IRS letters on health coverage coming

The IRS has announced that it will start mailing letters to specific individuals in October on behalf of the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The letters will provide information on how to obtain Marketplace health care coverage by signing up through the healthcare.gov site. However, the IRS stated that it’s unable to answer any […]

Tax relief for North and South Carolina

As expected, the IRS has announced tax relief for Hurricane Ian victims in South Carolina and North Carolina. Like the relief offered earlier to Floridians, tax filing and payment deadlines for affected individuals and businesses are extended to Feb. 15, 2023, beginning Sept. 25, 2022, in South Carolina and Sept. 28, 2022, in North Carolina. […]

Worried about an IRS audit? Prepare in advance

IRS audit rates are historically low, according to a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report , but that’s little consolation if your return is among those selected to be examined. Plus, the IRS recently received additional funding in the Inflation Reduction Act to improve customer service, upgrade technology and increase audits of high-income taxpayers. But […]

IRA incentives on EVs causes pushback

The Inflation Reduction Act’s tax incentives are designed to help cut the U.S.’s carbon emissions by half by 2030 and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. But implementing $270 billion in new tax breaks isn’t going to be easy. Already, some electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers and countries such as South Korea are pushing back on the […]

Bill introduced to strip IRS funding

A second bill has been introduced to strip the IRS of enforcement funding provided in the Inflation Reduction Act. Authored by Rep. Adrian Smith (R-NE), the Family and Small Business Taxpayer Protection Act comes on the heels of similar legislation introduced by Rep. Jefferson Van Drew (R-NJ). Neither bill is expected to become law. In […]

Investing in the future with a 529 education plan

If you have a child or grandchild who’s going to attend college in the future, you’ve probably heard about qualified tuition programs, also known as 529 plans. These plans, named for the Internal Revenue Code section that provides for them, allow prepayment of higher education costs on a tax-favored basis. There are two types of […]

Secretary of Treasury calls for cryptocurrency regulation

In a recent report, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and the Financial Stability Oversight Council called for tighter cryptocurrency regulation and oversight. Specifically, Yellen warned of risks posed by the proliferation of digital assets and urged Congress to pass legislation that addresses gaps in the financial system. Yellen said that digital assets “have grown significantly in […]

Deductible Medical Expenses

Taxpayers that itemize may be able to deduct eligible medical expenses they incurred for themselves, their spouses and dependents, subject to limits. Taxpayers bear the burden to prove the expenses, to show they were paid during the tax year and weren’t reimbursed by insurance. One corporate executive and her husband deducted medical expenses of $41,648 […]

FASB proposes last-minute changes to lease accounting rules

Accounting Standards Codification Topic 842, Leases, requires organizations to report the full magnitude of their long-term lease obligations on their balance sheets — a historic first. For private companies and nonprofits, the changes take effect this year. Public entities adopted the rules in 2019. While the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) conducts its post-implementation review […]

CBO reports

Congress relies on reports from the bipartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) for various estimates. But some lawmakers are pressing the CBO to adhere to their required reporting deadlines involving the status of Social Security and Medicare trust funds. Congress is required to receive an analysis of the operations of these trust funds annually, by April […]