How is the IRS progressing through its tax return processing backlog? As of Aug. 19, the IRS reports that it had 8.7 million unprocessed individual tax returns received in calendar year 2022. Among the returns are 1.7 million that contain errors or require special handling, while 7 million are paper returns that still must be … Read More
In 2022, for most people, it may seem like planning for gift and estate taxes is unnecessary because of the $12.06 million federal gift and estate tax exemption. But even if your net worth is only a fraction of the current exemption amount, there are good reasons to adopt strategies — such as making regular … Read More
It’s that time of year when students are starting or returning to college or trade school. Higher education is expensive, but taxpayers who take post-high school coursework in 2022 (or who have dependents taking such coursework) may qualify for one of two tax credits that can reduce their tax bills. The American Opportunity Tax Credit … Read More
Personal items — which may have modest monetary value but significant sentimental value — may be more difficult to address in an estate plan than big-ticket items. Squabbling over these items may lead to emotionally charged disputes and even litigation. In some cases, the legal fees and court costs can eclipse the monetary value of … Read More
Employers often struggle with what seems a simple question: Are workers employees or independent contractors? It’s not uncommon for businesses to misclassify workers only to later realize their mistake. If you’re facing this situation, the IRS’s voluntary classification settlement program (VCSP) may help. The VCSP allows employers to reclassify workers as employees for future employment … Read More
Does your public company have (or plan to establish) a stock buyback program? The new Inflation Reduction Act imposes a 1% excise tax on stock repurchases. But only some buyback programs will be affected. Buybacks treated as redemptions for tax purposes and made by domestic corporations whose stock is traded on an established securities market … Read More
Portability allows a surviving spouse to apply a deceased spouse’s unused federal gift and estate tax exemption amount toward his or her own transfers during life or at death. To secure these benefits, however, the deceased spouse’s executor must have made a portability election on a timely filed estate tax return (Form 706). The return … Read More
The IRS is providing broad-based penalty relief to most taxpayers who filed certain 2019 and/or 2020 tax returns late due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The relief will be automatic for qualifying individual and business taxpayers. Specifically, it applies to the failure-to-file penalty. This penalty is typically assessed at a rate of 5% per month, up … Read More
Mention the word “audit” to a business owner and you’ll probably get an anxious look. But not all audits are of the tax, financial statement or retirement plan variety. You can audit many areas of your company to help you better manage those functions. Take your brand, for example. Your business brand is more than … Read More
On Aug. 24, President Biden announced a plan for student loan debt relief. The three-part plan may affect nearly 8 million borrowers. Part one will allow $20,000 of debt forgiveness for taxpayers who went to college on a Pell Grant or $10,000 without a Pell Grant. This applies only to taxpayers earning below $125,000 a … Read More