janet-yellen

A Letter From 9 Million U.S. Expats to Janet Yellen The next Treasury secretary could make the lives of millions of Americans easier at no cost at all.

Welcome Back or God Fortsättning, Cederwalls is now back from our much needed holiday break and ready to start the new year off right. We are getting lots of questions about the second round of stimulus. Here is a link to the information we have. It appears that people with NRA spouses may be eligible this time for the stimulus. However, the only way to claim this is by filing you 2020 tax return. Please note that if you already had your account information registered with the IRS then you do not need to do anything and you should see the deposit in your account already or very shortly. If the IRS does not have direct deposit information for you, and you qualify based on your 2019 return, you will be receiving a check, which is, or will shortly be in the mail. If you did not previously file or qualify for the checks but would with your 2020 tax year the only way to get the credit is by fling you 2020 return. Unfortunately we cannot help you get the money any other way then by filing your 2020 return. The first checks are the $600 already authorized. If a new amount is determined then that will follow later.
https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/treasury-and-irs-begin-delivering-second-round-of-economic-impact-payments-to-millions-of-americans

Treasury and IRS begin delivering second round of Economic Impact Payments to millions of Americans | Internal Revenue Service IR-2020-280, December 29, 2020 – Today, the Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department will begin delivering a second round of Economic Impact Payments as part of the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021 to millions of Americans who received the first r...

Cederwalls would like to thank all of our clients for allowing us to serve you for another year. It has been a tough year for many of our clients and a challenging one for us here at Cederwalls. We have been working from our homes since March.

We miss eachother and meeting our clients face to face. Thank goodness for video meetings so we at least can see your faces but we miss talking over a cup of coffee with you.

We will be closing the office except for emergencies from the 21st of December for two weeks. We will back at our desks the 4th of January.

We want to wish you all a safe and happy holiday season and we hope the new year will bring us all back together.

Cederwalls in the news

Jurist: Behöver inte vara olagligt | SvD Under tio av femton år betalade USA:s president Donald Trump ingen federal inkomstskatt, skriver New York Times. Men det behöver inte vara olagligt. Det här skillnaden mellan det svenska och amerikanska skattesystemet.

Looks like our GILTI problem may have been resolved in most cases. The Treasury has finalized a partial exemption for companies that have already paid "high" foreign taxes, and better yet it is retroactive. In other words the GILTI tax won't apply to foreign income that has already been taxed in the foreign jurisdiction at 18.9% or more. See more here.

https://outline.com/XGdRvF

Treasury Says Final GILTI High-Tax Exception Is Retroactive - Law360

Deadline for extensions for US tax returns is quickly approaching. The 15th of July is the last day to pay amounts due and to apply for an extension. If you still need help and you have not gotten around to asking now would be the time. From the 20th of July the office will be on a skeleton crew as many of us will take our "staycations". We will be back up and almost fully staffed the second week of August. We here at Cederwalls wish you a happy summer and hope you all are safe in these crazy times.

For those who worry about their Swedish tax returns being in on time, the Swedish Tax Authority has given firms who provide tax services extra time to turn in their clients tax returns without penalty. The last day is July 15th. We of course are aiming for June 15th but just in case....

Med anledning av coronavirusets olika effekter kan det vara svårt för redovisningsbyråer att hinna upprätta alla deklarationer i tid. Därför kommer Skatteverket, utifrån reglerna om befrielse, inte att ta ut någon förseningsavgift så länge deklarationen lämnas senast den 15 juli 2020, det vill säga inom en månad från byråanståndets sista dag. Även om deklarationen kommer in senare än så, kan det finnas skäl till befrielse om era förutsättningar att lämna deklarationen påverkats särskilt av coronavirusets effekter.

The US Embassy in Stockholm will slowly start reopening for passport services. See the link below for more information.

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/ea/passport-covid-19.html

Passport Operations in Response to COVID-19 To prevent the spread of COVID-19 and protect our workforce and customers, we significantly reduced passport operations in March 2020. We temporarily suspended expedited passport processing and restricted service to cases involving life-or-death emergencies.

The latest from the IRS. If you did not file your 2018 or 2019 return because you were below the income threshold for those years you can register your direct deposit account through this web app.

https://www.irs.gov/coronavirus/non-filers-enter-payment-info-here

Non-Filers: Enter Payment Info Here | Internal Revenue Service Steps to receive the Economic Impact Payment if you haven't filed a tax return for 2018 or 2019, and aren't receiving Social Security, SS Disability Income or Railroad Retirement benefits. This payment is also referred to as "stimulus checks" or "coronavirus relief."

The latest update from the treasury. Social Security recipients who did not file a 2018 or 2019 will not need to file a return to receive the relief money. Here is how it will work.

https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sm967

Social Security Recipients Will Automatically Receive Economic Impact Payments | U.S. Department of the Treasury About Treasury General Information Role of the Treasury The Secretary Officials Organizational Chart Orders and Directives Offices Domestic Finance Economic Policy General Counsel International Affairs Management Tax Policy Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Inspectors General Bureaus Alcohol and....

Here are answers to many of your Stimulus Package questions. https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/economic-impact-payments-what-you-need-to-know

Economic impact payments: What you need to know | Internal Revenue Service IR-2020-61, March 30, 2020 — The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service today announced that distribution of economic impact payments will begin in the next three weeks and will be distributed automatically, with no action required for most people.

Many of our clients are asking about state filing deadlines, which have in most cases been extended to the Federal deadline of July 15. These extensions are for filing and payment. Here are some of the more common states we get questions about:

California:
https://www.ftb.ca.gov/about-ftb/newsroom/covid-19/extensions-to-file-pay.html

New York:
https://www.tax.ny.gov/press/alerts/nys-tax-response-to-covid-19.htm

Delaware:
https://news.delaware.gov/2020/03/23/delaware-extends-personal-income-tax-return-filing-deadline-to-july-15-2020/

Other states:https://www.aicpa.org/content/dam/aicpa/advocacy/tax/downloadabledocuments/coronavirus-state-filing-relief.pdf

COVID-19 Extensions to file and pay | FTB.ca.gov COVID-19 File and pay extensions