Lutz Named a 2020 Top Recommended Tax and Accounting Firm by Forbes

Lutz, a Nebraska-based business solutions firm, has been named a 2020 Top Recommended Tax and Accounting Firm in America by Forbes. The list identifies 227 firms across the U.S. who are most recommended for their tax and/or accounting services. Lutz is proud to have been named to both the “Best Tax Firms” and “Best Accounting Firms” lists.

To generate the Top Recommended Tax and Accounting Firms list, Forbes partnered with research company, Statista, to distribute a survey to various tax and accounting professionals including CPAs, tax lawyers, accountants, CFOs, and more. The survey asked participants to select the top ten tax and top ten accounting firms they would recommend based on their professional experience. Over 1,800 surveys were completed, and firms with the highest amount of recommendations were awarded. In total, 115 companies were named as “America’s Best Accounting Firms,” and 203 as “America’s Best Tax Firms.”

For a full list of Forbes’ 2020 Top Recommended Tax and Accounting Firms in America, please visit https://www.forbes.com/best-tax-firms/#54bd219324bd.

VIRTUAL CURRENCY + CRYPTOCURRENCY

The 2019 tax filing season is just around the corner and with that brings potential changes to tax compliance forms. It is anticipated that the IRS will be adding the following question to this year’s forms: “At any time during 2019, did you receive, sell, send, exchange, or otherwise acquire any financial interest in any virtual currency?”

The IRS is aware that taxpayers may have failed to report income and pay tax on virtual currency transactions or have reported their virtual currency transactions incorrectly. The IRS is actively addressing potential non-compliance in this area ranging from taxpayer educational letters to audits to criminal investigations.

Most recently, the IRS has issued Revenue Ruling 2019-24 and frequently asked questions (FAQs) to assist taxpayers in understanding reporting obligations for specific transactions involving cryptocurrency. The IRS explains cryptocurrency as a type of virtual currency that uses cryptography to secure transactions. These transactions are digitally recorded on a decentralized, public ledger. In this new Revenue Ruling, the IRS explains when cryptocurrency should be reported as gross income as a result of certain different types of transactions.

Since this cryptocurrency is considered “property, not currency” for federal tax purposes, the IRS has waived virtual currency from foreign bank account reporting FINCEN 114 and Form 8938 Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets. However, if you have dealt with cryptocurrency in the past or are currently engaging in cryptocurrency transactions, please discuss with your tax advisor. This will enable appropriate reporting decisions to be made, such as reviewing prior transactions to determine if an amended return should be filed, as well as reporting current transactions accurately for this tax year.

Lutz adds hesselgesser, hinrichs and masek to central nebraska offices

Lutz, a Nebraska-based business solutions firm, welcomes Kelli Hesselgesser to its Grand Island office, and Brooke Hinrichs and Leslie Masek to its Hastings office.

Kelli, Brooke, and Leslie join the team as staff accountants. They are responsible for preparing individual and business income tax returns, as well as providing credibility to clients through financial reporting.

Hesselgesser interned with Lutz in the summer of 2018, as well as, tax season 2018 and 2019. She graduated from Hastings College with a Bachelor’s degree in accounting.

Hinrichs interned with Lutz during tax season in 2018 and 2019. She graduated from Hastings College with a Bachelor’s degree in accounting.

Masek interned with Lutz during tax season in 2018. She received her Master’s degree in business administration from the University of Nebraska-Kearney.