Firm News

As you are no doubt aware, the IRS has made a significant shift in its approach to issuing  tax refunds by discontinuing the practice of sending refunds via paper checks. This change is part of an ongoing effort to enhance efficiency and security in processing tax returns. By moving towards electronic transfers, the IRS aims to reduce the risk of lost or stolen checks, expedite the refund process, and minimize costs associated with printing and mailing. The IRS has implemented alternative methods to accommodate taxpayers who do not have a bank account such as prepaid debit cards. 

Regardless of the delivery method, if you have already filed your federal tax return and are due to receive a refund, you can check the status of your refund online.

Where’s My Refund?  is an interactive tool on the IRS website.

Regardless of whether you have split your refund among several accounts or opted for a direct deposit into one account, Where’s My Refund? will give you online access to your refund information nearly 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.

If you e-file, you can use this tool to get your refund information 24 hours after the IRS acknowledges receipt of your return. Nine out of 10 taxpayers typically receive refunds in fewer than 21 days when they use e-file with direct deposit. If you file a paper return, refund information will be available starting four weeks after mailing your return. When you go to check the status of your refund, have a copy of your federal tax return handy. To access your personalized refund information, you must enter:

• Your Social Security Number (or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number),
• The tax year (options include 2025, 2024 and 2023),
• Your filing status on that return (single, married filing jointly, married filing separately, head of household, or qualifying widow(er)/surviving spouse), and
• The exact refund amount shown on your tax return.

Once you have entered your personal information, one of several personalized responses will come up:

• Acknowledgement that your return has been received and is being processed,
• Refund was approved and the IRS is preparing to issue it by the date shown.
• Refund Sent – the IRS has sent the refund to your bank or to you in the mail. It may take 5 days for it to show in your bank account or several weeks for your check to arrive in the mail. 

Where’s My Refund?  also includes links to customized information based on your specific situation. The links guide you through the steps to resolve any issues that are affecting your refund. For example, if you do not receive your refund within 28 days of the mailing date shown on Where’s My Refund?, you can start a refund trace online.

Where’s My Refund? is also accessible to visually impaired taxpayers who use the Job Access with Speech screen reader with a Braille display. Where’s My Refund? is compatible with various modes of this screen reader.

IRS2Go is a free IRS smartphone app that lets taxpayers check on the status of their tax refunds. For download information, visit IRS2Go. It is available for both Apple and Android.

Where’s My Refund? provides the most up-to-date information that the IRS has. There’s no need to call the IRS unless Where’s My Refund? tells you to do so. Where’s My Refund? is updated every 24 hours (usually overnight), so you only need to check it once a day.

While the IRS tools provide helpful, real-time updates, DBC is available to assist if you encounter any issues or have questions along the way. We can help review your refund status, address delays or discrepancies, assist with initiating a refund trace if needed, and interpret any IRS notices you may receive.

In addition, we can provide guidance on how your refund fits into your overall tax situation, including applying it toward estimated payments or future planning strategies. If anything seems unclear or does not align with expectations, please reach out so we can help ensure everything is resolved efficiently.

When selling a principal residence, taxpayers turn to Section 121 of the Internal Revenue Code to mitigate potential capital gains taxes. Under this provision, homeowners can exclude up to $250,000 of gain ($500,000 for qualifying joint filers) from the sale. To fully qualify, individuals must have owned and lived in the home as their primary residence for at least two out of the five years preceding the sale date. However, life sometimes unfolds in ways that prevent individuals from satisfying the full requirements for this lucrative exclusion. Thankfully, the IRS provides relief through partial exclusions for those who need to sell their home due to a change in the place of employment, health issues, or unforeseen circumstances before meeting the two out of the five years standard requirement. This article delves into understanding how these exceptions operate, offering insights into when taxpayers can still benefit from a Section 121 gain exclusion despite not meeting the standard criteria.

Change in Place of Employment – The most common reason for a partial exclusion is a job-related move that causes the taxpayer to sell their home before the 2-of-5 years tests were met. To meet the “safe harbor” for this category, your new place of work must be at least 50 miles farther from your home than your old workplace was. If you didn’t have a previous workplace, your new one must be at least 50 miles from the home you are selling.

• The taxpayer.
• The taxpayer’s spouse.
• A co-owner of the home.
• Anyone else for whom the home was their primary residence.

Health-Related Moves – A move is considered health-related if the primary reason is to obtain, provide, or facilitate the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, or treatment of a disease, illness, or injury. It also covers moving to provide medical or personal care for a family member. Note that a move for “general health and well-being” (e.g., moving to a warmer climate just because you like it) does not qualify; a doctor must generally recommend the change in residence.

• The taxpayer, spouse, or co-owner.
• Family members, specifically parents, grandparents, stepparents, children (including adopted, foster, or stepchildren), grandchildren, siblings, in-laws, aunts, uncles, nephews, and nieces.
• Any resident of the home.

Unforeseen Circumstances – An “unforeseen circumstance” is an event you could not have reasonably anticipated before purchasing and occupying the home. If your situation does not fit a specific safe harbor, the IRS looks at factors like whether the event and sale were close in time, or if your financial ability to maintain the home was materially impaired. But merely deciding after you’ve lived in a home for a while that you don’t like the neighborhood won’t qualify as an unforeseen circumstance.

The Safe Harbor List – The IRS provides a specific list of events that automatically qualify as unforeseen circumstances:

• Involuntary conversion (e.g., the home is destroyed or condemned).
• Natural or man-made disasters or acts of terrorism resulting in a casualty loss.
• Death of a qualified individual (taxpayer, spouse, co-owner, or resident).
• Divorce or legal separation.
• Eligibility for unemployment compensation.
• Change in employment status that leaves the taxpayer unable to pay basic living expenses (food, housing, taxes, etc.).
• Multiple births from the same pregnancy.

