IRS Reminds It’s Time To Get Organized

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— press release courtesy of the IRS

WASHINGTON —The Internal Revenue Service is reminding taxpayers that organizing tax records is an important first step for getting ready to prepare and file their 2020 tax return.

Taxpayers should keep all necessary records, such as W-2s, 1099s, receipts, canceled checks and other documents that support an item of income, or a deduction or credit, appearing on their tax return.

Taxpayers should develop a system that keeps all their important information together, which could include a software program for electronic records or a file cabinet for paper documents in labeled folders. Having records readily at hand makes preparing a tax return easier.

To avoid refund delays, taxpayers should be sure to gather all year-end income documents so they can file a complete and accurate 2020 tax return.

Most taxpayers will receive income documents near the end of January including:

  • Forms W-2, Wage and Tax Statement
  • Form 1099-MISC, Miscellaneous Income
  • Form 1099-INT, Interest Income
  • Form 1099-NEC, Nonemployee Compensation
  • Form 1099-G, Certain Government Payments; like unemployment compensation or state tax refund
  • Form 1095-A, Health Insurance Marketplace Statements

View IRS account online

Taxpayers can view their online account allowing them to access the latest information available about their federal tax account and most recently filed tax return through a secure and convenient tool on IRS.gov. This can help taxpayers if they need information from last year’s return.

Additionally, in the coming weeks, individuals with an account on IRS.gov/account will be able to view the amounts of the Economic Impact Payments they received as well as the latest information available about their federal tax account. Eligible individuals who did not receive the full amounts of both Economic Impact Payments may claim the Recovery Rebate Credit on their 2020 federal tax return. In order to claim the full amount of the Recovery Rebate Credit, taxpayers will need to know the amount of the Economic Impact Payments received.

Visit Secure Access: How to Register for Certain Online Self-Help Tools for more information about how to create an account or how to reset the username or password.

Remember unemployment compensation is taxable

Millions of Americans received unemployment compensation in 2020, many of them for the first time. This compensation is taxable and must be included as gross income on their tax return.

Taxpayers can expect to receive a Form 1099-G showing their unemployment income. Taxpayers can elect to have federal taxes withheld from their unemployment benefits or make estimated tax payments, but many do not take these options. In that case, taxes on those benefits will be paid when the 2020 tax return is filed. Therefore, taxpayers who did not have tax withheld from their payments may see a smaller refund than expected or even have a tax bill.

Individuals who receive a Form 1099-G for unemployment compensation they did not receive should contact their state tax agency and request a corrected Form 1099-G. States should not issue Forms 1099-Gs to taxpayers they know to be victims of identity theft involving unemployment compensation.

Taxpayers who are victims of identity theft involving unemployment compensation should not file an identity theft affidavit with the IRS.

Individuals can find more details on taxable unemployment compensation in Tax Topic 418, Unemployment Compensation, or in Publication 525, Taxable and Nontaxable Income, on IRS.gov.

Taxpayers can use 2019 income for Earned Income Tax Credit

For taxpayers with income less than $56,844 in 2020, they may be eligible to claim the Earned Income Tax Credit. The EITC Assistant, available in English and Spanish, can help determine who is eligible. The EITC is as much as $6,660 for a family with children or up to $538 for taxpayers who do not have a qualifying child.

And this tax season, there’s a new rule that can help people impacted by a job loss or change in income in 2020. Under the COVID-related Tax Relief Act of 2020, taxpayers may elect to use their 2019 earned income to figure the credit if their 2019 earned income is more than their 2020 earned income. The same is true for the Additional Child Tax Credit. For details, see the instructions for Form 1040  PDFor Publication 596, Earned Income Credit.

Electronic Filing makes filing easy

The best way to file a complete and accurate return is to file electronically and there are several options for doing this – some at no cost. Visit IRS.gov/filing for more details about IRS Free File, Free File Fillable Forms, Free tax preparation sites or by finding a trusted tax professional. Free File is a great option for people who are only filing a tax return to claim the Recovery Rebate Credit, either because they didn’t receive an Economic Impact Payment or did not receive the full amount.

Use IRS.gov

IRS tax help is available 24 hours a day on IRS.gov, the official IRS website, where people can find answers to tax questions and resolve tax issues online from the safety of their home. The Let Us Help You page helps answer most tax questions, and the IRS Services Guide PDF links to other important IRS services.

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Kerr Lake Regional Water System Immediate Need and Planned Upgrades

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The Henderson City Council at its Jan. 11 meeting approved a request from the Kerr Lake Regional Water System to accept a revised project cost of $57 million for regional water system upgrades. This action, along with approval to purchase a new pump, is the latest in a years-long effort to supply water to the 15 municipalities in the region.

