First off, the employer must contribute to a SEP-IRA for any employees age 21 and over who have worked for the business three out of the previous five years

This tax break has been in the crosshairs of Congress for years but was removed from Senate Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act.

You can adopt either a defined contribution Keogh plan or a defined benefit Keogh plan. As you might expect, the rules for these variations generally

A solo 401(k) plan works pretty much like a traditional 401(k). For starters, you can elect to defer part of your salary to your account within generous annual limits.

To qualify to use a SIMPLE, the business can’t employ more than 100 workers. This includes any employees who earned at least $5,000 in the previous year.

Contributions are invested and can grow and compound within your account without any current tax until withdrawals are made. This is an easy type of retirement plan to set up and maintain. 

It also includes significant tax changes, although a tougher international tax regime and a controversial “millionaire’s tax” are notably missing from the final version of the bill.

It just got a little easier for wealthy families to benefit from a favorable estate tax break. In a new ruling, the IRS has extended the time for making the simplified ...

Many provisions in the tax law are indexed for inflation, so they go up virtually every year. Yet there are several interesting twists and turns for taxpayers.

The Tax Blotter is a round-up of recent taxation news.

The Tax Blotter is a round-up of brief tax news.

If your small business receives payments from Venmo, PayPal or other third-party networks, you could be in for a rude surprise next year. Under a little-publicized provision in the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), providers must begin reporting to the ...

So will the 2022 tax filing season be normal? Not likely. In addition to lasting health concerns, a number of new tax law provisions will create complications for some filers, as well as potential pitfalls to avoid. And maybe new tax laws by year's end.

Intuit, producer of the popular TurboTax filing program, has announced that it will no longer participate in the IRS’ Free File Alliance that provides free filing services to qualified taxpayers.

It’s harvest time again. Traditionally, at the end of the year investors realize or “harvest” capital losses or gains from sales of securities to secure tax advantages. And, with the tumultuous times we’ve experienced in 2020, there are more ...

Normally, retirees in their seventies or older arrange to receive required minimum distributions (RMDs) from retirement accounts at the end of the year. Otherwise, they could be held liable for a severe tax penalty, on top of the ...

It’s customary to give to charity around the holidays at the end of the year. Not only does this benefit worthy causes, it can pay off with a bigger charitable deduction on your tax return.

Forget about it being your best shot at a medical deduction this year—it could be your last shot, depending on your personal situation. It all has to do with the threshold for deducting medical expenses.

In the not-so-distant past, taxpayers who itemized could generally write off the full amount of state and local tax (SALT) payments, without any dollar restrictions. This often created a tax windfall for residents of states where income taxes or ...

Now that the conventions of both major parties have wrapped up, we’re heading into the home stretch of the presidential election race. Naturally, taxes will be a major point of contention.

The Court said in both cases that Trump isn’t granted immunity from such investigations just because he occupies the office of POTUS. Thus, at first glance, the president “lost” this legal battle, but the actual truth is more complex. The main sticking po

The IRS has sent Coronavirus stimulus payments to deceased people by mistake. It’s unclear how many such checks have been delivered, but it’s thought to be significant, because about 2 million people in the U.S. die each year.

To qualify for deferral, the amount of a capital gain to be deferred must be invested in a Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF), which is an entity treated as a partnership or corporation under federal tax law and organized for the purpose of investing in ...

The estimates translate to about 83.6%, of taxes being paid voluntarily and on time. This is in line with recent levels. The new estimate is essentially unchanged from a revised Tax Year (TY) 2008-2010 estimate of 83.8%. After enforcement efforts are ...

The Tax Blotter is a roundup of interesting tax news.

When it comes to accounting for income and expenses, most small business owners want to K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple, Stupid). Not surprisingly, many are embracing the reforms recently created by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). Notably, the TCJA opens up...

The IRS recently provided clarification concerning food and beverage deductions. The IRS says that a 50% deduction is allowed for food and beverage expenses if the following conditions are met...

Proponents of tax simplification have bandied about the idea for a postcard-type 1040 for years. It came closer to fruition when the massive Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) was enacted at the end of 2017. Supporters of the legislation, including ...

The report says that poor taxpayer service remains the biggest challenge taxpayers face in dealing with the IRS. For example, during this tax filing season IRS telephone assistors answered just 25% of taxpayer calls enterprise-wide.

Starting in 2018, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) put taxpayers on a strict tax diet for state and local taxes (SALT). Essentially, it limits the total deduction to $10,000 a year under a provision scheduled to last through 2025.

Congress has just passed comprehensive new legislation designed to improve IRS efficiency and provide more taxpayer protections. President Trump is expected to sign the bill into law shortly.

With the summer coming up soon, your small business clients may arrange to have their teenaged kids work for the firm instead of lounging around the pool. This can provide ta advantages for bot the family and the business.