How the Partial Exclusion is Calculated – The partial exclusion is not a flat rate; it is a fraction of the maximum exclusion ($250,000 or $500,000).

• The Formula – You take the shortest of the following periods (in days or months) and divide it by 730 days (or 24 months):

1. The time you owned the home during the 5-year period before the sale.
2. The time you used the home as your primary residence during that same period.
3. The time since you last claimed the Section 121 exclusion for another home.

Example: If you are a single filer who lived in your home for 12 months before moving for a new job 100 miles away, and had last claimed the exclusion 6 years ago, you have met 50% of the 24-month requirement. You can exclude $125,000 (50% of $250,000) of your gain from taxes.

Navigating IRS Section 121 can be complex, especially when determining if your specific “facts and circumstances” meet the threshold for an unforeseen event. If you are planning a move or have recently sold a home before reaching the two-year mark, please contact DBC for assistance in calculating your exclusion and ensuring your documentation meets IRS standards.

By springtime, most business owners have closed the books on last year, filed (or started filing) their taxes, and moved on. Here’s what many don’t realize: Spring is actually one of the most important times of the year to clean up QuickBooks.

Why? Because small bookkeeping issues that look harmless now often turn into expensive problems later, from missed deductions to cash flow surprises to tax-time headaches.

Here’s why March through May is the perfect checkpoint and what business owners should focus on right now.

Why QuickBooks Issues Show Up in the Spring

The first two months of the year are usually reactive. Businesses are:

• Closing the prior year
• Gathering documents for tax prep
• Reconciling year-end accounts
• Issuing 1099s

The Most Common QuickBooks Problems We See in Spring

Why Fixing It Now Saves Money Later

What Business Owners Should Do Right Now

• Review financial reports for accuracy
• Reconcile every account
•  Clean up uncategorized transactions
• Meet with DBC for a “year-to-date”

Even one focused DBC cleanup session can prevent hours of stress later. 

QuickBooks Is a Tool, Not a Strategy

QuickBooks is excellent at tracking numbers. But it doesn’t evaluate them. It won’t tell you:

• If your margins are slipping
• If you’re underpaying estimated taxes
• If you’re overspending in key areas
• If your pricing needs adjustment

Unlike employees, who have income, Social Security, and Medicare taxes withheld from their wages, self-employed individuals must prepay their taxes by making periodic estimated tax payments. These are referred to as estimated tax payments because the self-employed individual must estimate his or her net earnings for the year and pay taxes per an IRS schedule according to that estimate. Failure to do so will result in interest penalties.

The self-employed are not the only ones who are subject to estimated tax payment requirements; anyone who has income on which no income tax has been withheld, and even those whose taxes are not sufficiently withheld, should be making estimated tax payments. Thus, if you have income from stock sales, property sales, investments, taxable alimony, partnerships, S-corporations, inherited pension plans, or other sources that are not subject to withholding, you may also be required to pay either estimated taxes or an underpayment penalty. Others subject to making estimated payments are individuals who must pay special taxes such as the 3.8% tax on net investment income or the employment tax on household employees.

Although these payments are often termed “quarterly” estimates, the periods they cover do not usually coincide with a calendar quarter.

2026 ESTIMATED TAX INSTALLMENTS DUE DATES

An underestimate penalty does not apply if the tax due on a return (after withholding and refundable credits) is less than $1,000; this is the “de minimis amount due” exception. When the tax due is $1,000 or more, underpayment penalties are assessed.

These underpayment penalties are determined per the periods as shown in the above table, so an underpayment in an earlier period cannot be made up for in a later period; however, an overpayment in an earlier period is applied to the following period.

The amount of an estimated payment is determined by estimating one fourth of the taxpayer’s tax for the entire year; the projected tax is paid in four installments. When the income is seasonal, sporadic, or the result of a windfall, the IRS provides a special form, and the underpayment penalty is based on actual income for the period.

For individuals who do not want to take the time to estimate their tax for the current year but who still want to avoid the underpayment penalty, Uncle Sam also provides safe-harbor estimates. However, even these can be tricky.
Generally, a taxpayer can avoid an underpayment penalty if his or her withholding and estimated payments are equal to or greater than:

• 90% of the current year’s tax liability or
• 100% of the prior year’s tax liability.

Since joining De Boer, Baumann & Company in 2026, Trinity Kuipers has brought curiosity, energy, and a thoughtful perspective to her role as a Staff Accountant. She enjoys understanding the story behind the numbers and the way financial insights can reveal challenges, highlight opportunities, and support better business decisions.

Trinity earned her Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Davenport University. Her interest in accounting grew from firsthand experience running her own small business, where she saw how critical accurate financial information is to the daily operations and long-term success of a company. That experience continues to shape how she approaches her work today, giving her a practical perspective on the value that clear financial insight can provide to business owners.

Trinity grew up in Zeeland with her parents and two sisters and now lives on the north side of Holland with her husband. Being close to family is something she values deeply, and she enjoys the strong sense of community that comes with living and working in West Michigan.

Outside of her role at the firm, Trinity has a strong entrepreneurial spirit. During the summer months, she runs an ice cream shop with her sisters, a business she has proudly owned for eight years. Managing the shop has given her valuable experience working directly with customers, leading a team, and navigating the day-to-day realities of running a business.

Travel is another passion of Trinity’s. She enjoys exploring new places and cultures and has traveled throughout Europe, Africa, and Central America. These experiences have given her a broader perspective and a deeper appreciation for the people and communities she encounters along the way.

Trinity’s curiosity, work ethic, and entrepreneurial mindset make her a great addition to the team. We are excited to have her at DBC and look forward to seeing the impact she will continue to make.