Congress passed the “Taxpayer First Act” in late June. This new groundbreaking legislation creates an independent office of appeals within the IRS, modernizes IRS operations and improves cyber security measures. The new law also expands safeguards addressing ID theft of taxpayers. But this is likely not the end of the story. Most experts believe [...]
Recently released IRS form 8995 instructions indicate that taxpayers filing business returns must reduce qualified business income by charitable deductions. A reduction in qualified business income reduces the potential qualified business income deduction. Although this provision is not in the Section 199A regulations, the reduction in qualified business income can be avoided by making [...]
Are you caught between the needs of young children and elderly relatives like your parents? If so, you are part of the growing segment of the population known as the “sandwich generation.” In particular, it may be difficult to care for loved ones as they grow older and require more care. To compound the problems, [...]
Do you need to make repairs to your business premises or equipment? It can make a big tax difference if the work is characterized as a “repair” or an “improvement.” In brief, a repair is currently deductible by your business, while the cost of an improvement must be written off over time. The IRS and [...]
Lease Accounting The FASB has approved a one year deferral for implementation for nonpublic companies. This deferral effectively pushes the new requirement to record assets and liabilities for certain operating leases until 2021 for calendar year financial statements. Revenue Recognition As a reminder, the changes to revenue recognition are still effective this year for nonpublic [...]
If you need to purchase equipment for your small business this year, you may be in for a treat. Generally, you can qualify for sizeable current deductions, instead of recouping the costs through depreciation deductions over an extended period of time. Furthermore, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) has enhanced these tax benefits for [...]
The IRS recently issued a stern warning to some taxpayers who plan to travel internationally: Pay off your tax debt or your passport may be revoked. Under a little-noticed 2015 law, the IRS was granted the authority to notify the State Department about taxpayers who have a “seriously delinquent tax debt.” This is defined [...]
Dear Clients and Friends (and Blog Readers!): With the first tax season under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) behind us, we have a better understanding of the practical applications on the tax law changes. As expected, the law changes had a profound impact on many taxpayers and created new planning opportunities. There [...]
As you are probably aware if you read this blog consistently, we think Opportunity Zones have great potential for taxpayers/investors. In fact, since last fall, many of the uncertainties around Opportunity Zones have been cleared up through IRS regulations. Most people are not expecting any more official IRS guidance release so the rules of [...]
The charitable remainder trust (CRT), which has been a valuable estate planning tool for decades, has not been forgotten. Currently, the usual 15% tax rate on long-term capital gains is increased to 20% for upper-income investors, while a 3.8% surtax may also apply to a portion of your investment income. Thus, CRTs remain a popular [...]