Snipes still owed $23.5 million in back taxes when he was set free. In order to resolve his tax debt, the actor made an OIC of $850,000, or about 4% of the amount he owed.

Generally, employees can satisfy their annual tax obligations by having enough tax withheld from their paychecks during the course of the year. However, if you fail to pay enough tax, including both withholding and any quarterly installments, the IRS ...

The provision in the new Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) limiting itemized deductions for state and local taxes – known by the acronym of SALT – remains a sticky issue months after enactment of the law. Now four states along the eastern seaboard ...

In a new case harkening back to the days of F.D.R., the U.S. Supreme Court decided by a narrow 5-4 vote that stock options paid to employees who were “working on the railroad” do not constitute taxable compensation (Wisconsin Central Ltd, v. U.S. ...

The new tax law enacted late last year – the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) – includes a couple of key changes for real estate investors who are planning to renovate their properties. For one thing, the TCJA completely eliminates the rehabilitation ...

Now the TCJA is opening up Section 529 plans to pre-college schooling. Beginning in 2018, the definition of qualified expenses is broadened to include tuition for enrollment at an elementary or secondary public, private or religious school.

Lawmakers have attempted to address the issue several times. However, the Mobile Workforce State Income Tax Simplification Act, which was reintroduced into legislation last year, has failed to gain enough traction in Congress.

IRAs have been around for more than half a century and an entire cottage industry has sprung up concerning the rules for contributions and distributions.

The shutdown of the federal government on January 20 only lasted two days. But another deadline is looming: Uncle Sam will close up shop again on February 8 if Congress doesn’t take further action.

If nominated and approved, Rettig faces an uphill battle in turning around the IRS, which has suffered in recent years from a dwindling budget and several black eyes, including the “Tea Party scandal” that unfolded under Koskinen’s watch.

In addition, as part of the report, the NTA has released “The Purple Book” presenting 50 legislative recommendations. Many of these proposals have been detailed in prior NTA, but others are presented in this inaugural publication for the first time.

The new law carves out a brand-new tax deduction for owners of pass-through entities, including partners in partnerships, shareholders in S corporations, members of limited liability companies (LLCs) and sole proprietors.

The IRS has announced that it will officially begin accepting returns for the 2017 tax year on January 29, 2018 (IR-2018-01, 1/4/18). This is a little later than usual to give the nation’s tax collection agency enough time to ensure security and ...

Timing is everything in taxes and the new tax law —the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act -- is no exception. Generally, the provisions for individuals take effect in 2018, but there are several interesting wrinkles.

The TCJA also benefits many small businesses while presenting new obstacles. In general, the revised rules for businesses take effect in 2018 and are permanent, unlike most changes for individuals.

Most of the key provisions likely to affect individual taxpayers take effect in 2018 (for taxes that will be reported by April 2019), but are scheduled to sunset after 2026. Keeping that in mind, here are the essentials you should know about.

Before the new tax reform law – the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) -- was finalized, Congress made a slight concession to residents of high-tax states by including a limited deduction for state and local taxes (SALT), which includes state income, sales ...

The new tax reform bills that passed the House and Senate were built on the “need for speed.” Both versions were rushed along in the hopes of a final measure arriving on the president’s desk before Christmas. But haste makes waste and, in this case, ...

An amendment to the Senate version of the sweeping new tax reform bill hinders the ability of older Americans to build up their retirement funds on a pre-tax basis.

In a 51-49 vote following party lines, the Senate approved its version of the tax reform bill during a marathon session, with only one Republican, Tennessee Senator Bob Corker, voting against the measure. But it took some late additions – in barely ...

A collection of odd tax-related news.

Under sweeping tax reform proposals being discussed in Congress, millions of taxpayers may no longer be itemizing tax deductions in 2018. This creates an added incentive to bolster 2017 donations.

Tax reform cleared its first major hurdle in Congress on November 16 when the House passed its version of the bill by a 227-to-205 vote mainly along party lines. (No Democrats voted for it.) But the legislation, which would generally be effective for ...

The chances of a tax protestor prevailing in court are slim to nil. Typically, taxpayers will argue that payment of tax is strictly voluntary or unconstitutional or they don’t have to pay taxes on religious or moral grounds, to no avail. But they keep ...

The current graduated seven-bracket structure would be reduced to four rates of 12%, 25%, 35% and 39.6%. The previous plan was based on only three brackets with a top rate of 35% and didn’t specify income amounts. Thus, this new plans preserves the ...

The new tax plan doesn’t provide much detail on how the tax cuts will be paid for and who exactly will benefit. It also throws some important decisions back into Congress’ lap.

Undoubtedly, many of your clients will want to help out victims of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, in the aftermath of those devastating storms. But there’s more to claiming a charitable deduction than just mailing in a check or posting a donation online.

