Watters Accounting Inc.

Happy Tax Day! Be sure to file your taxes today or file your extension if you need more time- but remember payments are due today!

If you pay estimated taxes- remember that the due date is today, 9/15! Send in your payment (electronically or postmarked) today!

It's tax day! Finish up those taxes or don't forget to get your extension in if you need it. Tax payments are due today as well. Thank you for a great season!

April 18th is almost here! Some reminders for you - Things that are due by April 18th-
If you have filed and owe be sure to send in your check or pay online by the 18th.
If you contribute to your Traditional, Roth and/or HSA - those contributions are due April 18th to count towards the 2021 tax year.
Estimates for Quarter 1 2022 are also due April 18th.
If you haven't filed, file your extension by April 18th and send a payment in if you possibly owe to avoid penalities!
Don't forget if you took the Child Tax Credit in payments this year, your refund could be smaller and you could owe - take that into consideration when filing!

Last day for companies to submit and file W2's, 1099's, year-end and quarterly payroll reports. Busy day! Have a great Monday!

It's important to have your paperwork ready, file early, file electronically and opt for direct deposit of your refund. Be sure to have your Child Tax credit Paperwork that was sent a few weeks ago (if it applies to you) as well as the Economic Impact Payment paperwork that was just sent from the IRS this last week. It will help to make peparing your taxes easier in the end. If you have questions, be sure to talk to a tax professional first - calling the IRS has proven to be a very tiresome and virtually impossible task.

Taxpayers face overloaded IRS as filing season opens Monday An IRS worker shortage, an enormous workload from administering pandemic-related programs and stalled legislation that would have given the agency billions of dollars for more expeditiously processing returns will combine

Get one of these in the mail recently? (Received ours today, 1/5/22) Keep it with your tax info and don't forget to include it when preparing your taxes! It's your total 2021 Advance Child Tax Credit Payments amount for each parent (they come separately.) Your tax preparer will be asking for these forms so don't throw them away!

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas!

Happy October 15th! Last day to file your 2020 taxes! After today is another great time to talk to your accountant about any tax concerns you have for 2021 and 2022. It's also a great time to make sure your books are up to date to finish out the year strong! Remember if you change jobs, get a new job, start/stop your own business or anything else that might change your income- be sure to talk to your accountant to make sure you have the right direction so it won't cost you later. Thanks for a great season and now we can officially say "Goodbye" to 2020!

Happy Earth Day! At Watters Accounting for years we've been striving to reduce the paper and clutter involved with preparing taxes. Our office is almost all paper free (I say almost because the IRS/State does require us to keep some paperwork in paper form.) Clients can send us their paperwork via our secure portal to help reduce their carbon footprint by avoiding driving to drop off the paperwork or mailing it to us. Each year we try to do a bit more to help our Mother Earth!

Both the IRS and Oregon Department of Revenue have extended the tax deadline to May 17th.

Oregon bumps tax deadline to May 17 in line with IRS After theInternal Revenue Service extended the deadline for people to file their taxes this year from April 15 to May 17, the Oregon Department of Revenue has followed suit. An ODR spokesperson confirmed Wednesday that May 17 was the new cut-off date for Oregonians to file their state taxes for 2020...

Small Business Navigator: Commercial Rent Relief Program The Oregon Legislative Emergency Board on January 8, 2021, allocated $100 million to fund a new Commercial Rent Relief Program to provide financial assistance to small businesses and landlords adversely affected by economic conditions as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Great information if you lost food due to the storm here in Oregon.

Did you lose food purchased with SNAP due to a power outage during last weekend's storms? We may be able to replace your benefits.

Request replacement SNAP benefits within ten days of the food loss by:
Phone: 800-699-9075 or
Email: [email protected]

More info: https://oregon.gov/dhs/assistance/food-benefits/pages/replacement%20-benefits.aspx

For those that qualify, the AARP tax assistance is open for appointments.

Happy Friday! While you still can't file personal returns yet (window opens February 12th), you can get them ready and sent to your tax preparer! Take advantage of this 'slower' time and once the window opens to file, you'll be ready. If you think you have to pay - don't forget, you don't have to pay until April 15th, you can still file and have one big item checked off your list.

It looks a bit strange, close to what a credit card offer would look like - so be sure to open it and register the card. Check your mail often to prevent mail theft if you are eligible and haven't received your money. Some who had direct deposits last time received cards this time. Keep related paperwork for next years tax return as proof you received your payment.

Getting a lot of calls/emails from people confused after receiving an Economic Impact Payment card in the mail. Some people mistakenly thought it was junk mail. Here are few articles to help explain:
https://www.kgw.com/article/news/nation-world/second-stimulus-checks-debit-cards-mail/507-2be0a897-ee14-48bb-8dc6-38fe3612c444

https://www.aarp.org/money/taxes/info-2020/stimulus-payment-debit-cards/

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving! We are thankful for you!

