Latest news with #TaxStatus
Yahoo
12-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Tax Day Countdown: 4 Reasons Retirees Should Use Accountants for Their Taxes in 2025
There is no shortage of tax filing software available for a pretty decent price (at least when compared to the price of hiring an accountant, for an average of $37 per hour, depending on location). Though this software generally gets the job done, it's likely to do so in a bare minimum way — and costly errors can occur. Discover More: Read Next: Everyone filing their taxes should consider enlisting the help of a living, breathing certified public accountant (CPA), but retirees should be even more keen on getting human-expert help. Why? Financial experts discussed the four reasons retirees should use accountants in 2025. Tax laws are always changing, and retirees need to stay in the loop. If you don't understand these laws, you could accidentally break one. 'Retirees might spend the extra money on a CPA to ensure they fully understand the tax laws around withdrawing from retirement accounts and the potential implications,' said Joe DiSanto, a financial advisor, fractional chief financial officer (CFO) and founder of Play Louder. 'This includes managing Social Security in combination with other withdrawals, understanding combined income limits, tax brackets and optimizing withdrawals from retirement accounts or taxable brokerage accounts for living expenses.' Find Out: Accountants can help retirees stay safe from bad actors looking to scam you via your tax filings. 'CPAs have access to technology-driven solutions that integrate directly with the IRS to monitor a retiree's account activity in real time,' said Kevin Knull, certified financial planner (CFP) and president at TaxStatus. 'With this active monitoring, the advisor can promptly identify suspicious behavior and address potential threats before they escalate into serious issues.' Mistakes are never made on purpose (that would defy the definition of 'mistake'), but the IRS doesn't care. It'll penalize you for an error, however innocent it is. An accountant has the intellect and know-how to help you avoid messing up important information. 'CPAs play a crucial role in helping retirees avoid costly mistakes in filing taxes, and in finding additional financial and tax planning opportunities,' Knull said. 'CPAs are equipped to avoid errors in tax planning that can lead to unexpected tax liabilities, penalties and audit risks. 'Examples of tax planning mistakes from a lack of data include: missed tax deductions and credits; overlooking unreported income; failure to adjust for tax liabilities on past earnings; incorrect Roth conversion recommendations; non-compliance with IRS reporting requirements and delayed filing deadlines due to missing information.' Think of hiring an accountant as an investment if only because they can help you lower your tax liability and claim money-saving deductions. 'Accountants play a critical role in ensuring retirees take full advantage of all tax deductions, credits and strategies to minimize taxable income,' said Melissa Murphy Pavone, founder at Mindful Financial Partners. We've highlighted the four reasons retirees should use accountants, but what if money is really tight? If that's the case, you might be able to safely skip this expense. Emphasis on the word 'might.' It depends on how complicated your finances are — and how much money you're reeling in. 'The complexity of a retiree's financial situation often determines whether they need a CPA,' DiSanto said. 'If someone's pretax retirement income is in the range of $4,000 to $5,000 per month, their tax liability might be minimal, and their situation might not be overly complicated. 'However, for retirees with higher income — say $100,000, $200,000 or $300,000 per year from sources like IRAs, 401(k)s, Roth accounts, life insurance, Social Security or taxable brokerage accounts — it might make sense to seek professional advice,' DiSanto said. 'A CPA can help navigate capital gains, dividends and other considerations to maximize efficiency.' If you do go the route of hiring a CPA, it's crucial to verify their credentials before commencing work. 'If you're going to pay someone, I'd recommend at least an enrolled agent who can represent you in case of an audit,' DiSanto said. More From GOBankingRates 5 Types of Vehicles Retirees Should Stay Away From Buying 7 Tax Loopholes the Rich Use To Pay Less and Build More Wealth 4 Things You Should Do if You Want To Retire Early 4 Affordable Car Brands You Won't Regret Buying in 2025 This article originally appeared on Tax Day Countdown: 4 Reasons Retirees Should Use Accountants for Their Taxes in 2025 Sign in to access your portfolio
Associated Press
13-03-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
VenturEd Solutions' SSS Powered by TaxStatus Unveils the Future of Financial Aid Awarding: a Smarter, Faster, and More Secure Process for Private K-12 Schools
