Charitable giving is a great way to help organizations and causes near and dear to your heart and have the added benefit of being eligible for a tax deduction. While this is a great way to give to a good cause and lower your tax bill, there are several considerations to be aware of. The …
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act clarified the rules about the taxability of employee achievement awards as to what can be excluded from your employee’s income. The good news is that all gifts and awards to employees are deductible expenses for employers. Unfortunately, most of these gifts and awards are now taxable to employees. The …
By now, we have all heard of the new Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) signed by President Trump in December 2017 to take effect on January 1, 2018. I am sure you heard that individuals and corporations will get tax cuts through reduced tax rates, among other deductions available. In this blog, I will …
Three words: triple tax free. The contributions are tax deductible, the earnings are not taxed and distributions are tax free if they are used for qualified expenses. This is the main advantage and beauty of Health Savings Accounts (HSAs). While Roth and traditional retirement savings accounts will almost always result in taxable income (now, or …
Your employee expenses for job assignments away from home are miscellaneous deductions. Sadly, these are no longer deductible starting in 2018 and extending to 2025 under the new rules established by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). If your employer reimburses your temporary job expenses, your employer can take a deduction for the reimbursement, …
The IRS recently released a handy tax reform comparison for businesses. The comparison is broken down by various sections such as deductions, depreciation, expensing, tax credits and other provisions. There are two columns that show the tax treatment under prior law and what has changed under TCJA. This side-by-side comparison can help you understand the …
Before we get into the details of what has changed with the new tax law, let’s first define what backup withholding is. In general, backup withholding is a tax withholding required on income that usually does not require withholding. Backup withholding is usually triggered when a taxpayer fails to supply the correct taxpayer identification number …
Many of you may know the BSA as the Boy Scouts of America. It’s where I spent many years as Scout Leader for my boys’ Cub Scout Pack and Boy Scout Troop. But there’s another BSA – the IRS Bank Secrecy Act. This BSA started in 1970 when it was originally known as the Currency …
President Trump’s signature on December 22, 2017 enacted the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) as of January 1, 2018. As you get ready to file your 2018 tax return, the many changes in the tax law may have you scrambling to stay on top of the latest rules. Mileage rates were not exempt from …
If you have been perusing the instructions for the amended individual tax return (Form 1040X), you have probably seen something quite exciting. What, you say?! You have not looked at the instructions for Form 1040X? Here is a link to these instructions. Anyway, the excitement. Beginning way back in March 2013, you could track the …