TaxSmith Tax and Accounting

08/16/2026

Good morning all,

I'm very sorry to share that my father (and one of our first employees at TaxSmith) passed away Friday, 8/14/2026.

Jerry Smith worked in our office the first few years we were open, assisting us with taking calls and setting appointments during our first 3 income tax seasons.

Besides being a huge help to us when we were starting out, it was great for Dad (Jerry) to be back to work, seeing people again that he had served at the Grove Post Office for 40+ years prior to his retirement in 2017. It was also great to get to spend more time with Dad every day.

Long after he "retired" from TaxSmith, many clients continued to ask what Jerry has been up to, and how he was doing, and this year was no different.

When clients you may not know, or know that well ask about your father, and tell you how much they enjoyed seeing and talking with him when he worked in a thankless job, it means A LOT. Hearing how nice, how kind, how he'd help with most anything he could and how he was appreciated, and former employees still ask about him (who they got to know through his frequent visits to the office, and inability to NOT tell everyone "Hello" and "Bye") - it always made and still makes me smile and feel joy knowing the impact our Dad made and the legacy he leaves behind.

Our office will be closed Thursday, 8/20/2026 for our staff to attend Jerry's funeral service, and re-open at normal hours Friday, 8/21/2026 for our live payroll clients.

This photo is one of my favorites - D'Angelo wanted to be friends with Dad badly, and just wanted him to pet him. D'Angelo came to live with us in Bentonville a couple years ago, and Dad stayed with us the past few weeks of his life, and finally petted him. D'Angelo didn't leave his room often after that.

07/16/2026

Good morning everyone! We wanted to advise that our offices will be closed the week of 7/27/26 - 7/31/26 to allow our family to spend time with our kids in between the 8am - 5pm marching band practices we have the weeks/weekends of 7/20/26 & 8/3/2026.

We will be available by phone/email for our payroll clients during this closure, and certainly hope this does not inconvenience any of our income, SALT or bookkeeping clients. We aren't used to taking time off, but family first, always :).

Thank you all for your continued support & business!

06/26/2026

Happy Friday to all!

We wanted to advise that our offices will be closed Friday, 7/3/2026 in observance of Independence Day/America's 250th birthday!

We will reopen at 9am on Monday, 7/6/2026!

06/08/2026

*UPDATE - WE'RE OPEN!*

the Grove office is now open!

Thank you!!!

Good morning all!

Unfortunately, our office will be closed today due to our staff being in areas with local flooding on the roads; however, we are available remotely today. Please email [email protected] for any immediate needs; we should be back in-office tomorrow morning at 9:00 a.m..

05/21/2026

Memorial Day weekend incoming already! 2026 is flying by!

Our office will be closed tomorrow to let our staff get an early start to the holiday weekend, as well as Monday, 5/25/26. We will re-open at 9:00 a.m. Tuesday, 5/26/26.

Everyone have a safe and fun Memorial Day weekend!

05/05/2026

2026 changes to forms 1099-NEC, W-2G and gambling income - what to know!

The good news: as part of the "One Big Beautiful Bill," changes for reporting Non-Employee Compensation via 1099-NEC, as well as jackpot winnings at casinos documented via form W-2G have an increased reporting threshold for 2026, moving from $600 to $2000! (While amounts under $2,000 do not require these forms, they are still considered taxable income).

The bad news: the "OBBB" introduces a new limitation on gambling losses at the federal level. This new limitation is 90% of gambling WINNINGS. Prior to 2026, gamblers were able to take a dollar-for-dollar deduction for gambling losses against gambling winnings (up to the amount of winnings).

For example, in 2025 a gambler winning $100k but spending $110k to win said $100k would have no tax obligation because their losses would equal their winnings.

Take this same example but fast forward to 2026. The gambler will now be allowed to deduct only 90% of their winnings - $90k - even though total losses were $110k. The gambler lost $10k, and on top of it, has a tax liability on $10k of "phantom income."

Most states following federal guidelines for gambling losses have followed suit to mirror the updates (with the exception of Oklahoma, which limits gambling losses to itemized deduction thresholds).

Do we think this will necessarily slow down gamblers? No, we do not. Do we think there will be many unhappy gamblers during next year's tax season? Inevitably!

05/05/2026

Happy Cinco de Mayo to all!

With the 2025 primary income tax season's conclusion, how did the "One Big Beautiful Bill" and promises of increased income tax refunds pan out?

Per The White House official website, refunds were advertised to increase by anywhere from $750 to $1000. Analysis so far shows that federal income tax refunds increased 11-15% overall, yielding an approximate ~$350 average increase. Additional deductions for tipped & overtime income, taxpayers aged 65+ as well as auto loan interest did help fuel this increased refund average, but not to the degree advertised.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/releases/2026/01/president-trump-delivers-largest-tax-refund-season-in-u-s-history/ #:~:text=The%20Wall%20Street%20Journal%3A%20%E2%80%9CRefunds,%243%2C800%20for%20tax%20year%202025.

04/29/2026

Good morning, all! We've received a lot of questions about a recent development that does have a taxation impact, so...let's talk about w**d! Specifically, medical ma*****na.

Last week, the acting U.S. attorney general signed an order changing the federal classification for medical ma*****na to a Schedule 3 controlled substance (such as codeine or ketamine). Note: recreational ma*****na is still a Schedule 1 controlled substance and remains illegal at the federal level.

Under IRS Section 280e, deductions available at the federal level for Schedule 1 classified drugs are limited to the Cost of Goods Sold (COGS). Items that go into growing ma*****na plants, packaging for products, minimal labor costs and very specific maintenance, security and hvac systems are the bulk of what can be taken as deductions. Rent, non-COGS repairs, wages paid for non-COGS specific labor and more are not allowed as deductions.

Prior to 4/23/26, green-centric businesses and business owners could face potentially high tax bills due to the limited deductions allowed without proper tax planning. Now, these businesses are allowed to take considerably more deductions that were previously disallowed, resulting in less complicated planning, labor agreements, etc.

Are you a "green" business owner or investor, and want to learn more? Give us a call or email us at [email protected] to set up an appointment!

04/08/2026

Happy Wednesday to all!

A few reminders:

- We (and all preparers) have the same access to check refund statuses as taxpayers do and cannot offer guidance outside what the IRS and various state sites offer for refund statuses. If you check the status of your refund and it shows no information at all, we can assist with is seeing what the return transmission status is,

- Our cutoff for guaranteed filing without an extension is 5:00 p.m. today (drop box submissions after 5:00 p.m. are not eligible for this deadline and will be subject to potential extension),

- Drop offs for 2025 income tax filing after this 5:00 p.m. today may require an extension. We will make our best effort to complete your return prior to 4/15 but want to be upfront that we may not be able to get your filing completed due to the volume of drop offs we have had in the past week!

- If we have contacted you to pick up your returns, please note that if not picked up/paid for by 5:00 p.m. 4/15/26, we will file an extension on your behalf.

Please remember that extensions are for extra time to file, not pay any taxes due. Any unpaid amounts due 4/15/26 may be subject to penalty & interest!

04/02/2026

If you cannot pay, look at an installment plan. Or if you opt for paying via candy, we recommend Cadbury Eggs. It's not a bar :D.

Taxpayers have a variety of options to consider when paying federal taxes, none of them are paying with candy bars. For more information on the options available to meet your tax obligations visit: irs.gov/payments