School and Student Services® (SSS) powered by TaxStatus® has ushered in a new era of financial aid awarding for private K-12 schools with its groundbreaking, direct IRS integration, unveiled at the NAIS Thrive event. With TaxStatus' advanced IRS integration, SSS provides schools with immediate access to verified financial data while safeguarding families through secure identity verification methods, including This enhancement reduces application barriers for families and enables schools to make timely financial aid decisions without relying on manual or outdated methods. SSS' transformational integration with TaxStatus generated significant enthusiasm at NAIS' Thrive 2025 event, capturing the attention of financial aid and enrollment professionals from across the country. 'NAIS has long provided schools with a trusted methodology to equitably assess family ability to pay school costs. We are excited to collaborate with SSS in their work to enhance the financial aid process by leveraging TaxStatus to provide accurate, IRS-verified financial data and deep insights directly to schools, as these steps will certainly improve the quality and efficiency of financial aid decision-making and outcomes for both families and schools,' said Mark Mitchell, Vice President, Access & Affordability of NAIS (National Association of Independent Schools). With this advancement, SSS removes long-standing obstacles in the financial aid process—reducing the time for family income verification from days to minutes, gaining insight into family-owned business tax data, reducing manual errors, and preventing issues caused by missing documents. Unlike competitors attempting to replicate its functionality, TaxStatus brings deep expertise in interpreting, monitoring, and managing IRS data at scale with secure identity verification and protection, far-exceeding manual form submission. Backed by bank-grade, enterprise-grade security, TaxStatus' practices are continuously audited by experts to ensure financial information is protected. Additionally, SSS now enables admissions, enrollment, and financial teams to receive real-time updates when there are income changes—such as a newly filed 1099 or self-employment quarterly filing—ensuring schools can make more informed, timely, and fair financial aid decisions with ongoing updates from the IRS for up to three years. Transform your Financial Aid experience and learn more at their upcoming webinar. Industry Leaders Applaud SSS Powered by TaxStatus at NAIS Thrive 2025 'The response at NAIS Thrive was superb. Schools are excited about how this innovation will allow them to meet families where they are, no matter their financial aid needs,' said Nick Laird, CEO of VenturEd Solutions. 'At VenturEd Solutions, we are committed to bringing future-focused solutions to the market, ensuring private and independent schools have the best tools to support students and families.' Speaking to the value of SSS with this new partnership, Cara Gregory, Director of Technology at The Linsly School notes, 'As both a parent and an IT director, I've seen firsthand how critical accurate financial data is to ensuring families receive the right financial support. With SSS powered by TaxStatus, the seamless integration eliminates manual errors and significantly reduces processing time for our staff. What's even more valuable is how it automatically updates with the latest tax information in real time, ensuring that financial aid decisions are always based on the most up-to-date data.' Touching on the power of SSS with TaxStatus' data and reporting, Mike Cobb, Senior Innovation & Organizational Strategist at Mission & Data and Futurist in Residence at Forsyth Country Day School notes, 'The convergence of TaxStatus with SSS represents an important shift in the future by providing schools real-time, verified tax data with unprecedented precision and speed, allowing for more equitable and efficient financial aid decisions. This innovation not only enhances the financial sustainability of schools but also unlocks the potential for dynamic, flexible tuition models, where resources are utilized to fulfill vision, mission, and values.' Charles Almond, Founder and CEO of TaxStatus will be a featured presenter for their upcoming March 27 financial aid SSS webinar, giving financial aid, enrollment, and admissions practitioners the opportunity to hear directly from the leaders behind this transformation. In this exclusive webinar, attendees will engage with top executives from TaxStatus and SSS, ask their most pressing questions, and see firsthand how this partnership is reshaping financial aid processing. Join the Next Era of Financial Aid Webinar – Register Now. About VenturEd Solutions: VenturEd Solutions is a leading solution provider exclusively dedicated to powering the success of K-12 schools, students, and families. With innovative solutions rooted in more than 50 years of service to the education sector, VenturEd Solutions, formerly Education Brands from Community Brands, empowers schools worldwide with efficient, customizable solutions that strengthen operations and drive growth. VenturEd Solutions serves more than one million students and families at over 28,000 schools, districts, dioceses, multi-academy trusts, and educational organizations globally. This comprehensive suite of solutions supports admissions and enrollment, financial aid, tuition, student information management, school payments, communications, data, and analytics to ensure schools achieve their goals and make a lasting impact in their communities. About SSS: School and Student Services (SSS) is a trusted financial aid management solution for K-12 private and independent schools. Powered by NAIS' industry-standard methodology, SSS provides schools with the tools and insights they need to make fair, consistent, and mission-aligned financial aid decisions. With an intuitive, family-friendly application process and robust administrative features, SSS simplifies financial aid management, helping schools increase access, promote diversity, and support sustainable enrollment growth. About TaxStatus: TaxStatus is a cutting-edge IRS account monitoring and tax data platform designed for financial professionals and the clients they serve, provided through a direct, two-way integration with