New-and-improved accounting rules for common control leases

On March 27, 2023, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) published narrowly drawn amendments to the lease accounting rules. The updated guidance clarifies issues that are relevant to rental agreements between businesses that have the same owner. Written vs. verbal leases Accounting Standards Update (ASU) No. 2023-01, Leases (Topic 842) Common Control Arrangements, explains how […]

Estimated Tax Payments Due soon

If you make estimated tax payments, be aware that April 18 isn’t just the 2022 tax filing deadline. It’s also the deadline for the first estimated tax payment for 2023. Estimated tax payments are generally made by self-employed people, retirees, investors, businesses and others that don’t have taxes withheld from their income. The payments are […]

What does the FDIC usually cover?

With bank failures in the news recently you may be asking, “What does the FDIC usually cover?”

Can you deduct a blood donation?

Filing day approaching

With tax day approaching, the IRS is reminding individuals that they have until April 18, 2023, to make 2022 contributions to a traditional or Roth IRA. Another reminder: Taxpayers in plans including 401(k)s and 403(b)s whose salary deferrals exceed the 2022 limit ($20,500 for taxpayers under age 50) must remove the excess deferral amount, plus […]

IRS penalties subject of proposed regulations

With a goal of making IRS penalties easier for taxpayers to understand, the IRS has issued proposed regs that examine how tax penalties are applied. According to the tax agency, the IRS seeks a process that it can administer with nationwide uniformity. Generally, the IRS can’t assess a penalty against a taxpayer unless the assessment […]

Is it a deductible legal expense?

Business owners can generally deduct business legal expenses on their tax returns. The taxpayer bears the burden of showing that the legal fees arose from business, rather than personal issues. In one case, a physician specializing in gene therapy and his wife (a surgeon) had multiple legal issues and deducted legal expenses of $360,295 for […]

IRS guidance coming regarding the IRA’s Clean Vehicle Credit

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) extended and expanded the Section 30D Clean Vehicle (CV) Credit, previously known as the Electric Vehicle (EV) Credit. The credit now covers “clean vehicles,” which include plug-in hybrids, hydrogen fuel cell cars and EVs. On April 17, 2023, the IRS will publish proposed regulations to clarify how a CV can qualify for the credit. […]

IRS uses bank deposits analysis for underreporting of income

If the IRS suspects a taxpayer isn’t reporting all income, it may conduct a “bank deposits analysis” to compare deposits with what the taxpayer reported. In one case, the IRS analyzed the bank deposits of a man who held multiple accounts in his name and in the names of his businesses. The IRS argued he […]

Will the New Markets Tax Credit be permanent?

Bipartisan legislation introduced in Congress would make the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) permanent. Currently, it’s set to expire on Dec. 31, 2025. The NMTC program helps economically distressed communities attract private capital by providing investors with a 39% nonrefundable federal tax credit. Since 2000, the U.S. Treasury Department has used the NMTC to make […]