Reminder: Taxpayers who requested an extension to file their 2018 tax return have until Tuesday, Oct. 15, to file. Some may have more time to file. Those include members of the military and taxpayers in federally declared disaster areas. See item 1 below for additional information regarding those effected by Tropical Storm Imelda.

In the news: IRS extends Oct. 15 filing deadline for Tropical Storm Imelda victims, and announces new payment option for taxpayers in private debt collection program
New IRS guidance issued regarding virtual currency
Tax situations when taking care of family
Keep your employees informed: 2 million ITINs set to expire in 2019; to avoid refund delays apply soon
FREE IRS webinar for employers and employees
Watch “Employment Tax Compliance” and other previously aired webinars on the IRS Video Portal

1. In the news: IRS extends Oct. 15 filing deadline for Tropical Storm Imelda victims, and announces new payment option for taxpayers in private debt collection program

IRS extends Oct. 15 and other upcoming deadlines, provides other tax relief for victims of Tropical Storm Imelda

IR-2019-164, October 7, 2019 – Victims of Tropical Storm Imelda in parts of Texas, including the Houston area, have until Jan. 31, 2020, to file various individual and business tax returns and make tax payments, the Internal Revenue Service announced this week.

New payment option available to taxpayers in private debt collection program

IR-2019-165, October 8, 2019 — Internal Revenue Service officials announced that a new payment option has been added to the private debt collection program to make it easier for those who owe to pay their tax debts.

2. New IRS guidance issued regarding virtual currency

On Oct. 9, the IRS issued two new pieces of guidance on the tax treatment of virtual currency for taxpayers who engage in transactions involving virtual currency. This expands on Notice 2014-21 issued in 2014 and helps business and individual taxpayers better understand their reporting obligations for specific transactions involving virtual currency.

The new guidance includes Revenue Ruling 2019-24 and frequently asked questions, including questions that address digital money transactions for those who hold virtual currency as a capital asset.

For more information, see Virtual currency: IRS issues additional guidance on tax treatment and reminds taxpayers of reporting obligations at IRS.gov/News.

3. Tax situations when taking care of family

In support of October’s National Work and Family Month. the IRS is providing tax information on a number of topics related to work-life balance.

Families often hire individuals to care for children and dependents so family members can work or actively look for work. These individuals include babysitters, caretakers, health aides, nannies, private nurses and au pairs. As employers, family members have certain tax responsibilities.

To read more about in-home care and the resulting tax implications, go to IRS.gov and view Family Caregivers and Self-Employment Tax and Hiring Household Employees.

4. Keep your employees informed: 2 million ITINs set to expire in 2019; to avoid refund delays apply soon

Taxpayers with expiring Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs) can get their ITINs renewed more quickly and avoid refund delays next year by submitting their renewal application soon.

An ITIN is a tax ID number used by taxpayers who don’t qualify to get a Social Security number. Any ITIN with middle digits 83, 84, 85, 86 or 87 will expire at the end of this year. In addition, any ITIN not used on a tax return in the past three years will expire.

The Internal Revenue Service encourages anyone affected to file a complete renewal application, Form W-7, Application for IRS Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, as soon as possible.

For more information, visit the ITIN information page on IRS.gov.

5. FREE IRS webinar for employers and employees

Understanding the 2020 Form W-4 and How to Use it to Compute Withholding
Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2019 2 p.m. Eastern Time.

This webinar will discuss:

New W-4 design
Steps 1 through 5 of the 2020 Form W-4
Who must use the 2020 Form W-4
How to complete two of the five worksheets from Publication 15-T

Webinar includes a live Q&A session. Closed captioning will be provided. To register, go to cl.sl.web.conference.team@irs.gov.

6. Watch “Employment Tax Compliance” and other previously aired webinars on the IRS Video Portal

The following IRS educational video is now archived and available for viewing in the IRS Video Portal: IRS Civil Enforcement - Field Collection Enforcement and Employment Tax Compliance.

This video previously aired Thursday, August 1, 2019.
The full transcript is provided as closed captioning.
The PowerPoint is posted for downloading under the Slides PDF link.

To view this and other archived webinars, visit the IRS Video Portal and click the All Webinars link at the bottom of the page.

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