Capitol Corner

In early May, the National Association of Enrolled Agents (NAEA) released its newest white paper, “Putting Service Back into the Internal Revenue Service: NAEA’s Recommendations on IRS Reforms.” The clever t... Thad Inge and Claire Nevill

Feature Article

Donor-advised funds are growing in popularity as a way for individuals and corporations to give to charities. Broad-sweeping changes to the tax code at the end of 2017 sent nonprofits into a state of panic. The doubling of the standard deduct... Kim Moore

Feature Article

On July 1, 2019, President Trump signed into law the Taxpayer First Act of 2019 (TFA), enacting changes to the IRS’s organizational structure, customer service, enforcement procedures, management of information technology, and use of electronic systems, with a focus on improving its int... Sidney Kess, JD, LLM, CPA, Steven I. Hurok, JD, CPA

Feature Article

Sales tax is imposed upon retail sales of tangible personal property and taxable services in 45 states and the District of Columbia. Each state determines the circumstances under which a sales tax is imposed on the purchaser. Purchases by nonprofit organizations are exempt in most... Katherine Gauntt

Feature Article

“The GOP tax reform will devastate charitable giving.”i “Nonprofits are the unintended victims of the new tax bill.”ii “Tax reform could cost charities $13 billion a year.”iii While ... Ellie Burke

Editor's Message

It may seem early to think about #GivingTuesday, but the giving season will be here before you know it. I have a few charities I contribute to every year and also to those that spring into action whenever disaster strikes. Several factors motivate people to make charitable donations, i... Janelle Julien

Feature Article

Does Net Rental Income Quality For The SECTION 199A Deduction? By David M. Fogel, EA, CPA, USTCP One of the changes made by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (P.L. 115-97) was to introduce a new 20 percent deduction for qualified business income. The deduction is intended to benefit taxpayers who have net business income. One of the questions being debated in the tax preparer community... David M. Fogel, EA, CPA, USTCP

Capitol Corner

If at first you do not succeed, try and try again. We expect IRS reform may be one of the few tax legislative vehicles that moves through Congress this year. Bipartisan, bicameral efforts to pass a reform bill failed at the last minute before the end of the last Congress. But that failure does not seem to have we... Recommendations of the National Association of Enrolled Agents

Feature Article

On June 21, 2018, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled on South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc. The Supreme Court was asked to examine the physical presence precedents it set in two prior cases: Quill Corp. v. North Dakota (U.S. Supreme Court, No. 91- ... Alyssa Marchand, MST

Feature Article

On July 24, 2017, the U.S. House Judiciary Committee held a hearing to discuss the implications of the South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc. Supreme Court ruling. The Supreme Court overruled the physical presence nexus in this case, in favor of allowing the states to impose economic nexus standards... Alyssa Marchand, MST

Feature Article

Changes to U.S. tax law brought about by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Job Acti (TCJA) have affected many longstanding tax planning tools. One favorable change amends the rules regarding the persons who can own shares of an S corporation. Historically, the S corporation election was ... Rusudan Shervashidze, JD; Stanley C. Ruchelman, JD

Feature Article

The tax reform legislation known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that was passed by Congress and signed by President Trump on December 22, 2017, has significantly changed how many businesses and their tax advisors approach the choice of entity decision. When deciding on how to be cla... Timothy C. Smith, JD

Feature Article

The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), signed into law on December 22, 2017, is favorable to businesses of all types – corporations, partnerships, and sole proprietorships. The TCJA reduced C corporation taxes to a flat rate of 21 percent, down from a gradua... Gil Charney, CPA/PFS, CFP, CGMA, CMA, MBA

Feature Article

I have been preparing income tax returns for more than forty years. During that time, there have been many changes as to how nonbusiness interest expense has been treated on Schedule A of a client’s personal income tax returns, Form 1040. In my first couple tax ... C. Dale Boushley, EA, CFP

Feature Article

This topic can easily occupy several hours. So, what is all the hype about? Qualified business income (QBI) qualifies a small business to deduct up to 20 percent off its net income. This is income that normally gets reported on Form 1040. This includes sole proprietors, andlords, farmers, p... Ben A. Tallman, EA, USTCP

Feature Article

Please remember that this article was written in late September based on the draft forms available at that time. Some changes may have occurred between that date and the publishing of this article. Line 7 Wages. Line 21 — Other income. Lines 37 and 38 – adjusted gross income (AG... Beth Logan, EA

Feature Article

This year, we get to deal with many tax changes. Members of Congress, as well as presidential candidates, stated that one of their goals was to simplify the tax code (U.S. Code title 26). And simplification has occurred to some extent with Public Law 115-97, also known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA). Congress made some issues simpler while creating at least one new issue that has confused many. Many popular de... David Mellem, EA

Capitol Corner

While some of us are still recovering from our sunburns at the beach, many of us are looking at the shorter days and are beginning to worry if IRS has enough time to fully implement the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) in time for the 2019 filing season. Guidance, in the form of proposed regulations, notices, and forms and instructions, has certainly been helpful and much appreciated, but not having finalized these items is getting danger... Jeffery S. Trinca, JD

Capitol Corner

Tax Reform Implementation Recommendations to IRS By Justin Edwards After nearly a year of continued efforts, and at the urging of the White House, House and Senate Republicans shepherded the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) through both chambers, and the president signed the measure into law days before the Christmas holiday. Obviously, the Internal Revenue Code has... Justin Edwards

Feature Article

So far this calendar year there has been very little action by Congress involving tax matters. Maybe I should say there has been no final action by Congress on tax matters. Lawmakers have discussed and introduced many small bills, but nothing that has reached joint committee. The one exception is the Disaster Tax Relief and Airport and Airway Extension Act of 2017, which is discussed in the cover article. The items that were last exte... David Mellem, EA

Feature Article

This may be the final year for the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The incoming administration has vowed to repeal and replace Obamacare as quickly as possible. With that being said, the purpose of this article is to update you on the ACA changes affecting your clients for the 2017 tax filing season. The changes that began in 2013 are intensifying in 2017. So strap yourself in and get ready for the new changes. Since this article was written in De... Ben A. Tallman, EA, USTCP

Feature Article

Congress did finally take action on the “extenders” last December, but it has not done very much this year. Some of the extenders were made permanent, and some were extended for a set period of time, such as two years. The items extended for two years are again expiring on December 31, 2016, and have so far not been extended further, which means we are again faced with uncertainty on these items. Form 1099 As we ... David Mellem, EA