Your small business clients who suffer inventory shrinkage – whether it’s from a natural disaster like Hurricane Harvey or Irma, or theft or simple mismanagement – must account for the event on their financial books. Generally, a firm can enter a ...

The new version of the website is more mobile-friendly than its predecessor, Content has been tailored to meet user needs on a smartphone or tablet. The site will also eventually have the metadata structure needed to support smart technology.

Based on the evidence in the case, the Tax Court concluded that the taxpayer received gross income in 2012 equal to the value of the services that he provided to the trust. This amount was applied as an offset against the rent that the taxpayer owed.

The IRS can and often will impose tax on workers who don’t receive traditional wages from employment-related activities. Here are three of the latest examples culled from the Tax Court files.

Entrepreneurs usually aren’t surprised by the amount of work it takes to get a business up and-running and become successful. But these same small business owners are often blindsided by the time and effort required for tax and accounting issues.

As a general rule, you may write off the direct expenses of the home office (e.g., painting and carpeting a room) as well as a proportionate share of indirect expenses, such as mortgage interest and real estate taxes, utilities, insurance and repairs ...

The scammers have “gone phishing.” This is the crime of using emails, websites and social media to steal your confidential information off your computer. The devious cyber crooks may convince you to install malicious software by having you click on a ...

Are any of your clients up to their ears in debt to the IRS? Tell them to listen carefully: You don’t have to flee the country or pull off a bank heist to get out from under. There are a couple of ways to resolve a tax debt in a reasonable manner ...

The myRA certainly wasn’t around very long. On July 28, the Treasury Department announced that this government-sponsored retirement savings account – the brainchild of the Obama administration – is being phased out after an assessment.

A taxpayer in a new appellate court case failed to meet the timing requirements enabling him to claim a tax refund or qualify for a “financial disability” exception under the tax law (Chan, CA-10 No. 16-4197, 5/30/17).

Now scammers are trying to scare taxpayers by thinking their payments to them will be linked to the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS).

The full budget for the upcoming fiscal year – which kicks off on October 1, 2017 – was released on May 23. It includes $3.6 trillion in cost reductions over the next decade. Significantly, the proposals include seeping changes in the federal ...

Who’s going to pay for the infamous border wall? Maybe not Mexico directly, but Mexicans residing in the U.S. may help foot the bill, if certain members of Congress get their way.

New proposed legislation, introduced by Representative Jeb Hensarling (R-TX), is making headlines because it effectively rolls back the regulatory reforms included in the landmark 2010 Dodd-Frank Act. The “Financial Choice Act,” which passed in the ...

At the beginning of the year, the IRS increased the fees that taxpayer must pay to obtain a private letter ruling. Now it says that you must pay Uncle Sam electronically. Your check won’t be good anymore once a short transition period ends.

Who says taxes aren’t fun? This column is devoted to interesting tidbits, legislative developments and amusing news in the world of taxation. At the very least, it will keep you informed and, at best, it might illicit a chuckle of bring smile to your lips

The state of Massachusetts wants to impose new tax obligations on cookies. No, not the kind that you bake in the oven. These cookies are stored on your personal computer.

Farming has often been viewed as the backbone of the American economy. While technology and other recent developments may have changed this thinking, farmers still enjoy a preferred status, at least as federal income taxes are concerned. For instance, ...

Generally, a business is entitled to claim depreciation deductions for property, including real estate, beginning in the year the property is “placed in service.” Similar rules apply to Section 179 deductions and “bonus depreciation” deductions, as ...

The term “depreciation” may have negative connotations, but it usually elicits positive vibes from tax practitioners. Thanks to the depreciation deduction rules, your clients who are business owners can recoup most -- if not all -- of the cost of ...

If you rent out a residence such as a summer vacation home when you’re not using it, you may be entitled to deduct expenses against the rental income. In fact, you can even claim an annual loss if you don’t exceed certain limits. But the number of ...

After a series of setbacks, the Republican-led House finally passed proposed legislation that would replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the health care law known as Obamacare. It’s a first step but there’s still a long journey to enactment.

Your clients might need to be reminded about the stringent rules about travel and expense deductions. Check in with small business clients to ensure that they are sticking to the letter of the law.

The final nail in the coffin was a long time coming. Initially, Amazon contested governmental regulations requiring it to collect states sales taxes, arguing that it should not be have to meet this responsibility in states where it didn’t have a ...

The IRS is notoriously stingy when it comes to deducting business meal expenses. Usually, if you can’t meet the substantiation rules under the strict letter of the tax law, it will disallow the deduction. Of course, you can take your chances in Tax ...

Under the final overtime rule, certain salary thresholds would have increased, resulting in millions of more Americans becoming eligible for overtime pay. For now, the status quo applies. The DOL is expected to appeal the decision, but President-elect ...