Construction costs have risen significantly from earlier estimates, and KLWRS advisory board chair Garry Daeke said Thursday that the council’s approval will allow for the project to continue, but if grants or other types of funding can’t be found to pay for the shortfall, customers could see a rise in water rates.

“If we can’t find anything (in grants or loans), we’d be talking rate increases,” Daeke said in an interview on Thursday. “We could see some rate increases, but we’re trying to stay away from that,” he said. “We’re all on board with it,” he said, referring to the other partners in the regional water system. “We’re just trying to figure out how to pay for it.”

The new pump will cost about $3 million, Daeke said, and it can still be used in the new construction project. The money will come from the KLWRS  fund balance, he said.

Originally, the project cost came in close to $40 million, but in the fall of 2020, the company undertaking the project reported that costs had risen and it would cost significantly more to complete the project.

After reviewing several options to lower the price tag, the KLWRS advisory board chose to reduce the amount of water the new system will be able to process, for the time being. “The 15 (million gallons a day) should be fine because we don’t have that demand yet,” Daeke said, adding that the regional water system needs to make sure it can meet increased demands in the future.

Henderson is the majority partner in the regional water system at 60 percent, with the cities of Oxford and Warren County rounding out the balance with 20 percent each. Oxford recently requested, and received approval for, a $6 million grant, which would reduce the overall shortfall to just more than $11 million.

All three partners are still in favor of the project, Daeke noted. “We want to do it, obviously,” he said of the construction upgrades, “but the longer we wait, the more it’s going to cost, I think.”

Preparing for future needs with infrastructure upgrades now can be challenging, he said.
“We don’t know what our customer base will be in the future, so it’s kind of unpredictable as to how much we want to go to,” Daeke said, of the water system’s capacity. We can draw 20 million (gallons a day), so we want to be able to process that much if we can,” he added.

The project will rehabilitate aging facilities, replace old equipment and expand facilities to bring the treatment capacity to, ultimately, a reliable 20 million gallons a day. The City Council must approve any additional requests for funding, in the event that loans or grants are not secured to cover the shortfall.

Volunteers Needed for Vance County Teen Court

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Teen Court Club Volunteers – Henderson-Vance Recreation & Parks Department’s Youth Services Unit is looking for adult volunteers and youth volunteers ages 14-18 for Teen Court Club.  Teen Court Club is a group of youth volunteers that are trained under adult supervision to perform several duties during the Teen Court process. Youth volunteers serve as Defense Attorneys, Prosecutors, Bailiffs, Clerks and Jury Members.   Adult volunteer roles include Jury Facilitator, Court Room Monitor, Attorney Coach, Teen Court Trainer or Guest Speaker.  For more information, please contact Jaleel Johnson at 252.431.6099 (jjohnson@ci.henderson.nc.us).

— submitted by Tara Goolsby, Henderson-Vance Recreation and Parks Program Superintendent

Wheeler honored for leadership at VGCC

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Cecilia Wheeler, the Dean of Arts and Sciences at Vance-Granville Community College, recently received the President’s Excellence in Leadership Award, presented by the college president, Dr. Rachel Desmarais.

This honor is one of VGCC’s three Glen Raven Excellence in Teaching and Leadership Awards. Glen Raven, Inc., the custom fabrics manufacturer with a facility in Warren County, is a longtime partner and supporter of the college. In addition to sponsoring annual stipends to recognize excellence among VGCC instructors and staff members, Glen Raven has endowed several scholarships for students.

“Dean Wheeler is an exceptional leader for our School of Arts and Sciences, the largest division within credit instruction at VGCC,” Dr. Desmarais said. “She brings a flexible strength to her leadership position. She is known as a ‘problem-solver’ to students and a project leader to her colleagues. Dean Wheeler exemplifies bridge-building, truth-telling, dedication to the College mission, and true humility.”

A resident of Oxford, Wheeler has worked at VGCC for more than 30 years. She joined the college as assistant coordinator for VGCC’s South Campus in Granville County in 1989. In later years, she served as leader for that campus, as, progressively, its coordinator, director and dean. In 2018, Wheeler assumed her current role, in which she leads more than 40 full-time and adjunct faculty members in eight curriculum programs, offered on all four of VGCC’s campuses. For many years, she was an adjunct instructor herself, teaching courses such as American History and Southern Culture.

Wheeler holds a master’s degree in History from Appalachian State University and a bachelor’s degree in History from Mars Hill College. She is also a graduate of the N.C. Community College System Leadership Institute, conducted at N.C. State University.

Wheeler is also the current president of the Granville County Chamber of Commerce board of directors.

“I am deeply humbled and honored to receive this award,” Wheeler said. “I am very fortunate to work with very talented and dedicated faculty, staff and colleagues to help our students achieve their dreams and our communities to grow.”

