Ignition’s Women in Accounting Awards are back for their 7th year, celebrating the incredible contributions of women in the accounting and bookkeeping industry.

We hope you’ll join us in honoring these inspiring women for their resilience, leadership, mentorship, and dedication to diversity and inclusion.

Nominate an amazing woman you know — whether a leader, emerging talent, colleague, yourself, or a peer who deserves recognition. This year’s awards focus on those who are catalysts of change, inspiring others through their resilience, leadership, and mentorship. The nomination process closes Aug. 2, 2024!

Let’s drive meaningful change by sharing these stories and encouraging discussions on gender, leadership, and community.

More about the award

The Women in Accounting awards honor inspiring women who serve as catalysts of change within the accounting and bookkeeping industry, advocating for innovation, diversity, and inclusivity. These awards celebrate women who not only excel in their craft but also inspire others through their resilience, leadership, and mentorship, contributing to a more diverse and inclusive sector.

By showcasing the compelling stories of these remarkable women in accounting, we aim to spark meaningful conversations about gender equality, leadership, and empowerment in finance. These discussions are crucial for driving forward-thinking and impactful change in the industry.

Nominate a deserving woman from your network today!

Question: Mary received Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement, for tax year 2023 from her home state’s Medicaid program. The payments are for the care of her incapacitated father who she lives with in his home to provide care for him. Are these payments truly wages for which Mary has no choice but to claim as income?

Answer: No. As long as the circumstances outlined below apply, the income could be classified as difficulty of care payments.

1. The individual care provider must have the same home as the eligible person receiving care. (The caregiver must live in the home of the eligible person. The caregiver cannot provide care during the day and then go to another residence in the evening.)

   2. It must be under a state Medicaid waiver program or similar program. This allows the state to include in the state’s Medicaid program the cost of home or community-based services (other than room and board) provided to individuals who otherwise would require care in a hospital, nursing facility, or intermediate care facility (eligible individuals). Home or community-based services includes personal care services, habilitation services, and other services that are “cost effective and necessary to avoid institutionalization.

Remedies: If these circumstances represent Mary’s situation, record the amounts from the Form W-2 on Line 1a of Form 1040. Then proceed to Form 1040, Schedule 1, Line 8s, Nontaxable amount of Medicaid Waiver Payments included on Form 1040, Line 1a or Line 1d. Enter the amount from Form 1040 Line 1a or Line 1d. This will zero out the wages included on Form 1040.

For more information see IRS Notice 2014-7 and §131.

The IRS has issued final regulations (T.D. 10000) to provide guidance addressing broker reporting on the disposition of digital assets in exchange for cash, other digital assets, stored-value cards, broker services or property in a transaction subject to current broker reporting requirements. The regulations phase in beginning Jan. 1, 2025, and address information to be reported on the yet-to-be-released Form 1099-DA, Digital Asset Proceeds from Broker Transactions.

The final regulations address the digital asset reporting requirements for brokers added to §6045 by the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Brokers include digital asset trading platforms, digital asset payment processors, certain digital asset-hosted wallet providers and persons who regularly offer to redeem digital assets they have created.

According to the regulations, brokers must file information reports and furnish payee statements reporting gross proceeds and adjusted basis on dispositions of digital assets by customers involved in certain sale or exchange transactions. The regulations also provide rules for computing gain or loss, determining basis and backup withholding for transactions involving the sale or exchange of digital assets.

The newly issued regulations finalize proposed regulations released in August 2023 and apply to both brokers that take possession of digital assets sold by customers and real estate reporting persons when the buyer uses digital assets. Real estate reporting persons who are treated as brokers are those responsible for closing the transaction. If no person is responsible for closing, the real estate reporting person is the mortgage lender, the transferor’s broker, the transferee’s broker or the person designated under Treasury regulations. However, real estate reporting persons who do not know a buyer used digital assets to make payments will not be required to file a report.

The broker reporting requirements phase in over two years:

• Gross proceeds must be reported for transactions on or after Jan. 1, 2025
• Basis for certain transactions must be reported on or after Jan. 1, 2026
• Real estate professionals treated as brokers must report the fair market value of digital assets paid by buyers and received by sellers for real estate transactions on or after Jan. 1, 2026

Notices offer additional guidance

The IRS issued two notices in conjunction with the finalized regulations to provide additional guidance on broker reporting. Notice 2024-56 gives brokers transitional penalty relief if they don’t report sales of digital assets and furnish payee statements in 2026 for sales of digital assets in the 2025 calendar year if the broker makes a good faith effort to comply with the regulations. Brokers are also provided with relief from certain backup withholding obligations and associated penalties for 2025 and 2026.

Notice 2024-57 states that brokers are not required to file information returns or furnish payee statements for the following transactions:

• Wrapping and unwrapping transactions
• Liquidity provider transactions
• Staking transactions
• Transactions digital asset market participants describe as the lending of digital assets
• Transactions digital asset market participants describe as short sales of digital assets
• Notional principal contract transactions

To learn more about the reporting of digital assets, check out our on-demand webinar. This webinar is presented by cryptocurrency specialist, Matt Metras, EA. You’ll learn the basics of blockchain and cryptocurrency, and how to report common crypto situations.