If some of your employees are looking to go back to school, or to enroll in college courses for the first time, you might decide to lend a helping hand. An employer can set up a program that effectively pays for all or most of the costs on a ...

To help ease the burden of hard-working parents, employers may institute a dependent care assistance plan for employees. Under such a plan, payments made to third parties like babysitters and day care centers are excluded from income if the costs ...

Clients who don’t adhere to state record keeping requirements run the risk of being penalized by auditors. The exact rules and penalties vary from state to state, but it is definitely in your clients’ best interests to stick to the letter of the law.

Many of your small business clients, especially those in retail operations, have struggled with responsibilities for collecting and remitting sales and use taxes to the appropriate jurisdictions. This includes issues relating to sales transactions and ...

Calls for federal income tax cuts are a time-honored tradition by presidential candidates of all stripes, but the Tax Policy Center study says that Trump’s plan dwarfs the proposals made by other GOP contenders.

Are your federal income taxes overdue? You could lose your passport if you try to leave the country – even if you’re just taking a vacation or business trip abroad.

A new proposed regulation that would result in some nonprofit organizations reporting the Social Security numbers of donors to the IRS is drawing fire from the conservative sector.

The deduction for taxes claimed on Schedule A includes amounts paid for state and local income taxes such as the taxes withheld from your paychecks and any estimated taxes paid during the year. It also includes property taxes if you’re a homeowner.

With income tax planning now on the minds of many taxpayers and tax professionals, our year-end tax planning series looks at several methods to lower tax liability in the current year.

National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson has released a report on the state of affairs at the IRS. There was plenty to complain about during the first half of 2015, but it remains to be seen how much the IRS can improve.

The tax law provides some "tax insurance” for gambling activities. Generally, you can deduct the amount of your losses up to the amount of your winnings if you keep the proper records. But you can’t deduct an overall loss or related business expense.

One of the groups working on tax reform for the Senate Finance Committee (SFC) has just recommended that the two higher education credits and the tuition deduction be combined into a single credit. But significant tax reform is still in its infancy.

Effective midway through this year -- July 1, 2015, to be exact – certain employers that pay the health insurance premiums of its employees will be assessed hefty fines for their generosity.

The provision for so-called Cadillac plans doesn’t take effect until January 1, 2018. But employers are already exploring the available options or at least they should be. Reason: If a plan exceeds certain limits, it is subject to a stiff penalty in ...

The tax break for “net unrealized appreciation” (NUA) is one of the biggest tax breaks on the books for retirement-savers, but it is often overlooked.

Practically every Roth IRA owner knows that you can take qualified distributions from the account without paying any tax on the withdrawals. That’s why many of your clients set up the Roth in the first place. But it’s not as well-known that ...

For many years, self-employed individuals shied away from 401(k) plans. It was usually too costly and cumbersome to administer such a plan for just a single participant. But now the “solo 401(k)” is a more viable alternative for this segment of the ...

According to a new report by the Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee (ETAAC), the IRS has made significant strides on the electronic frontier, but the mission is far from complete.

The 2015 IRS Nationwide Tax Forums offers seminars over three days featuring up-to-date information from the IRS and professional experts in the areas of tax law, compliance and ethics. It also provides continuing education credits to ...

Three specialized groups were established with members from the IRS, states and private industry co-chairing and serving on each team. During the past 12 weeks, the three teams focused on developing ways to validate the authenticity of taxpayers ...

The best advice that tax practitioners and business advisers can give their clients in the wake of the new Supreme Court decision on Obamacare is actually pretty simple: Keep doing what you’re doing.

Raise your hand if you have one or more clients who recently started up an online business recently and are confused about the state sales tax implications. Now all of you (or at least most of you) can put your hands down.

A serious security breach at the IRS has the agency scrambling to beef up its ID theft efforts while the public and lawmakers stew. The IRS announced on May 26 that hackers had gained access to the personal information of more than 100,000 American househ

Court nullifies $37,000 deduction for donations of used property to charities, then adds 20% penalty.

The new Pub. 590-B applies to 2014 tax returns filed in 2015. Two aspects that have often befuddled taxpayers in the past are the RMD rules for Roth IRAs and the options available when inheriting traditional IRAs.

Usually, a transaction that occurs during the tax year is reflected on the tax return for that particular year. For instance, if you realize a capital loss on the sale of stock in 2015, the loss offsets tax liability on your 2015 return.

In his sixth year in office, President Obama’s taxable income has continued to decline, according to his 2014 tax return.

Mega IRAs – the moniker given to retirement saving accounts with over-inflated values -- have become a popular target of critics and a potential revenue source for a cash-strapped Treasury Department. Now a new report by the Government Accountability ...