the IRS. TaxStatus is a one-of-a-kind, truly innovative solution in the financial services industry. The product solves three important problems for financial advisors: eliminating the friction in obtaining tax data, providing continuous IRS account monitoring, and providing insights and data necessary to provide improved tax and financial planning recommendations. The platform provides: (1) frictionless access to consent-based IRS tax data, allowing financial professionals to obtain their clients' individual, business, and trust official IRS records digitally with ease and 100% accuracy, (2) continuous IRS account monitoring to ensure advisors and their clients are aware of any changes to an IRS account including filing status, refund status, taxes/penalties/liens due, audit activity, and even fraud alerts, and (3) unparalleled tax and financial planning insights covering thousands of data points per taxpayer, which surface advice opportunities specific to each client for hyper-personalized recommendations. The result is the most complete and accurate financial picture for any taxpayer, which ultimately helps advisors deliver better financial plans, better advice, and better client outcomes. Media Contact Nettie Reynolds Senior Manager Content/Media 512-815-0520 Contact Information: VenturEd Solutions Nettie Reynolds 512-815-0520
Yahoo
08-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
6 Benefits To Filing Taxes Early for Retirees
Filing taxes isn't most people's idea of fun, but it's usually better to file early. After all, filing late can lead to some hefty penalties. The failure-to-file penalty is 5% of the taxes owed per month the payment is late (25% maximum). The failure-to-pay penalty is up to 25% of the unpaid taxes. Read More: Find Out: 3 Sneaky Things You Didn't Realize Your Tax Software Was Doing — And How to Stop Them This Year Even retirees should still file a tax return since many types of income are taxable at the federal — and in some cases — state level. And while it's possible to request an extension, as the IRS predicts 19 million taxpayers will do this year, it's generally best to get it out of the way. If you need further convincing, here are the top benefits of filing taxes early as a retiree. Anyone can be the target of fraud or identity theft, with many bad actors specifically going after retirees. Unfortunately, this may become even more prevalent of an issue going forward due in no small part to the National Public Data breach that occurred in 2024. 'In the summer of 2024, the National Public Data (NPD) breach exposed 272 million taxpayer identification numbers (TINs) and 2.9 billion records, including Social Security numbers. It was one of the largest data breaches in history,' said Kevin Knull, CFP and president at TaxStatus. Discover Next: 'One of the most severe consequences of identity theft in the aftermath of the NPD breach is the increased probability of fraudulent tax returns,' Knull continued. 'Criminals can use stolen TINs to file fake and fraudulent returns, often claiming large refunds long before the legitimate taxpayer files and is aware of an issue.' Filing early can help protect you in the face of tax-related fraud and identity theft. 'With this level of threat, the earlier a legitimate return is filed, the less opportunity there is for criminals to submit a fraudulent one in its place,' said Knull. 'It has never been more vital for taxpayers to file taxes as early as possible this year.' Waiting to file also means having to deal with plenty of people with the same idea. If you want to avoid the tax rush, and the headache that often entails, file early. 'One of the things I would say about filing taxes earlier is avoiding the madness of the tax rush,' said John Adams, CPA and fractional CFO expert at Bridgewater Tax and Financial Consulting. 'It is easier for a paid preparer to focus on your taxes earlier in the tax season rather than the rush.' Simply put, filing early gives you more time to figure out what might be missing from your tax return. 'Filing early gives you more time to identify and collect any missing information needed to file your return,' said Mark Luscombe, principal analyst for Wolters Kluwer's Tax and Accounting Division North America. It also gives you the chance to figure out how you're going to pay the taxes you owe, if any. 'Preparing your tax return early gives you more time to calculate the taxes that you owe and to make sure you have the funds available to pay any remaining tax due with the tax return,' said Luscombe. Whether you're living on a fixed income as a retiree, or you have a complicated portfolio, having more time is rarely a bad thing. According to the IRS, the average refund amount is $3,138. But setting the amount itself aside, filing early could mean getting that refund sooner than expected. For retirees who rely on this refund as a part of their regular income, this can be huge. 'If you file your taxes earlier, you are likely to get your refund earlier,' said Jay Zigmont, PhD, CFP and founder of Childfree Wealth. 'Refunds are generally processed in the order received. As we get closer to April 15th, there ends up being a backlog, and refund times tend to lengthen.' Handling your financials in retirement can be complicated. Once you reach a certain age (typically 73 years old), you must also start taking the required minimum distributions from your accounts. Accounts subject to RMDs include traditional IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs, and SEP accounts. 'If you are in the first year of having to make a Required Minimum Distribution, [filing early] will give you more time to plan which accounts to take the money out of and when,' said Adams. When you retire, the last thing you need is more stress of hassle. Filing your taxes early gets them off your plate so you can focus on other things that matter to you. 'Many people, including myself, file their taxes early just to get them out of the way,' said Zigmont. 'No one likes doing their taxes, so why wait and have to worry about it for a longer time?' More From GOBankingRates 4 Low-Risk Ways To Build Your Savings in 2025 3 Things You Must Do When Your Savings Reach $50,000 This article originally appeared on 6 Benefits To Filing Taxes Early for Retirees Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
