Tax Provisions in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
Congress has approved and the President has signed new economic stimulus legislation, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The IRS is working closely with Congress and the administration on the stimulus legislation and will implement tax-related provisions of the new program as quickly as possible. Additional details will be available on this Web site, IRS.gov, as soon as they become available. See the link above for a few questions and answers on the legislation.
2009 Small Business Resource Guide Available! It’s on the Web
The IRS Small Business Resource Guide is changing from a CD to an online format for 2009, and it now has its very own web address! This will allow updates to be made as needed. Be sure to mark it as a “favorite” on your web browser.
Small Business Video and Audio Presentations
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new page on IRS.gov features video and audio presentations on a variety of topics for small businesses and self-employed taxpayers
New Page on IRS.gov - Bartering Income
In today’s economy, small-business owners are looking at other sources of commerce, including the exchange of goods and services, or bartering. Bartering is the trading of one product or service for another. Usually there is no exchange of cash. Any business owner or professional who has a product or service to offer can barter. While our ancestors may have exchanged eggs for corn, today you can barter computer services for auto repair. Another example of a one-on-one, non-barter exchange transaction is a plumber doing repair work for a dentist in exchange for dental services. The fair market value of the goods and services exchanged must be reported as income by both parties. Barter may take place on an informal one-on-one basis between individuals and businesses, or it can take place on a third party basis through a modern barter exchange company. For tax purposes, barter is treated like ordinary sales, and its value must be reported. The barter exchanges record all transactions and report them to the Internal Revenue Service. Taxpayers should treat barter income like any other business activity. Keep good records, work with a reputable barter exchange and consult the IRS or a tax professional with any questions.
See the Bartering Income page for more information on your how barter income is taxed, including depreciated assets, appreciated assets, how to report it if bartering is your trade or business, and a video on barter income.
New Page on IRS.gov - Online Auction Sellers Tax Center
This page includes links to information on reporting income and deducting expenses for online auction sellers, maintaining records, taxability of Online Auction sales proceeds, and how to tell if your online auction activity is a hobby or a business. There is also a link to a video which provides an overview of online auction seller tax responsibilities.
Tax Tips for 2009The Internal Revenue Service is offering a daily series of Tax Tips for the 2009 federal tax filing season that began this month. Tax Tips offer concise, useful information on topics affecting millions of taxpayers. More than 70 tips on federal taxes will be available with a new one for each business day until the April 15 tax filing deadline. Tips are available as easy-to-understand text as well as several audio files for podcast.
Sample text-based Tax Tip topics include:
- Choosing a tax preparer
- How e-file can make filing easier and getting you your refund faster
- What tax records to keep
- First-Time Homebuyer Credit
Taxpayers can receive new text-based Tax Tips via email when they are published by subscribing through the e-News Subscriptions page on IRS.gov.