There’s been much ado about the 55 tax extenders currently being debated by a lame-duck Congress. These tax law provisions, which are generally favorable to taxpayers, technically expired after 2013, but may be revived retroactive to ...

Legislative proposals to curtail or eliminate the tax benefits of like-kind exchanges are in the works. With a lame-duck Congress finishing out this year and a brand-new class of lawmakers entering 2015, no one can be sure if this tax break will ...

The portability provision can literally save a family millions of federal estate tax dollars if a timely election is made. For some clients who missed the boat, there’s still a little time left to sail off happily into the sunset, thanks to a special IRS

Do you have clients that began a business out of a spare bedroom, garage or basement? These entrepreneurs may start off as self-employed individuals, selling their wares on e-bay or etsy or at flea markets. In some cases, a humble beginning ...

Now that the dust has settled from the mid-term elections – with the Republican party firmly in control of both houses of Congress – what are the prospects for comprehensive tax reform? Not as favorable as you might think. Although the GOP hopes to break

Prior to 2014, parents could generally claim one of three sizeable tax breaks for higher education expenses on their personal tax returns: the tuition deduction, the American Opportunity Tax Credit (formerly the Hope scholarship credit) or the Lifetime Le

If you haven’t converted a traditional IRA to a Roth by now, you’re probably never going to do it…right? That’s not necessarily true. In fact, some of your clients who have been sitting on the fence for awhile may be convinced to finally take the leap ...

Make no mistake about it, the home office deduction rules are filled with potential landmines for the unwary. However, if you give clients the IRS-approved blueprint, they can preserve deductions for 2014.

The ultimate fate of the Section 179 deduction remains unclear. As things stand now, the maximum allowance will remain at the lowest level it’s been since the year 2000, a mere $25,000. Of course, Congress may still get its act together to restore...

At the end of the year, socially-conscious clients can boost their deductions, and thereby lower their tax bills, by giving a little extra to the charities of their choice. That’s still a sensible tax strategy as 2014 draws to a close. But a recent ...

Should retirees take money out of their qualified retirement plans like 401(k)s and IRAs to help pay for their living expenses? Most retirement-savers in their 70s or older have little choice: Under the federal tax law, they are mandated to make ...

The ongoing “Tea Party” scandal has appeared to loose some steam after a federal judge in the nation’s capital tossed out a lawsuit aimed by conservative nonprofit groups against the IRS (True the Vote, Inc. v. IRS, DC- Dist. Of Columbia, Civil Action No.

The end of the year often turns into “harvest time” for tax-savvy investors. By harvesting either capital gains or capital losses from securities transactions, depending on their situation, they can reap tax rewards when they file their returns.

Are you the kind of tax practitioner who waits for business to walk in the door or do you actively pursue it on your own? Usually, the former will result in flat revenue while the latter enables you to better build and grow your practice.

Naturally, everyone’s tax situation is different and the landscape changes year to year. However, absent special circumstances such as pending legislation or drastic economic swings, the tried-and-true strategy of accelerating deductions into ...

What are the tax and financial issues of the Supreme Court's decision not to overturn gay marriage rulings in several new states? Although certain aspects are still being sorted out, here’s a brief summary of the lay of the land in several key areas.

Normally, a taxpayer may deduct travel expenses, including the cost of lodging, only when he or she is “away from home” on business. For this purpose, home means your tax home, usually the area surrounding your principal place of business ...

The IRS has decided it won’t appeal a recent court ruling handed down in favor of Ryan, a global tax preparation services firm, that invalidates and permanently enjoins the IRS from prohibiting such arrangements for refund claims and amended returns.

The IRS has just announced new federal per diem travel rates for Fiscal Year 2015 (FY 2015), which spans October 1, 2014 through September 30, 2015. Unlike many other previous years, when per diem rates were typically bumped up just a dollar or two or not

There’s nothing new about taxpayers mixing business with pleasure. For instance, a business executive might paint the town red after he or she signs a six-figure contract with a client or customer. Is the cost of entertaining the client or customer ...

Suppose one of your clients receives a postcard or email heralding a business convention at a lush tropical paradise this winter. It’s hard to pass up and your client may jump at the opportunity. After the early presentations and round-table discussions,

First, a federal appeals court invalidated most of the regulations imposing continuing education and other regulatory requirements imposed by the IRS on tax return preparers (Loving, et al v. IRS, Civil Action 12-385 (JEB), U.S. Dist. Ct. DC, 1/18/13). .

There’s a better chance of Democrats and Republicans agreeing to the winner in “America’s Got Talent,” than there is of ever reaching a consensus on the IRS’ handling of the applications for tax-exempt status made by right-leaning political groups.

