The IRS has posted instructions for how exempt organizations can claim a refund or credit of the unrelated business income tax they paid with respect to qualified transportation fringe benefits. This is the so-called “church parking tax.” In December 2019, legislation retroactively repealed the tax. Before being repealed, a provision required the unrelated business taxation … Read More
Finding the right person to head up your company’s finance and accounting department can be challenging in today’s tight labor market. While it may be tempting to simply promote an existing employee, external candidates may offer fresh ideas and skills that take your financial reporting to the next level. Here are four traits to put … Read More
Taxpayers have fundamental rights when dealing with the IRS. Among them is the right to only pay what’s legally owed. You also have the right to: receive a refund if you overpay: be in contact with the IRS if you believe you’re being billed unfairly; and amend a tax return if you discover an error. … Read More
For 2020, the lifetime gift and estate tax exemption has reached a whopping $11.58 million ($23.16 million for married couples). As a result, few people will be subject to federal gift taxes. If your wealth is well within the exemption amount, does that mean there’s no need to file gift tax returns? Not necessarily. There … Read More
What if you file your federal tax return and then realize you made a mistake? According to the IRS, the answer depends on the mistake. If the error is mathematical, there’s a good chance it will be caught during the processing and corrected by the IRS. But if you chose the wrong filing status, need … Read More
The deductibility of most charitable gifts hasn’t changed since passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, but some recordkeeping requirements have. Helping your donors who itemize deductions understand the rules and benefits of their gifts can strengthen your not-for-profit’s ties with them — and may help increase contributions. Allowable deductions Generally, donors can deduct … Read More
A new Government Accountability Office report looks at campaign finance law. It identifies impermissible levels of political campaign intervention by tax-exempt organizations and the outcomes of IRS enforcement efforts. In fiscal years 2010 through 2017, the IRS conducted and closed 226 examinations related to organizations’ non-compliant political campaign intervention. More than half of the examinations … Read More
If you’re getting ready to file your 2019 tax return, and your tax bill is higher than you’d like, there may still be an opportunity to lower it. If you qualify, you can make a deductible contribution to a traditional IRA right up until the Wednesday, April 15, 2020, filing date and benefit from the … Read More
How do dependents affect federal income taxes? The Congressional Budget Office recently issued a report (https://bit.ly/3bbJarM ) on this topic. It analyzed tax return data under 2019 tax rules and compared it with the rules that are scheduled to be in place for 2026. It estimated that the average tax benefit per dependent for 2019 … Read More
To guard against natural disasters and other calamities, many companies buy business interruption insurance. These policies provide cash flow to cover revenues lost and expenses incurred while normal operations are limited or suspended. But buying coverage is one thing — making a claim and receiving the funds is quite another. Depending on the scope of … Read More