A new round of grant money for Oregon businesses goes live today by 3pm PST. Check out this link for more information and to see if you qualify.

Small Business Navigator: Emergency Small Business Assistance Fund After four previous rounds of funding for the Emergency Small Business Assistance Fund program, the Oregon legislature and Governor Kate Brown approved $20 million more to Business Oregon’s Emergency Business Assistance Grant Fund.

Don't forget - July 15th is tax day! Be sure to file or extend by that date. If you owe- be sure to send in your payment to avoid penalties. October 15th is still the final day to submit tax returns for 2019 taxes. 2020 First and Second quarter estimates for Federal and most States are also due July 15th.

Important information! Scammers are out there and working hard to get your money, don't let them!

The first waves of Economic Impact Payments - aka, the 'stimulus check' - have already found their way into bank accounts across the nation... and color us not-surprised to find that stimulus scams have already claimed their fair share.

We cannot stress this enough: DO NOT ADVERTISE ON SOCIAL MEDIA THAT YOU HAVE RECEIVED YOUR CHECK.

While it is fun and exciting to share the good news (and make 'stimulating' jokes... looking at you, Steve...), broadcasting your account now has cash in it, especially on a public page or forum, is an easy way to alert thieves that you're a target worth their time.

So far most of these scams have lured victims through phishing schemes in which thieves are using fake but legitimate-looking websites, emails, text messages, and social media posts to trick unsuspecting users into handing over banking and personal data.

Be on the lookout for these red flags:

- The post/email/call/website emphasizes the words "Stimulus Check" or "Stimulus Payment." The official term is economic impact payment.

- Asks the taxpayer to sign over their economic impact payment check to them.

- Asks by phone, email, text or social media for verification of personal and/or banking information saying that the information is needed to receive or speed up their economic impact payment.

- Suggests that they can get a tax refund or economic impact payment faster by working on the taxpayer's behalf. This scam could be conducted by social media or even in person.

- Offers to mail the taxpayer a bogus check, perhaps in an odd amount, then tell the taxpayer to call a number or verify information online in order to cash it.

For more information on these and other IRS related scams, visit https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-issues-warning-about-coronavirus-related-scams-watch-out-for-schemes-tied-to-economic-impact-payments.

If you believe you are a victim of a scam and have sent funds, contact non-emergency dispatch at 503-629-0111. There is no need to report a call or email if you did not send funds.

Stay safe out there!

You might see this while checking. If you check too much you could get locked out for 24 hrs. The site is overwhelmed so try and be patient.

‘Payment Status Not Available’: IRS explains error message on ‘Get My Payment’ tool The Internal Revenue Service says its website is “is operating smoothly and effectively,” but some users are confused by an error message regarding their stimulus money.

Happy 'kinda' tax day! As most know the deadlines for tax day have been moved to July 15th. However! If you need to pay 2020 Quarter 1 estimated taxes for Oregon and/or estimated taxes for the Portland/Multnomah Business tax, those need to be mailed today! Check with your tax professional if you are unsure if you need to send an estimate in for 2020.

COVID-19 Relief Bill Facts

**Correction** Some updates to tax dates to take note: July 15th is the due date for contributing to traditional and Roth IRA's, as well as HSA accounts for the 2019 tax year. Since tax dates are changing, this is the current due date as far as we know.

RMD's: For those aged 70 1/2 and older you are not required to take your 2020 distribution. However, that might not be optimal for you. If in doubt, contact your tax professional. This does not apply to Beneficiary RMD's, you will still have to take those in 2020.

As always- right now many things are fluid and changing. Be sure to ask your tax professional how the changes might apply to you.

It's official now for Oregon too.

Oregon pushes back deadline for state taxes to July 15 Federal taxes are also due July 15, 2020.

A new week, a new update. Don't forget we can receive your paperwork electronically through our secure portal or via the mail. If you aren't comfortable with an appointment, you can also drop your paperwork off to us. We have a box outside our door - we will wave "Hi!" from a distance. We love to see our clients, but we completely understand during this time of uncertainty. Just contact us and we will work with you the best we can. Remember to make copies if you send us your paperwork just in case there is a slow down/stoppage of mail service and items are delayed.

Morning! I've been slacking on my posts this year- it's been busy!
March 16th has a few tax deadlines:
Corporate tax returns; Personal Property Tax return (no extensions); Oregon (and many other states) Corporation Tax Payment. Be sure to file an extension or get those filed and paid! Also remember- if you feel ill, want to stay home etc - we completely understand! We can do virtual meetings, send paperwork through our secure portal, send paperwork in the mail and also set you up for an extension if needed. Just contact us and we'll be happy to help! Stay well everyone.

Happy Tax Day! Don't forget to send in your payments and/or file an extension by today! If you have already filed - great job and see you next year! Thank you!