What often sets business taxpayers apart from individuals is the potential for deducting expenses relating to business driving. For virtually everyone else, the cost associated with operating a car or other vehicle is a nondeductible personal expense. However, if you use your own vehicle for business trips, you’re usually entitled to deductions on your federal tax return.

As with domestic travel (i.e., travel within the 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia), you can deduct all of your travel expenses if the trip is entirely for business purposes. Otherwise, you’re entitled to travel deductions only if the primary purpose of the trip is business-related. Again, the days spent on business versus pleasure are critical, although the IRS is lenient in treating certain days as “business days.”

It is well-known in tax circles that taxpayers can deduct the cost of traveling “away from home” on business. For this purpose, your tax home is usually your principal place of business. As an example, if you live and work in New York and fly to L.A. for a two-day whirlwind of business negotiations, the round-trip airfare is clearly deductible.

Frequently, the IRS challenges deductions for business-related driving expenses, especially when they involve local travel. Start with this basic premise: To qualify for transportation deductions, you must be traveling away from your tax home to a business location. For this purpose, your tax home is generally your principal place of business, not the place where you live, eat and sleep.

The more things change, the more they stay the same. Despite the thousands of revisions to the tax code that are made each year, the IRS continues to focus on travel and entertainment (T&E) deductions in audits of business taxpayers.

People are living longer due to medical advances and other factors. So it only stands to reason that outliving your retirement savings is becoming a greater concern. Nevertheless, the IRS continues to insist that elderly taxpayers make “required minimum distributions” (RMDs) from their qualified retirement plans and IRAs each and every year.

It is well-established that you can deduct home office expenses only if certain tax law requirements are met. Notably, no deduction is allowed unless the taxpayer uses the home office regularly and exclusively for business purposes.

As part of its ongoing efforts to deter identity theft, the Internal Revenue Service has issued final regulations on use of truncated Taxpayer Identification Numbers (TINs). The new regulations, which apply to those who furnish and receive payee statements and tax-related documents, generally follow proposed regulations issued last year, albeit with some modifications.

Do you remember those traditional pension plans from days of yore? Although such plans are nowhere near as prevalent as they were back in your grandfather’s day – especially for employers that must cover dozens of employees or more -- there’s still a time and place for the “defined benefit plan.” In fact, this option might be a perfect fit for a small business with just one or just a handful of full-time workers in the fold.

In the not-so-distant past, the Keogh plan was the hottest retirement planning commodity around. But like fax machines and VHS recorders, Keoghs are now regarded by many as relics. Nevertheless, this type of plan still might fit the bill for certain sole practitioners.

Once upon a time, an entrepreneur with just a handful of employees wouldn’t even think about starting up a 401(k) plan for the business. The administrative costs, as well as the complexity, could turn into a nightmare. But costs have come down in recent years and now the 401(k) is a viable vehicle for an employer of virtually any size.

Most of your clients who are small business owners are consumed with their day-to-day operations. They usually don’t have the time, nor the inclination, to devote to administering a qualified retirement plan for employees, even though they also will benefit from it personally. For these harried entrepreneurs, a Simplified Employee Pension (SEP), also called a SEP-IRA, is often the optimal choice of plans.

SIMPLE. The name says it all. It stands for Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees, a contrived moniker, but you get the picture. This type of qualified retirement plan, created back in 1996, is designed to provide an easy and convenient retirement plan option for small business operations.

Although it’s been almost five years since the floodgates were opened, we’re still seeing a steady stream of conversions to Roth IRAs. As long as Congress doesn’t clamp down on the rules, you can expect for this trend to continue.

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals has held that federal agents can’t hold onto a CPA’s computer data indefinitely while they sift through the data looking for dirt.

Are those generous Section 179 deductions for business clients a thing of the past? Under current law, the maximum deduction is just a fraction of the high-water mark that was allowed prior to its expiration after 2013.

The IRS Office of Professional Responsibility will be sending out letters asking practitioners to stop using disclaimers required under Circular 230 (Regulations Governing Practice Before the Internal Revenue Service).

It all has to do with the current tax rules for business entertainment. To be deductible as entertainment that is “associated with” your business, the activity must take place immediately before or after a substantial business discussion. Usually, this means the discussion has to be on the same day as the entertainment, but it could occur either the preceding or following day if the clients are from out of town.

It’s smart to try to get ahead in your field or at least keep pace with the latest developments. So some of your clients may be planning to put down their work tools and pick up books again as another school year beckons. Can a taxpayer deduct any education expenses if he or she is already working? Regardless of your intentions, it all depends on whether or not you pass the tax law test.

However, there’s a silver tax lining if the pool is needed by a family member to alleviate arthritis or some other specific illness. For a medically-necessary improvement made by a homeowner, the deductible amount is equal to the cost above the corresponding increase in the home's value. In addition, the annual maintenance costs associated with the pool — chlorine, repairs, utilities, cleaning services, etc. -- also qualify for the deduction. Note that the entire cost of a qualified improvements, plus the maintenance costs, is deductible by tenants.

