In guidance that became applicable as of January 1, 2018, the IRS has recently clarified that section 451(b) of the new Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) does not apply to market discount bonds as some taxpayers and tax practitioners had feared. A market discount bond is fairly common and one in which a taxpayer …
The holiday shopping season is in full swing. Whether you’re hitting the retail stores or doing all your shopping online, you want to shop wisely and protect your personal information. The FTC has a few holiday shopping tips to help you. Make a list (and check it twice!) as well as a budget. This will …
The IRS recently announced the updated per diem rates for taxpayers’ usage of meals, lodging and incidental expenses while traveling for business. The rates became effective October 1, 2018. To begin, let’s clarify the usage of per diem rates. A company chooses to use per diem for travel as an alternative to reimbursement based on …
Twenty-five years ago, Congress enacted a law prohibiting the deduction of expenses related to the rental of a portion of one’s home to their employer. The law was enacted in response to a Supreme Court decision allowing a CPA to offset rents received from his employer with the deduction of insurance, utilities, city charges, pest …
The IRS has released the annual gift tax exclusion. For 2018 and 2019, the amount is increasing to $15,000. What does this mean for gifts you make? Each year, you can gift up to $15,000 per person before the gift is considered taxable and without being required to file a gift tax return (Form 709). …
Good tax preparers naturally want to help their clients no matter what challenges they must face in doing so, but this upcoming tax season will be especially daunting as the tax challenges for 2019 just keep piling up. Of course, the big one for this upcoming tax season is the massive tax overhaul also known …
If you’re an S Corp shareholder, how many times has your CPA advised you to make sure that all distributions to shareholders of your S Corp are proportionate to each shareholder’s ownership percentage? This advice is based on the rule that S Corporations can only have one class of stock, and that disproportionate shareholder distributions …
If you are an owner in an S Corporation or a Partnership, you have probably heard about a new deduction with the recent tax law changes. Without getting too involved in the rules, and possibly making you fall asleep, the 50,000-foot view is that basically the deduction could end up being 20% of a company’s …
In case you haven’t heard it enough, there have been a ton of changes in the tax world recently. With the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2018 being the first major tax reform in over 30 years, there is an estimate of about 450 forms, publications and instructions that need to be revised …
Until recently, a particular paragraph contained within the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was causing significant heartburn (from a potentially non-deductible meal) for tax preparers, business owners and those within the restaurant industry. Now, the IRS has provided clarification for the business meals deduction. As part of the tax reform bill, entertainment expenses formerly subject …
The new revenue recognition standard takes effect for most private companies in 2019, but you can’t wait until then to learn about this. Download our new e-Book now.
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