Individual taxpayers have long relied on miscellaneous itemized deductions as a catch-all for a variety of business- and investment-related expenses that the tax code did not already allow as specified itemized deductions, such as those for medical expenses or contributions to charitable organizations. However, with the passage of the new tax law, these miscellaneous itemized […]
The IRS issued the 2019 optional standard mileage rates that taxpayers may use to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical or moving purposes. Taxpayers also have the option of calculating the actual costs of using their vehicle rather than using the standard mileage rates. Beginning on Jan. 1, 2019, […]
Posted on February 18, 2019
The new tax law in effect on Jan. 1, 2018, repeals the business deduction for lobbying local governments and their officials, including the Indian Tribal Governments. While businesses are prohibited from deducting lobbying expenses on the federal and state levels, they previously could qualify to deduct the “ordinary and necessary” expenses they incurred to promote […]
Posted on January 30, 2019
by
Jeffrey Mutnik
The IRS is providing penalty relief to the millions of taxpayers it says may have fallen short of their total tax liabilities for 2018 due to the revamp of the U.S. tax code under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). Thanks, in part, to the efforts of the accounting profession, including of the American […]
Posted on January 17, 2019
by
Adam Cohen
Eligible employees who enrolled to participate in their employers’ health care flexible spending arrangements (FSAs) for 2019 will be able to contribute and use up to a maximum of $2,700 tax-free dollars to pay for certain medical expenses not covered by their health insurance plans this year. That’s a $50 increase from the 2018 FSA […]
Posted on January 14, 2019
by
Joseph Saka
With the start of the 2019 tax season, businesses must educate employees, implement controls and take other steps to avoid falling victim to a growing wave of identity theft and W-2 scams. Identity thieves have been targeting small businesses at an alarming rate. Not only are criminals stealing business data to open credit card accounts […]
The IRS announced the annual inflation adjustments to various provisions of the tax code for 2019. You should consider each of these changes very carefully as you plan for tax efficiency this year and when you prepare your 2019 tax returns in 2020. Tax Rates The top tax rate of 37 percent applies to individual […]
Posted on January 03, 2019
by
Adam Cohen
Taxpayers affected by disasters, such as fires, floods or hurricanes, may need to reconstruct their records to prove they suffered losses for tax purposes and to qualify for federal assistance and insurance reimbursement. Following are some resources to help individual obtain copies of documentation that they may have lost as a result of a disaster […]
Posted on December 17, 2018
by
Barry Brant
The permanent reduction of the corporate income tax rate from a maximum of 35 percent to a flat 21 percent has led many businesses to reevaluate their current tax positions and reconsider their entity choice. The decision to convert from a pass-through entity to a C corporation, however, should not be based solely on how […]
Posted on January 02, 2018
by
Adam Cohen
While the current administration failed in its attempts to fully repeal the Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare), it did secure under a package of tax reform the elimination of the health care law’s individual mandate beginning in 2019. Regardless of how all of this will play out, one consistent trend that continues to […]
