You will be considered a United States resident for tax purposes if you meet the substantial presence test for the calendar year. To meet this test, you must be physically present in the United States (U.S.) on at least:

1. 31 days during the current year, and
2. 183 days during the 3-year period that includes the current year and the 2 years immediately before that, counting:
   • All the days you were present in the current year, and
   • 1/3 of the days you were present in the first year before the current year, and
   • 1/6 of the days you were present in the second year before the current year.

Example:

You were physically present in the U.S. on 120 days in each of the years 2012, 2013, and 2014. To determine if you meet the substantial presence test for 2014, count the full 120 days of presence in 2014, 40 days in 2013 (1/3 of 120), and 20 days in 2012 (1/6 of 120). Since the total for the 3-year period is 180 days, you are not considered a resident under the substantial presence test for 2014.

Many can file both their state and federal tax returns for free in 2020

As you get ready to file their federal tax returns, most will also be thinking about preparing their state taxes. There’s some good news for filers wanting to save money. Eligible one can file their federal and state taxes at no cost. If your adjusted gross income was $69,000 or less last year, you can file their 2019 federal taxes for free this year using IRS Free File. Many of them can also do their state taxes at no charge.

According to the Taxpayer Bill of Rights. They are fundamental rights taxpayers have when dealing with the IRS. One of which is the right to pay only the amount of tax legally due, including interest and penalties, and to have the IRS apply all tax payments properly.

This means your are entitled to:

• File for a refund if the they believe they overpaid.
• Write or call the IRS office that sent the taxpayer a notice or bill. Taxpayers can do this if they believe the notice or bill is incorrect in any way. When challenging information in a bill or notice, taxpayers should be ready to provide copies of any records that may help correct the error. If the taxpayer is correct, the IRS will make the necessary adjustment to their account and send a corrected notice.
• Amend a tax return if they discover an error. They can also amend this return if there were mistakes in their filing status, income, deductions or credits.
• Request any amount owed be removed if it’s more than the correct amount due.
• Request the IRS remove any interest from their account if the IRS caused unreasonable errors or delays.
• Submit an offer in compromise, asking the agency to accept less than the full tax debt, if the taxpayer believes they don’t owe all or part of the debt.

By NJCPA：”On Jan. 13, Governor Murphy signed the Pass-Through Business Alternative Income Tax Act into law. This act allows pass-through businesses to pay income taxes at the entity level instead of the personal level. This helps business owners mitigate the negative impact of the federal SALT deduction cap. It’s estimated to save New Jersey business owners $200 to $400 million annually. And it won’t cost New Jersey a dime because it’s revenue neutral for the state.

Under the act, taxpayers who earn income from pass-through businesses and pay the pass-through business alternative income tax can obtain a refundable gross income tax credit. There is no limit on the deduction of state taxes paid at the entity level under the federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), only at the individual income level. Currently, pass-through business owners can only deduct up to $10,000 in state and local taxes on their personal income taxes.

Alan D. Sobel, CPA, CGMA, managing member at Livingston-based SobelCo and president-elect of the NJCPA, developed the concept for the bill right after passage of the TCJA. He played the lead role in  writing the legislation and making it fit within New Jersey’s tax structure.

The act took effect Jan. 1, 2020.“