The IRS isn’t backing off on its tough stance involving the “once-a-year-IRA rollover” rule. In the aftermath of a new case tightening the restriction for IRA owners (Bobrow, TC Memo 2014-21), it recently announced it intends the follow the Tax Court’s lead on this issue. However, showing some leniency, the IRS now says it won’t implement the new rule until 2015, providing clients with leeway for the rest of this year (Announcement 2014-15)

It’s a common practice during the summer: After a spring cleaning, people try to sell the household items they no longer need or want in a “garage sale” (known as a “lawn sale, “tag sale” or some other name in parts of the country). But what do they do with those items that are left over at the end of the day? Instead of simply discarding them, they may be able to donate them to charity and take a tax deduction for their troubles.

Congress keeps threatening to close some of the long-standing loopholes in the tax law. But one key tax break for business people has remained on the books despite numerous efforts to repeal it. It’s the special tax provision for certain heavy-duty vehicles.

Employers can’t get around the Obamacare “shared responsibility” provision simply by giving employees tax-free cash to pay for health insurance from a state-run exchange. In effect, this would pump up a worker’s pay and dump them in the marketplace. According to a new question and answer (Q&A) posted on the IRS website, as initially reported by the New York Times on May 25, the agency authoritatively states that the scheme won’t be allowed.

Summer is the time for grilling burgers and hot dogs, escaping to the beach or woods or just relaxing and enjoying the warm weather. Of course, there’s nothing to prevent you from mixing in a little business with the pleasure. If your clients handle things the right way, and keep detailed records, they can write off a portion of their business entertainment expenses.

For many farmers, harvest time comes at the end of the summer. The same thing is true for your clients who are active traders in the stock market. But you must caution them that the tax landscape has changed in recent years.

Are your clients making plans to send their kids off to camp this summer? Depending on the arrangements, they may be entitled to claim a healthy tax credit – the dependent care credit (also known as the “child care credit” ) – for the daily expenses. However, there are no tax benefits available for overnight camps or other personal expenses.

After several years of head-scratching, the IRS has finally offered guidance on the tax treatment for virtual currencies like Bitcoin (IRS Notice 2014-21). In brief, taxpayers have been advised to treat Bitcoin as property for U.S. tax purposes. But accountants, particularly those with small business clients, are still struggling to get a better handle on how this will work in real-life situations.

Suppose one of your clients has his or her sights set on obtaining an MBA or another advanced degree. Usually, it takes significant time and effort to achieve this goal, especially if the degree candidate is currently working on a full-time or part-time basis. But earning the degree could be well worth the “blood, sweat and tears” from a monetary standpoint.

Due to recent advances in technology, you can now talk face to face with someone halfway across the country without even budging from your desk. Yet it’s still important at times for business people to “press the flesh” or meet in person with an associate to conduct meetings or consummate a deal. At least, a business traveler may be entitled to generous tax deductions for his or her expenses.

Before student athletes begin celebrating the recent decision by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) that college football players should be classified as university employees, they might consider this extra point: Players could be hit with an unexpected tax bill on their scholarships.

The White House now says without equivocation that 7.1 million individuals signed up for Obamacare by March 31, the deadline for open enrollment in 2014. But how many of those people actually paid for health insurance coverage acquired through the marketplace? That’s where the “counting” gets a little trickier.

What will happen to the “tax extenders” that have been virtually ignored by Congress the last few months? At long last, there seems to be some movement on several fronts concerning these tax law provisions that are traditionally extended for just one or two years.

The IRS has been struggling in its efforts to close an estimated $385 billion “tax gap” between the amount that taxpayers owe and the amount they’ve actually paid. Now, to add another crushing weight, it has to ramp up Obamacare activities despite recent budget cutbacks.

Despite reports of a formal extension circulating in the media, March 31 was the last day that individuals could sign up for health insurance coverage for 2014 under the Obamacare mandate without risking a hefty financial penalty. Or was it?

It’s even more difficult than before for most taxpayers to qualify for medical expense deductions now that the “floor” has been raised to 10 percent of adjusted gross income (AGI) from 7.5 percent of AGI.

With about two weeks to go in tax filing season, the procrastinators are finally starting to contact your office. Usually, they’ve postponed the inevitable because they fear they’ll be entitled to only a miniscule refund or they will have to ante up to Uncle Sam.

One could say that the automatic tax filing extension is the taxpayer’s best friend – besides being a bosom buddy to tax return preparers – as the tax filing season rushes to a close. And this BFF may be able to do more for you than you think. However, just like most good friends, it’s not without fault.

