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Trump Signs Bipartisan IRS Reform Legislation into Law
On July 1, President Trump signed into law a sweeping, bipartisan IRS reform bill called the Taxpayer First Act ( P.L. 116-25). This legislation aims to broadly redesign the IRS for the first tim...

House Approves Bipartisan Repeal of ACA’s “Cadillac” Tax
The House has approved a bipartisan repeal of the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) so-called "Cadillac"excise tax on certain high-cost insurance plans....

Final Regulations Clarify Employment Tax Treatment of Partners in Partnership That Owns Disregarded Entity
The IRS has released final regulations that clarify the employment tax treatment of partners in a partnership that owns a disregarded entity....

Final Regulations Allow Truncated TINs on Forms W-2 Furnished to Employees
Final regulations allow employers to voluntarily truncate employees’ social security numbers (SSNs) on copies of Forms W-2, Wage and Tax Statement, furnished to employees. The truncated SSNs app...

Final Regs Dealing With Lessees Claiming Investment Credit Disallow Basis Increases for Partners and S Shareholders Making Income Inclusions
IRS final regulations provide rules that apply when the lessor of investment tax credit property elects to pass the credit through to a lessee. If this election is made, the lessee is generally requir...

Preventive Care High Deductible Health Plan Exceptions Expanded for Chronic Conditions
Effective July 17, 2019, the list of preventive care benefits that can be provided by a high deductible health plan (HDHP) without a deductible or with a deductible below the applicable minimum deduct...

Continuity Safe Harbor Deadlines for Energy Credit Facility Construction May Be Tolled for National Security Delays
The continuity safe harbor placed-in-service date deadlines for the investment tax energy credit (Code Sec. 48) and the renewable electricity production credit (Code Sec. 45(a)) may be tolled if a con...

Proposed Regulations Address PFIC Rules
The Treasury and IRS have issued proposed regulations on provisions dealing with passive foreign investment companies (PFICs). Proposed regulations published on April 25, 2015, also have been withdraw...

Proposed Exception to MEP Unified Plan Rule
Proposed regulations would provide an exception to the unified plan rule for multiple employer plans (MEPs). The purpose is to reduce the risk of plan disqualification due to noncompliance by other pa...

New look to TINs/EINs to prevent identity theft/refund fraud
The IRS continues to ramp-up its work to fight identity theft/refund fraud and recently announced new rules allowing the use of abbreviated (truncated) personal identification numbers and employer ide...

New law repeals 3% government withholding, provides hiring credits for veterans, and more
On November 21, President Obama signed into law the 3% Withholding Repeal and Job Creation Act. The new law does much more than merely repeal withholding on government contractors. The new law enhance...

FAQ: Does sick pay get any special tax treatment?
The term "sick pay" can refer to a variety of payments. Some of these payments are nontaxable, while others are treated as taxable income. Some of the taxable payments are treated as compensation, sub...

How do I... Place assets "in service" for depreciation purposes?
Depreciation is a reasonable allowance for wear and tear on property used in a trade or business or for the production of income. Property is depreciable if it has a useful life greater than one year ...

The tricky distinction between employees and independent contractors
In light of the IRS’s new Voluntary Worker Classification Settlement Program (VCSP), which it announced this fall, the distinction between independent contractors and employees has become a &ldq...

How do I? Avoid pitfalls within a flexible spending account?
Under a flexible spending arrangement (FSA), an amount is credited to an account that is used to reimburse an employee, generally, for health care or dependent care expenses. The employer must maintai...

FAQs: When can I deduct job-hunting expenses?
Job-hunting expenses are generally deductible as long as you are not searching for a job in a new field. This tax benefit can be particularly useful in a tough job market. It does not matter whether y...

How do I? Compute a 'substantial equal periodic payment'
Taxpayers who wish to withdraw funds from a retirement account such as an IRA before they reach the age of 59 and a half, can do so without their distributions becoming subject to the additional 10 pe...

FAQ: Are Social Security survivor benefits received by children taxable income?
When an individual dies, certain family members may be eligible for Social Security benefits. In certain cases, the recipient of Social Security survivor benefits may incur a tax liability....

FAQ: What is a tax return transcript?
Taxpayers can request a copy of their federal income tax return and all attachments from the IRS. In lieu of a copy of your return (and to save the fee that the IRS charges for a copy of your ta...

Back-to-school look at education tax benefits
The start of the school year is a good time to consider the variety of tax benefits available for education. Congress has been generous in providing education benefits in the form of credits, deductio...

Stay within the tax rules when combining business and personal travel
Whether for a day, a week or longer, many of the costs associated with business trips may be tax-deductible. The tax code includes a myriad of rules designed to prevent abuses of tax-deductible busine...

Check status of a charity before making a contribution
Americans donate hundreds of millions of dollars every year to charity. It is important that every donation be used as the donors intended and that the charity is legitimate. The IRS oversees the acti...

New broker-reporting rules: burden to brokers a boon to taxpayers?
As a result of recent changes in the law, many brokerage customers will begin seeing something new when they gaze upon their 1099-B forms early next year. In the past, of course, brokers were re...

FAQ: What is backup withholding?
Most people are familiar with tax withholding, which most commonly takes place when an employer deducts and withholds income and other taxes from an employee's wages. However, many taxpayers are unawa...

FAQ: What are my chances of being audited?
Often, timing is everything or so the adage goes. From medicine to sports and cooking, timing can make all the difference in the outcome. What about with taxes? What are your chances of being audit...

The small employer health insurance premium credit
Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) enacted in March 2010, small employers may be eligible to claim a tax credit of 35 percent of qualified health insurance premium costs paid...

FAQ: What are the rules for claiming dependents?
The tax rules surrounding the dependency exemption deduction on a federal income tax return can be complicated, with many requirements involving who qualifies for the deduction and who qualifies to ta...

How Do I: Substantiate business gifts to clients?
A business can deduct ordinary and necessary expenses paid or incurred in carrying on any trade or business. The expense must be reasonable and must be helpful to the business....

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