Will New Tax Laws Catch You by Surprise in 2015?

You may get a chance to breathe for a minute now that April 15 has passed, but the North and South Carolina Departments of Revenue have been hard at work making changes in tax laws and accessibility that impact you and your business. Whether you’re an individual or part of a corporation, these recent changes may affect how you file your taxes.

North Carolina: 

• Tax Matrix Changes: Recently, the North Carolina DOR made adjustments to how certain tax definitions are treated in the taxability matrix. These include Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreements, among others. Also included are some tax changes that were made effective at the end of May 2015.

South Carolina:

• Veteran Property Tax Exemptions: South Carolina veterans and their spouses should see changes to property tax exemptions this Summer beginning June 1, 2015. The tax exemption previously included two (2) passenger vehicles owned or leased by the veteran, to the spouse of the deceased veteran. Vehicles in question must have been owned or leased by the disabled veteran. The revision now extends the exemption to include one (1) personal passenger vehicle owned or leased by the spouse for the lifetime of the spouse or until the spouse’s remarriage.
• New Tax Portal, MyDORWAY: Corporations and individuals will soon have access to a new taxpayer portal, which should be made available in September 2015. The portal, called MyDORWAY, has benefits consumers wishing for a new way to file taxes. This includes corporations filing income tax returns or use tax, and individual income tax returns. Taxpayers may make payments, file returns, in addition to utilizing available services for withholding and sales tax. Updates are expected to continue for the next three years to increase tax services offered. Those taxpayers using such services as eSales, ePay, or eWithholding (made available by the South Carolina DOR) will be expected to register with MyDORWAY as most of these services will no longer be available once the portal launches.
• Homestead Exemption: South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley recently amended provisions of the Homestead exemption, affecting persons aged 65 or older. The change in value on a primary residence has been elevated to $50,000 from the $10,000.
• Delinquent Taxes: Delinquent taxes may be waived in the cases of certain error by the office authorized to collect the taxes. Other adjustments to delinquent taxes have been made that affect county officials.

Many changes in tax valuations, tax duplicates, property, and settlements affecting county auditors and other county officials have taken place as of June 2015. For more information about these important tax changes, read the full report here [link]. Need help understanding how these changes affect you? Contact Burkett, Burkett & Burkett Certified Public Accountants, P.A. to learn more.