If you start a business, one key to success is to know about your federal tax obligations. You may need to know not only about income taxes but also about payroll taxes. Here are five basic tax tips that can help get your business off to a good start.

1.Business Structure.  As you start out, you’ll need to choose the structure of your business. Some common types include sole proprietorship, partnership and corporation. You may also choose to be an S corporation or Limited Liability Company. You’ll report your business activity using the IRS forms which are right for your business type.

2.Business Taxes.  There are four general types of business taxes. They are income tax, self-employment tax, employment tax and excise tax. The type of taxes your business pays usually depends on which type of business you choose to set up. You may need to pay your taxes by making estimated tax payments.

3.Employer Identification Number.  You may need to get an EIN for federal tax purposes. Search “do you need an EIN” on IRS.gov to find out if you need this number. If you do need one, you can apply for it online.

4.Accounting Method.  An accounting method is a set of rules that determine when to report income and expenses. Your business must use a consistent method. The two that are most common are the cash method and the accrual method. Under the cash method, you normally report income in the year that you receive it and deduct expenses in the year that you pay them. Under the accrual method, you generally report income in the year that you earn it and deduct expenses in the year that you incur them. This is true even if you receive the income or pay the expenses in a future year.

5.Employee Health Care.  The Small Business Health Care Tax Credit helps small businesses and tax-exempt organizations pay for health care coverage they offer their employees. A small employer is eligible for the credit if it has fewer than 25 employees who work full-time, or a combination of full-time and part-time. Beginning in 2014, the maximum credit is 50 percent of premiums paid for small business employers and 35 percent of premiums paid for small tax-exempt employers, such as charities.

For 2015 and after, employers employing at least a certain number of employees (generally 50 full-time employees or a combination of full-time and part-time employees that is equivalent to 50 full-time employees) will be subject to the Employer Shared Responsibility provision.

Get all the tax basics of starting a business on IRS.gov at the Small Business and Self-Employed Tax Center.

Additional IRS Resources:

• Publication 505, Tax Withholding and Estimated Tax
• Publication 334, Tax Guide for Small Business
• Publication 225, Farmers Tax guide
• Publication 535, Business Expenses
• Publication 587, Business Use of Your Home
• Publication 510, Excise Taxes
• Publication 538, Accounting Periods and Methods

IRS YouTube Videos:

• Small Business Health Care Tax Credit – Spanish | ASL
• IRS Online Tax Calendar – English | Spanish | ASL
• Simplified Home Office Deduction – English | Spanish | ASL

IRS Podcasts:

• Small Business Health Care Tax Credit – English | Spanish
• IRS Online Tax Calendar – English | Spanish
• Simplified Home Office Deduction – English | Spanish

You may need copies of your filed tax returns for many reasons. For example, they can help you prepare future tax returns. You’ll need them if you have to amend a prior year tax return. You often need them when you apply for a loan to buy a home or to start a business. You may need them if you apply for student aid. If you can’t find your copies, the IRS can give you a transcript of the information you need, or a copy of your tax return. Here’s how to get your federal tax return information from the IRS:

• Transcripts are free and you can get them for the current year and the past three years. In most cases, a transcript includes the tax information you need.
• A tax return transcript shows most line items from the tax return that you filed. It also includes items from any accompanying forms and schedules that you filed. It doesn’t reflect any changes you or the IRS made after you filed your original return.
• A tax account transcript includes your marital status, the type of return you filed, your adjusted gross income and taxable income. It does include any changes that you or the IRS made to your tax return after you filed it.
• You can get your free transcripts immediately online. You can also get them by phone, by mail or by fax within five to 10 days from the time IRS receives your request.

• To view and print your transcripts online, go to IRS.gov and use the Get Transcript tool.
• To order by phone, call 800-908-9946 and follow the prompts. You can also request your transcript using your smartphone with the IRS2Go mobile phone app.
• To request an individual tax return transcript by mail or fax, complete Form 4506T-EZ, Short Form Request for Individual Tax Return Transcript. Businesses and individuals who need a tax account transcript should use Form 4506-T, Request for Transcript of Tax Return.

• If you need a copy of your filed and processed tax return, it will cost $50 for each tax year. You should complete Form 4506, Request for Copy of Tax Return, to make the request. Mail it to the IRS address listed on the form for your area. Copies are generally available for the current year and past six years. You should allow 75 days for delivery.
• If you live in a federally declared disaster area, you can get a free copy of your tax return. Visit IRS.gov for more disaster relief information.

Tax forms are available 24/7 on IRS.gov. You can also call 800-TAX-FORM (800-829-3676) to get them by mail.

Additional IRS Resources:

• Tax Topic 156 – Copy of Your Tax Return – How to Get One

IRS YouTube Videos:

• IRS2Go 4.0 – English | Spanish | ASL

IRS Podcasts:

• IRS2Go 4.0 – English | Spanish

On Monday (June 27, 2016) the USCIS  introduced a new and improved version of INFOPASS, the online system for scheduling an appointment at a USCIS office.

