The following changes to federal tax laws apply to U.S. individual taxpayers, trusts and estates for tax year 2021 and the tax returns they will file the following year. Marginal Income Tax Rates For tax years beginning on Jan. 1, 2021, there continues to be seven individual tax brackets with marginal rates topping out at […]
Posted on December 08, 2020
by
Rick Bazzani
If you are struggling to pay an outstanding tax liability under the financial pressure of the COVID-19 health crisis, help has arrived. On November 2, the IRS unveiled a Taxpayer Relief Initiative, offering new tools and payment options for individuals and businesses to settle unresolved tax debts. The IRS has always offered taxpayers different options […]
Posted on December 01, 2020
by
Andrew Leonard
The IRS and Treasury Department recently released guidance clarifying how Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) participants must treat loan expenses when they have not received loan forgiveness by the end of the 2020 tax year. Under Revenue Ruling 2020-27 and Revenue Procedure 2020-51, businesses that “reasonably believe” the SBA will forgive their PPP loans in the […]
Posted on November 16, 2020
by
Jeffrey Mutnik
The people have spoken and elected Joseph Biden to serve as the 46th president of the United States. Under a Democratic administration, there is a very real possibility that existing tax policies will change in the near term, and high-net-worth families, in particular, may see their tax bills increase. With just two months until the […]
Posted on November 13, 2020
by
Lewis Taub
The IRS updated the per diem rates companies should use beginning Oct. 1, 2020, to reimburse employees for business-travel expenses, including lodging, meals, entertainment and other incidentals. The guidance also includes special rates for travel to high-cost localities and for meals and incidental expenses (M&IE) incurred by members of the transportation industry. The per diem […]
Businesses that usually file IRS Form 1099-MISC to report payments they make to independent contractors, gig-economy workers and outside consultants should prepare for change in the coming year. Effective for tax years beginning in 2020, the IRS requires businesses to report nonemployee compensation totaling $600 or more on Form 1099-NEC rather than including it on […]
Posted on November 03, 2020
by
Jeffrey Mutnik
Recipients of Social Security benefits, including Supplemental Security Income (SSI), will receive a modest 1.3 percent cost-of-living adjustment in 2021, down from 1.4 percent in 2020, according to a recent announcement from the Social Security Administration. This meager bump during the financial challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic will bring just a few extra […]
Posted on October 20, 2020
by
Heath Standorf
The IRS recently published final regulations regarding the business interest expense deduction limitations introduced in 2017 by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) and recently updated by the CARES Act. Included in the final regulations are guidance to help taxpayers identify and calculate their interest deduction limitation and FAQs to help them understand if […]
Posted on October 13, 2020
by
Jeffrey Mutnik
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently issued final regulations that allow decedents’ estates and non-grantor trusts to claim certain deductions that would otherwise have been disallowed under the 2017 overhaul of the tax code. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) barred individuals, estates and non-grantor trusts from claiming miscellaneous itemized deductions for any taxable […]
Posted on September 29, 2020
by
Jack Winter
Job losses and small-business closures are forcing Americans to reconsider the ways in which they earn income and provide for their families during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Some are finding survival by entering the growing gig economy or turning their hobbies into businesses that can generate income in the current economic climate. However, it […]
