Inflation adjustments posted

The Rhode Island Division of Taxation today posted the following:

• Inflation-adjusted numbers for the personal income tax for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2019.
• Inflation-adjusted numbers involving the income tax for estates and trusts for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2019.
• Inflation-adjusted numbers for personal income tax modifications for the 2018 tax year involving taxable income from Social Security, government pensions, private-sector pensions, 401(k) plans, annuities, and certain other sources.

To view the latest Advisory, click here.

Estate tax update

The Rhode Island Division of Taxation has announced the Rhode Island estate tax credit amount and threshold for the estates of decedents dying on or after January 1, 2019. To view the Advisory involving this estate tax update, click here.

E-file shutdown tomorrow

The Rhode Island Division of Taxation reminds taxpayers and tax preparers that the Division's annual electronic filing shutdown and switchover will occur tomorrow, Saturday.

Individuals and businesses seeking to e-file their Rhode Island returns for tax year 2017 must do
so on or before Saturday, November 17, 2018. After that date, returns for tax year 2017 must be
filed on paper.

Each year, the Division temporarily closes its system to e-filing in order to prepare the system for
the coming filing season. The Internal Revenue Service, and many other states, follow the
same practice. This year, the Rhode Island modernized e-file (MeF) shutdown and cutover will
occur on Saturday, November 17, 2018, the same date as the IRS’s.

Transmissions of e-filed personal and  business returns must be completed by 10:00 p.m. (Eastern time) tomorrow, Saturday. The shutdown begins at 11:59 p.m. (Eastern time) tomorrow, Saturday. For more information, click here.

• From the Rhode Island Division of Taxation's standpoint, tomorrow's shutdown is for incoming e-filed 2017 returns. However, even after the point of shutdown, the Division will continue to issue electronic receipts -- also known as acknowledgements, or "acks" -- for all returns that have been properly prepared and e-filed by tomorrow's 10:00 p.m. (Eastern time) transmission deadline. Because the shutdown occurs on the weekend, some acknowledgements may not be issued until next week.

Interest rates for 2019

The Division of Taxation has posted the interest rates that will apply to overpayments and underpayments for 2019. For details, click here.

Recent developments

Annual e-file shutdown

Each year, the Rhode Island Division of Taxation temporarily closes its system to electronic filing in order to prepare the system for the coming filing season.

This year’s e-file shutdown and switchover will occur on November 17, 2018. Individuals and businesses seeking to e-file their Rhode Island returns for tax year 2017 must do so on or before Saturday, November 17, 2018. For more information, click here.

"Seminar for Tax Preparers"

The Division's "Seminar for Tax Preparers" -- in Newport in November and in Warwick in December -- have now sold out. Therefore, registration is now closed. Thank you for your interest in the seminar.

Decision involving nexus

The Division of Taxation’s most recent Administrative Decision involves whether a retailer had substantial nexus with Rhode Island for sales and use tax purposes. (Note: The Decision is based on and limited to the specific facts in the case prior to the enactment in August 2017 of Rhode Island's law on non-collecting retailers, and before the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in June 2018 on Wayfair.)

Monday's deadline

The Rhode Island Division of Taxation has posted a reminder that Monday is the deadline for filing personal income tax returns that are on extension for tax year 2017. 

October 15, 2018, is also the deadline for a number of business entities. 

The Advisory includes tips for last-minute filers, a summary of payment options, and information about Section 965 and penalty relief in certain circumstances for calendar-year C corporations. To view the Advisory, click here.