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2018
Renew 2018 State Licenses or Face Penalty
Businesses urged to renew 2018 State Licenses due January 1 or face penalty.
Businesses urged to renew 2018 State Licenses due January 1 or face penalty.
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) will be changing the tax rules of the road for alimony. Under current rules, individuals who pay alimony or maintenance can deduct an amount equal to the payments made during the year as an “above-the-line” deduction. And, under current rules, alimony and maintenance payments are taxable to recipients. But under the TCJA, there’s no deduction for alimony for the payers and alimony isn’t gross income to the recipients.
Charitable giving allows you to help an organization you care about and, in most cases, enjoy a valuable income tax deduction. If you’re considering a large gift, a noncash donation such as appreciated real estate can provide additional benefits. For example, if you’ve held the property for more than one year, you generally will be able to deduct its full fair market value and avoid any capital gains tax you’d owe if you sold the property.
SUMMARY OF THE TAX EXTENDERS AGREEMENT
DIVISION D – REVENUE MEASURES
TITLE I – EXTENSION OF EXPIRING PROVISIONS
Subtitle A – Tax Relief for Families and Individuals
Section 40201. Extension and modification of exclusion from gross income of discharge of
qualified principal residence indebtedness. The provision extends through 2017 the exclusion
from gross income of a discharge of qualified principal residence indebtedness.
With kids back in school, it’s a good time for parents (and grandparents) to think about college funding. One option, which can be especially beneficial if the children in question still have many years until they’ll be starting their higher education, is a Section 529 plan.
Tax-deferred compounding
529 plans are generally state-sponsored, and the savings-plan option offers the opportunity to potentially build up a significant college nest egg because of tax-deferred compounding.
What does tax debt have to do with a passport? Passports are issued by the State Dept., not the IRS. But a 2015 law requires the IRS to notify the State Dept. of taxpayers having “seriously delinquent tax debt,” generally defined as tax debt exceeding $50,000 and for which a lien has been filed (for tax years beginning after Jan. 1, 2016). Unless exceptions apply, such tax debt is grounds for denial of a passport or revocation or limitation of an existing passport.
Employers who withhold taxes from employee paychecks but fail to turn them over to the IRS may face a severe penalty. The Trust Fund Recovery Penalty is equal to 100% of the unpaid tax and can be assessed personally against responsible parties. In one case, a plastic surgeon said he’d acted in good faith, but was denied a new trial when the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals found he’d willfully evaded tax payment. Facts showed he’d paid employees with cashier’s checks and used available funds to pay personal expenses instead of paying taxes owed.
The new tax law temporarily eliminates the moving expense deduction. Under prior law, taxpayers could claim a deduction for moving expenses incurred in connection with starting a new job if the new workplace was at least 50 miles farther from a taxpayer’s former residence than the former place of work. Under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, for tax years beginning after Dec. 31, 2017, and before Jan. 1, 2026, the deduction for moving expenses is suspended,
An ex-wife gets no tax relief. In general, married taxpayers who file a joint tax return are “jointly and severally liable” for the tax due on the return. However, spouses may be eligible for “innocent spouse” relief if they can prove they didn’t know about an understatement of tax. In one case, a married couple filed a joint return and later divorced. The U.S. Tax Court ruled the ex-wife wasn’t entitled to innocent spouse relief with respect to two sources of income earned by the ex-husband because she was aware he had received 1099 forms.
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2017 TCJA Summary and Analysis
**With the recent changes in tax law, we are posting the below as a summary and analysis that we hope will aid in understanding some of the changes in the new tax law that was passed on December 22, 2017. Please note that while efforts were made to assure the accuracy of the below article,