VGCC Press Release

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Fire Safety; Fire Budget; New Henderson Fire Station

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The airwaves these days may be filled with news of COVID-19 vaccinations, politics and the economy, which means more mundane topics such as fire safety can get pushed out of the spotlight. But Henderson City Fire Chief Steve Cordell urges everyone to continue to be mindful of potential fire hazards, especially during the cold winter months.

Be careful with any supplemental heat source, Cordell said in an interview on Wednesday. Make sure that they are UL-approved, and make sure that those space heaters or kerosene heaters have at least a 36-inch clearance on all sides. And please do not use your stove or oven to heat your home, he stressed. “There are programs…to assist you,” Cordell said. “I encourage folks to reach out if you need assistance with heating.”

If your smoke detector is making that annoying chirp that indicates it needs a new battery, he said, there is help for that, too. “We tell people to give their battery a birthday,” Cordell said. Change the battery every six months, such as when the time changes in November and in April. “If you have a battery that is bad, that’s what we’re here for,” he noted. At this time, because of COVID-19 restrictions, city residents must schedule an appointment for city fire personnel to come to their home to change that battery or perform a home safety inspection.

Cordell said city residents should call Capt. Lee Edmonds, fire prevention coordinator, at 252.432.5108 or 252.438.7315 to make an appointment.

The pandemic has “really affected our message on the public safety side of our department and education…(and) definitely hindered what we do normally, on a day-to-day basis,” Cordell said, adding that their work with school children is what they may miss most, from reading with kindergartners and being mentors, to playing Dodge Ball or Duck, Duck, Goose with the younger students, he said. “Just seeing the smiles on the kids’ faces, we miss it,” Cordell said. Even the annual fire prevention campaign in the schools looked different in 2020. Instead of going into schools to talk about fire safety, the fire department had to deliver packets of information instead. Cordell said teachers got instructions on how to go over the materials provided.

Fire safety and prevention are priorities for Cordell and his staff, which has grown by 6 in the last year. The city budget allowed for 6 additional staff for the city fire department, which Cordell said came about after completion in 2020 of a study to assess needs. Those six additional hires allowed, for the first time ever, his department to fully staff two engines and a ladder company.

He is currently compiling budget information to present to the city manager and the city council that he hopes will result in progress toward the addition of a third fire station situated on the west side of the city. A third station “will give us better response time. We are providing great coverage throughout the city,” he said, but noted that there is “major growth” on the west side of Henderson. “When things start developing, you have to prepare for that in all aspects,” Cordell added, from sanitation to street maintenance to water and sewer and public safety, including, of course, fire departments.

The city fire department is staffed at sufficient levels during the pandemic, and Cordell said he has had his first dose of the vaccine. “We’re doing our very best to stay safe on calls and in the station,” he said. He encourages everyone in the community to be vaccinated, his fellow firefighters included. “Our job as first responders is to take care of the public,” he said.

Facts That Say A Lot From Health Director Lisa Harrison

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Of the many wonderful tasks that Granville Vance District Health Director Lisa Harrison has worked towards in recent months, one of them has been solid communication.

For example, an email January 19th from Harrison that contained bullet points that tell a story about what is going on right now.

  • There are 15 super-dedicated nurses working for Granville Vance Public Health across the district in both COVID-19 Communicable Disease Response and Vaccine Distribution Efforts.
  • (January 19th) alone, there were more than 13,000 calls to the vaccine hotline at Granville Vance Public Health.
  • We receive approximately 700 doses of (first dose) vaccine a week across the district – we only know the number of vaccines that will be shipped for the following week a few days in advance and we restrict our appointments to meet our vaccine allocation.
  • More than 2,500 vaccines have been given by our staff so far in the first four weeks.
  • Of the 100,000 population we serve in these two counties, there are a total of 17,265 people who are 65 years old and older across our health district – 7,746 in Vance and 9,519 in Granville.
  • We have 2 hospital partners across the district and are impressed by the work of Granville Health Systems and Maria Parham Health as we work together to serve our communities and get this important work accomplished – many thanks to their efforts and people too

Also, we quote Harrison as she wrote, “Second dose appointments will be added beginning this week so we will be doubling up our distribution capacity to keep going with first doses, and add in second doses of vaccine for people too – that’s the main reason for a slower start the first few weeks… we have to leave room in the schedule to add those second doses in and… here they come.”

Mt. Moriah Continues Fight Against Food Insecurity

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If you are presently facing food insecurity, Mt. Moriah A.M.E. Zion Church, in partnership with Livingstone College and the NC Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health, is hosting a free Covid-19 testing event that will include free chicken and personal protective equipment. The event will be held this Friday from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. at the church located at 5448 Highway 158 Business. Forty pound cases of fresh chicken and personal protective equipment will be given away while supplies last.  For more information call 252-430-7999.

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