Category: Tax Planning
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IRS issued more guidance on wage tax withholding
Yesterday the IRS issued more guidance on wage tax withholding rules in response to changes triggered by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Notice 2018-14 provides guidance to both individual taxpayers and employers on tax withholding requirements for wages. One of the most significant changes is the default rate of withholding on bonuses or supplemental wages is…
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Tax adjustments required now
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act snuck up on us quickly. Make changes took affect January 1, 2018 and many people are beginning to realize that they may have a tax problem in 2018. There are three simple things that all taxpayers should do immediately: Estimate your current year’s income tax liability under the new…
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Tax savings with accountable plans
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act snuck up on many of us. Suddenly in January 2018 tens of millions of Americans are denied a range of tax deductions that have been part of our personal and business financial culture for more than a lifetime. While most taxpayers will see a decrease in taxes, some of us…
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Home office deduction for employees in 2018
See this blog post “Five tax deductions you will miss this year” for other deductions eliminated in 2018. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act now in effect for 2018 no longer allows for employee1 home office deductions. This is a significant tax change that, according to the IRS, adds up to billion lost deductions, and increased…
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Small business employee benefits under the Tax Cut and Jobs Act
This is the one version of an opening to a group of articles that I am preparing for specific industry or professional groups in my area of concentration: small business employee benefits planning. This version is for CPAs but other versions of the article will be appropriate for small business audiences. In the final weeks…
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Top 7 EASY Tax Saving Strategies for 2018
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 brought many changes and new opportunities to legally cut the amount of tax that we pay. Just as before, the largest savings are available to those who take deliberate tax saving actions designed to arrange their financial and legal affairs to lower taxes. The tax planning strategies considered…
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How to address the 2018 increase in small business corporation taxes
Effective January 1, 2018 the corporate tax rate for the first $50,000 of earned income jumps from 15% to 21%. That 6 percent increase translates to an additional $3,000 federal income tax due for 2018 for a small corporation. Thousands of small businesses are affected. Some are understandably irate that a tax law called the…
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Outside sales representatives hit by a tax increase January 2018
If you are an employee with large unreimbursed business expenses then you either need to ask for a raise immediately of prepare for a potentially large tax increase. One of the most common types of occupations affected is outside sales representative however any employee in any occupation with work-related expenses would be affected the same way.…
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Legislative History as Tax Authority: an Obsolete Concept?
Early in my professional tax career I learned about the concept of legislative history as tax authority. In fact a large part of any legal education is learning to evaluate evidence based on its qualitative characteristics, statutory consideration or local rules. In tax law this hierarchy of authority becomes the logical and legally supportable basis that…
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Terminology of Federal Income Taxes
Lately we’ve heard plenty of discussion about tax law. It seems especially common right now when tax terms have come up multiple times in casual conversation this past week at coffee, family dinner and email from a client. In some cases the terms are misused or misunderstood. Like many types of discussion, meaningful communication depends…