Despite recent claims that the deadline for signing up for Obamacare would not be postponed beyond the initial March 31 deadline – the day before April Fool’s Day – the White House has finally caved into the pressure. According to a report in the Washington Post on March 25, the Obama administration is extending the open enrollment period for two to three weeks in three dozen states around the country.

The government seems to have worked out most of the kinks in www.healthcare.gov, the online site used to sign up for Obamacare. But it has yet to address another glitch that surfaced almost two years ago: Language in the law that prevents married taxpayers who file separate tax returns from qualifying for special tax subsidies.

Many federal income tax breaks are reserved for low-income families – the earned income tax credit (EITC) instantly comes to mind – but that doesn’t mean that wealthier individuals can’t get their fair share of the pie.

State income taxes are often overlooked by the general public, but professional tax return preparers should not make the same mistake. Nevertheless, it is easy to miss tax benefits or liabilities associated with state income taxes, especially as they relate to federal Form 1040.

New legislation passed by the House tying the “doc fix” to Obamacare is expected to meet its demise on the Senate floor. Thus, a once-promising solution to a long-term problem is likely to turn into another victim of bipartisan politics.

The Obama administration is relying on various federal agencies and organizations to help implement the complex rules under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), the comprehensive health care legislation otherwise known as “Obamacare.” Naturally, the IRS is expected to play a major role, including enforcement of the penalties for failing to obtain minimum coverage and imposition of the 3.8% Medicare surtax on “net investment income” (NII) for certain upper-income investors.

President Obama has just released a new 2015 budget designed to raise more than $1 trillion in revenue over the next ten years by boosting income taxes for upper-income individuals, closing or tightening tax loopholes and scaling back estate tax benefits.

On March 5, the government released a second set of comprehensive regulations relating to the controversial health care legislation. Previously, regulations had extended the employer mandate for certain mid-sized firms by one year to January 1, 2016, while all responsible firms had benefited from a prior one-year delay. Now, following an earlier reprieve, the grace period for individual policies that don’t meet the law’s requirements has been extended by two years, to October 1, 2016.

Tax reform is back in on the table. On February 26, 2014, U.S. Representative Dave Camp (Rep.-Mich.), the chairman of the House Ways & Means Committee, released a much-anticipated draft of a major tax overhaul. Camp’s proposed reforms, which were three years in the making, reflect bipartisan efforts to simplify the tax code and provide equality to taxpayers.

With about a month to go before the open enrollment period for Obamacare ends – the official deadline is March 31, 2014 – the federal government continues to tweak the rules for the landmark healthcare legislation.

According to a new report prepared on behalf of the Urban Institute for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the impetus for covering more taxpayers under Obamacare could come from an intriguing source: Tax return preparers.

According to a new federal court of appeals case, the IRS doesn’t have the authority to regulate tax return preparers who routinely file returns on behalf of taxpayers.

The recent decision to postpone the employer mandate to provide affordable health care coverage to full-time employees under Obamacare (the “play or pay rules”) is welcome news to certain mid-sized companies.

Under the federal income tax law – specifically, Section 408(d)(3)(B) of the Internal Revenue Code – a taxpayer can roll over funds from one IRA to another only once a year.

A new simplified method devised by the IRS for claiming home office deductions is much faster and easier to use than the unwieldy traditional method.

Between Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 and FY 2013, the IRS has averaged approximately 3,500 criminal referrals a year, a staggering 38.4% increase from the years in which George W. Bush inhabited the White House.

New final regulations issued on February 10, 2014 by the Treasury Department have postponed the employer mandate another year – until January 1, 2016 – for certain mid-sized employers.

In the wake of a new report from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) assessing the impact of Obamacare on employment, Republicans in Congress are renewing some objections to the controversial legislation and modifying others.

The specter of the dreaded new surtax on “net investment income” (NII) has turned into reality. For the first time ever, some upper-income taxpayers will have to pay the 3.8% surtax on their 2013 income tax returns. This could be a harrowing experience for some of your clients.

President Obama didn’t drop any bombshells in his State of the Union address delivered on January 28. But he did unveil a new retirement-saving concept called the “MyRA” (a wordplay on IRA). As the president explained, this account will be designed to encourage retirement savings by workers who don’t have access to employer plans like 401(k)s. It is hoped that the MyRA can help bridge the gap facing millions of Americans who haven’t set aside enough for retirement. But will it turn into a dud?

It’s going to take time – perhaps more than initially anticipated – for the government to work through all the twists and turns in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (the PPACA), the massive health care law known as “Obamacare.” Along the way, certain tweaks and modifications are likely to be required.

A new report by the Treasury Inspector General (TIGTA) on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (the PPACA) – the 2010 federal legislation also known as “Obamacare” – focuses on the “customer service” strategy promised by the IRS.