08-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
6 Benefits To Filing Taxes Early for Retirees
Filing taxes isn't most people's idea of fun, but it's usually better to file early. After all, filing late can lead to some hefty penalties. The failure-to-file penalty is 5% of the taxes owed per month the payment is late (25% maximum). The failure-to-pay penalty is up to 25% of the unpaid taxes. Read More: Find Out: 3 Sneaky Things You Didn't Realize Your Tax Software Was Doing — And How to Stop Them This Year Even retirees should still file a tax return since many types of income are taxable at the federal — and in some cases — state level. And while it's possible to request an extension, as the IRS predicts 19 million taxpayers will do this year, it's generally best to get it out of the way. If you need further convincing, here are the top benefits of filing taxes early as a retiree. Anyone can be the target of fraud or identity theft, with many bad actors specifically going after retirees. Unfortunately, this may become even more prevalent of an issue going forward due in no small part to the National Public Data breach that occurred in 2024. 'In the summer of 2024, the National Public Data (NPD) breach exposed 272 million taxpayer identification numbers (TINs) and 2.9 billion records, including Social Security numbers. It was one of the largest data breaches in history,' said Kevin Knull, CFP and president at TaxStatus. Discover Next: 'One of the most severe consequences of identity theft in the aftermath of the NPD breach is the increased probability of fraudulent tax returns,' Knull continued. 'Criminals can use stolen TINs to file fake and fraudulent returns, often claiming large refunds long before the legitimate taxpayer files and is aware of an issue.' Filing early can help protect you in the face of tax-related fraud and identity theft. 'With this level of threat, the earlier a legitimate return is filed, the less opportunity there is for criminals to submit a fraudulent one in its place,' said Knull. 'It has never been more vital for taxpayers to file taxes as early as possible this year.' Waiting to file also means having to deal with plenty of people with the same idea. If you want to avoid the tax rush, and the headache that often entails, file early. 'One of the things I would say about filing taxes earlier is avoiding the madness of the tax rush,' said John Adams, CPA and fractional CFO expert at Bridgewater Tax and Financial Consulting. 'It is easier for a paid preparer to focus on your taxes earlier in the tax season rather than the rush.' Simply put, filing early gives you more time to figure out what might be missing from your tax return. 'Filing early gives you more time to identify and collect any missing information needed to file your return,' said Mark Luscombe, principal analyst for Wolters Kluwer's Tax and Accounting Division North America. It also gives you the chance to figure out how you're going to pay the taxes you owe, if any. 'Preparing your tax return early gives you more time to calculate the taxes that you owe and to make sure you have the funds available to pay any remaining tax due with the tax return,' said Luscombe. Whether you're living on a fixed income as a retiree, or you have a complicated portfolio, having more time is rarely a bad thing. According to the IRS, the average refund amount is $3,138. But setting the amount itself aside, filing early could mean getting that refund sooner than expected. For retirees who rely on this refund as a part of their regular income, this can be huge. 'If you file your taxes earlier, you are likely to get your refund earlier,' said Jay Zigmont, PhD, CFP and founder of Childfree Wealth. 'Refunds are generally processed in the order received. As we get closer to April 15th, there ends up being a backlog, and refund times tend to lengthen.' Handling your financials in retirement can be complicated. Once you reach a certain age (typically 73 years old), you must also start taking the required minimum distributions from your accounts. Accounts subject to RMDs include traditional IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs, and SEP accounts. 'If you are in the first year of having to make a Required Minimum Distribution, [filing early] will give you more time to plan which accounts to take the money out of and when,' said Adams. When you retire, the last thing you need is more stress of hassle. Filing your taxes early gets them off your plate so you can focus on other things that matter to you. 'Many people, including myself, file their taxes early just to get them out of the way,' said Zigmont. 'No one likes doing their taxes, so why wait and have to worry about it for a longer time?' More From GOBankingRates 4 Low-Risk Ways To Build Your Savings in 2025 3 Things You Must Do When Your Savings Reach $50,000 This article originally appeared on 6 Benefits To Filing Taxes Early for Retirees
