Posted on February 11, 2021
by
Rick Bazzani
Millions of college-age students are taking a gap year or living at home during the Fall 2020/Spring 2021 semesters while many classes have moved online as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is important for families to understand how these decisions may affect the funds they have saved in 529 plans. A 529 college […]
Posted on February 03, 2021
by
Joanie Stein
There is good and bad news for retirement savers in 2021. While the IRS’s annual inflation adjustments will allow more individuals to qualify to contribute to traditional IRAs and Roth IRAs, the maximum amount that can be contributed to employer-sponsored 401(k) and 403(b) plans remains unchanged from last year. If you are already retired or […]
Posted on January 19, 2021
by
Joanie Stein
A college education is a significant expense. To help reduce the financial burden of paying for higher education, college students and their families may qualify for certain tax credits and other tax-advantaged savings programs offered through public and private sources. The American Opportunity Tax Credit The American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC) provides a maximum annual […]
Posted on January 14, 2021
by
Andrew Leonard
The Small Business Administration (SBA) and U.S. Treasury Department recently announced the opening dates for the second round of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP2) and released the application forms small businesses, nonprofits and other qualifying entities should use when applying for first-time and second-draw loans under the revived program. Lenders with $1 billion or less […]
Posted on January 11, 2021
by
Lewis Taub
In the rush to put 2020 in the rearview mirror and welcome in the promises of a New Year, employers should remember that there are some critical tax-reporting deadlines they must prepare to meet in the next few weeks. For example, businesses have until Feb. 1, 2021, to file Forms W-2, Wage and Tax Statements, and […]
Posted on January 07, 2021
by
Kevin McNally
The second round of COVID-19 stimulus signed into law on Dec. 27, 2020, temporarily lifts the 50 percent limitation on deductions for business meal expenses that was first introduced in 2017 by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). Effective for tax years 2021 and 2022, businesses may fully write off 100 percent of the […]
Posted on January 05, 2021
by
Karen Lake
In 2020 New Jersey became the fourth state in the U.S. to raise taxes on some of its wealthiest residents. Under the law, the state’s top marginal tax rate of 10.75 percent will apply to annual earnings of $1 million or more effective for tax years starting on Jan. 1, 2020. Previously, taxpayers with annual […]
Posted on December 28, 2020
by
Andrew Leonard
On December 27, President Trump signed the $900 billion economic-assistance package approved by Congress earlier in the week to help Americans weather the ongoing financial strains of the COVID-19 health crisis. The legislation calls for direct stimulus payments to qualifying taxpayers, an additional 11-weeks of federal emergency-unemployment benefits and greater flexibility for taxpayers to qualify […]
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 […]
