November Newsletter

1099-K WHAT IT IS AND WHO IT IMPACTS

Form 1099-K is used to report payments you received during the year from payment cards including credit, debit or stored value cards such as gift cards OR third-party payment networks including payment apps (such as Paypal or Venmo) or online marketplaces (such as Facebook, eBay, and Etsy).

While this form will report payments you received as a freelancer or other independent contractor (self-employed), it also will include money received for selling items like tickets to sporting events or concerts, items sold on Facebook Marketplace, or money received from a family member or friend. It is important to know that in the past, the amount necessary to report the payment(s) on a 1099-K was $10,000, this year it is only $600. Third-party payment processors are required to send a 1099-K to EVERYONE exceeding the $600 limit. This will be problematic for those individuals that receive 1099-K for transactions that are not income. For example, your college student's car broke down and you Venmo them $800 for the repairs. Venmo will send your student a 1099-K because Venmo doesn't know that this was just money you were giving your student and not a payment for work completed. The IRS recommends noting that these types of transactions are non-business when possible in the payment apps. If your transaction(s) is $600 or more, you will receive a 1099-K.



The 1099-K form must be included with all your other tax documents to process your tax return. Failure to include that 1099-K will result in a letter from the IRS and possible fines for failure to report income. It will be imperative that you indicate to us what amount reported on your 1099-K(s) was for personal payments that are not income and what amount was the result of sales of goods or services. If you have made any transactions using third party processors, such as Pay Pal, Venmo, or Apple Pay, or if you sold items on Facebook Marketplace, Ebay, etc you should expect to get a 1099-K.

Without a change from Congress or the IRS, this will be a very time consuming and frustrating item on the tax return for many clients. Your attentiveness to providing us with this information will help minimize the overall time and cost for us to complete your return.

SAFE SEND

As we continue to look for ways to be more efficient by relying on digital solutions, you will see us using SafeSend for more and more things. It is necessary for you to save documents and links that are sent to you, so you have easy access to them in the future. You should always have access to SafeSend through the links that are sent to you. As SafeSend continues to upgrade their platform, we believe that it will become even more user friendly.

We have some Best Practice suggestions for you going into this next tax season to save you time and to be more efficient:

1.   Create a folder on your computer where you can easily save links and documents that are sent to you. Every Jellison team member has an upload link in their email signature line. We recommend when you get an email from us, highlight that person's upload link, right click the link and then "save hyperlink". You can then paste the link in your folder. Whenever you have something to send, hover over the hyperlink and then hit control and right click your mouse. Or you can copy and paste the link to your browser. Either way, it will take you to the secure email page of the person you are wanting to contact. This will save you the time of searching through emails.

2.   While reviewing your tax return, there is an opportunity within the return to send it to your financial advisor. Go ahead and send it. It will save you time later when they ask for it. You will be able to go back into your return and send it later... but again, we are striving for efficiency.

3.   Also, while the return is open, save a pdf copy to your computer or print a hard copy for your records. In addition, save the link that Safe Send sent you to your Jellison CPA folder. This link will get you back to your return at any time. Now you have multiple ways to retrieve your tax return.

4.   READ YOUR DOCUMENTS! We have made several changes to the engagement letter and organizer letter in an effort to reduce confusion and to be more transparent. Please be sure to read the things that are sent to you thoroughly. Once you sign those letters you are acknowledging that you have read, understood and agree to the terms and conditions of the letter.

Please remember that we are no longer using the client portal to store tax returns. Any 2022 returns that were sent electronically can be found in SafeSend.

Please review the following updates for Required Minimum Distributions and Investment Contribution Limits.