Today’s workforce is structured differently than it was 10 or 20 years ago. The gig economy began to take hold in the early 2000s, and today, almost a third of working Americans are self-employed or work for the self-employed. Self-employment can be a great opportunity for workers who want to chart their own path, ditch [...]
On May 12, 2020, the IRS issued a notice permitting employers to allow the increased flexibility to make mid-year changes to their employer-sponsored health coverage, flexible spending accounts (FSAs), and dependent care assistance programs. Due to the impacts of the novel coronavirus, workers' needs and access to health care and childcare have vastly changed, thus [...]
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act enacted on March 27, 2020, provides a number of tax changes that offer relief during the Coronavirus crisis. Three significant changes include: 1. Rollback of restrictions on using tax losses to recover taxes paid in profitable years, 2. Cash payments to individuals and families, and 3. [...]
The CARES Act, which was signed into law on March 27, 2020, allows a “qualified individual” to take $100,000 in distributions from an IRA, 401k, or other qualified retirement plan during 2020 and reap the following benefits: You will not have to pay the 10% early distribution penalty if you are under the age of [...]
To further aid taxpayers affected by the COVID-19 outbreak, the U.S. Department of Treasury and the IRS have elected to extend further critical tax deadlines affecting individuals and businesses. This notice expands the relief announced in March that allows most taxpayers until July 15, 2020, to file and pay federal income taxes that were originally [...]
Taxes on Individuals Recovery Rebates The CARES Act contains rebate amounts equal to $1,200 for individuals, or $2,400 for joint filers, with a $500 credit for each qualifying child. These rebates are advanced refund credits against 2020 taxes. The rebate amounts are phased out based on the 2018 adjusted gross income (unless a 2019 return [...]
Updated 3.23.2020 In the fast-moving and ever-changing environment surrounding the Coronavirus pandemic, the U.S. Treasury announced that the tax filing deadline of April 15, 2020, will be pushed back to July 15, 2020. This was a change of course from announcements made only days earlier. Earlier this week, Treasury and the IRS announced that they [...]
Individual taxpayers are able to defer paying up to $1 million of federal income and self-employment taxes for 90 days without penalties or interest. The $1 million cap is per tax return regardless of the filing status (single filer or a married couple) of the return. Corporations can defer paying up to $10 million of [...]
You certainly don’t need one more item on your to-do list. But attention to a few items right now can help make tax-filing season much more pleasant. Here are a few things that can make an impact on your 2019 tax liability: Make a Tax Payment Taxpayers who paid too little tax during 2019 can [...]
The Internal Revenue Service has issued final regulations (T.D. 9889) providing details about the tax treatment of investments in qualified opportunity zones (QOZs). This guidance modifies and finalizes proposed regulations that were issued on Oct. 28, 2018, and May 1, 2019. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) created the opportunity zone as a new incentive for [...]
The IRS released final guidance this fall to help taxpayers figure out when rental real estate activities might qualify as a “trade or business” for purposes of the Section 199A 20% qualified business income (QBI) deduction. The final guidance sets forth four requirements that, when met, provide a taxpayer with some assurance that the IRS [...]
Many people enjoy hobbies that are also a source of income. From painting and pottery to scrapbooking and photography, these activities can be sources of both fun and finances. If you start to make money from a hobby, you will need to report that income on your tax return. Until 2018, certain hobby expenses were [...]
Working from home is becoming more and more popular. And while W-2 employees are no longer eligible to deduct their home expenses, those who own or co-own a business can take advantage of the deduction. Here’s what you need to know about the home office deduction and how you might be able to use it [...]
On Friday, December 20, 2019, the President signed the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020 (the “Act”) which addresses several tax provisions such as retirement plan funding and distribution reform, items related to expiring or expired tax provisions (“tax extenders”), and disaster tax relief. RETIREMENT PLAN FUNDING AND DISTRIBUTION REFORM The Act also includes the SECURE [...]
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 overhauled numerous provisions of individual tax law, including reducing statutory tax rates amongst the different income tax brackets and suspending personal exemption amounts. These changes required employers to adjust their employees’ withholdings with revised tax tables while using the historical Form W-4. These law changes, combined with [...]
With the latest change of seasons, that means that filing your tax return is right around the corner and will require your full attention very soon. Although there were a number of tactical strategies proposed and utilized during the most recent tax filing season under the latest changes from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act [...]
The U.S. government has a long history of encouraging its citizens to donate to charity. More than a century ago, the government began subsidizing charitable giving by allowing taxpayers to deduct donations they made to eligible nonprofit organizations. But since the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) raised the standard deduction, far fewer individuals [...]
Charitable giving has solidified its place among the top tax planning strategies, allowing donors to give to a good cause while receiving a significant tax deduction in return for their generosity. The higher standard deduction set in place by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will result in fewer taxpayers seeing a benefit from itemizing [...]
Last year, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) was signed into law and began to affect more than just individual income taxes. This is new law brought major changes to estate planning and in turn bolstered dynasty trusts and their potential value. Changes to Exemptions When you take a closer look at the TCJA, [...]
The enactment of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) in December of 2017 led to one of the more chaotic tax filing seasons in recent memory. The new law included several provisions that affected bonus depreciation treatment and calculations, and some taxpayers may have filed their returns without fully considering the different options that [...]