The improvements include an improved visual style and a mapping function that makes it easier to find a local office in the United States. A new web address will allow access to the scheduling online system:

https://my.uscis.gov/appointment

This morning the U.S. Supreme Court deadlocked  in a 4 to 4 split vote in the long-awaited case, United States v. Texas, which challenged the President’s 2014 executive order regarding DACA and DAPA. The decision effectively upholds the lower court’s injunction and halts the expansion of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and the creation of a new program known as Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA). The original DACA program which was implemented several years ago will remain in place. The onus is now on the U. S. Congress to address comprehensive  immigration reform and the future of the 4 million who could have received at least employment authorization.

IR-2016-85, June 7, 2016

WASHINGTON — With the assistance of top digital experts at U.S. Digital Service and other security authorities, the Internal Revenue Service today launched a more rigorous e-authentication process for taxpayers that will significantly increase protection against identity thieves impersonating taxpayers to access tax return information through the IRS Get Transcript online service.  This enhanced authentication process will also provide a foundation for additional IRS self-help services in the future.

After being disabled last spring, Get Transcript Online is now available for all users to access a copy of their tax transcripts and similar documents that summarize important tax return information. Today’s formal relaunch of Get Transcript Online addresses increased cybersecurity threats by using a new, more secure access framework. This framework enables the IRS to require a two-step authentication process for all online tools and applications that require a high level of assurance.

“The IRS is committed to the protection of taxpayer information and the security of our systems,” said IRS Commissioner John Koskinen. “Criminals are becoming increasingly sophisticated and continue to gather vast amounts of personal information as the result of data breaches at sources outside the IRS. In the face of that threat, we must provide the strongest possible authentication processes, while trying to enhance the ability of taxpayers to legitimately access their data and use IRS services online. We recognize that enhanced security will increase the challenge for taxpayers accessing our on-line services.”

While some taxpayers may now find it more difficult to authenticate their identities with this strengthened process, the IRS is committed to making sure everyone accessing the site will be able to do so in a safe and secure way. The IRS continues to support multiple options for those taxpayers who may be unable to access online features or who prefer to obtain information in more traditional ways. These options currently include ordering transcripts online or by phone for receipt by mail, which typically are delivered to the address of record within five to 10 days. The IRS continues to look for ways to expand options for all taxpayers.

“The incident with Get Transcript Online illustrates a wider truth about identity theft in general, which is that there are no perfect systems,” Koskinen said. “No one, either in the public or private sector, can give an absolute guarantee that a system will never be compromised. For that reason, we continue our comprehensive efforts to update the security of our systems, protect taxpayers and their data and investigate crimes related to stolen identity refund fraud.”

Tax transcripts are summaries of tax returns. Transcripts often are used for non-tax purposes, such as income validation for mortgages or student loans. Taxpayers also can use transcripts to obtain their prior-year adjusted gross income (AGI), which they need in order to e-file their tax returns.

A report by the Appleseed Network found that the U.S. topped the list of remittance sending countries, at $56 billion at the end of 2014. The Appleseed report, Sending Money: The Path Forward, is based on data from a survey of international remittance customers’ preferences and behavior.

WASHINGTON, D.C. Landmark federal safeguards adopted in 2013 are protecting money sent abroad and the U.S. residents who send it, resulting in a stronger economy at home, according to a new survey released today by the Appleseed Network (“Appleseed”).

Before Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) regulations increased pricing transparency for remittances used by immigrants and others to send money overseas, customers had inadequate up-front information about fees and exchange rates needed to compare the cost of different services. The report is significant in part because more than $600 billion was sent abroad using remittances last year, a number that is rapidly growing, with the U.S. topping the list of remittance sending countries, at $56 billion at the end of 2014, the latest year for which national data is available. Both figures dwarf the $46 billion in foreign assistance spent by the U.S. government in 2015.

The new Appleseed report, Sending Money: The Path Forward, is based on data from a survey of international remittance customers’ preferences and behavior, administered by Appleseed in five states from September 2015 through December 2015. Appleseed Centers in Connecticut, Kansas, Nebraska, Texas and Washington surveyed a total of 702 customers about their typical remittance transactions, comparison shopping behaviors, past problems with remittances, knowledge of their rights, and overall confidence in remittance services.

Appleseed played a lead role in advocating for the first U.S. federal consumer regulations for this important consumer financial service. The regulations were issued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) based on the authority contained in Section 1073 of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act and became effective October 28, 2013. The intent of these regulations was to increase the transparency of the remittance process by mandating uniform disclosures so that consumers are better equipped to compare different remittance providers and make the most informed choice about which provider to use. The regulation also requires that the disclosures be in the foreign languages principally used by the remittance transfer provider to advertise, solicit, or market remittance transfer services.