State and Local Sales Tax Rates, Midyear 2023

State and Local Sales Tax Rates, Midyear 2023 https://bit.ly/43xDHFN

2 big takeaways from the Supreme Court ruling on Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan

2 big takeaways from the Supreme Court ruling on Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan – CNBC https://bit.ly/44y3w9W

IRS focuses on US Tax Gap

The gross tax gap is defined as the difference between estimated “true” tax liability for a given period and the amount of tax that’s actually paid to the IRS on time. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the U.S. tax gap from 2014 to 2016 averaged $496 billion annually. Because of funding from the Inflation […]

Use an S corporation to mitigate federal employment tax bills

If you own an unincorporated small business, you probably don’t like the size of your self-employment (SE) tax bills. No wonder! For 2023, the SE tax is imposed at the painfully high rate of 15.3% on the first $160,200 of net SE income. This includes 12.4% for Social Security tax and 2.9% for Medicare tax. […]

Required minimum distributions from IRAs

The SECURE 2.0 Act made several changes regarding the beginning dates for required minimum distributions (RMDs) from IRAs. The IRS is providing transition relief to IRA owners and some beneficiaries regarding these changes. Specifically, in Notice 2023-54, the IRS is extending the rollover deadline for certain distributions that were mischaracterized as RMDs. In addition, the […]

Future threats to the Social Security Trust Fund

In a July 12 hearing, the U.S. Senate Budget Committee addressed future threats to the Social Security (SS) Trust Fund. If nothing changes, by 2035, benefits may have to be reduced. One option is to raise the full retirement age, based on gains in life expectancy that allow people more years to draw benefits. But […]

Inheriting stock or other assets? You’ll receive a favorable “stepped-up basis”

If you’re planning your estate, or you’ve recently inherited assets, you may be unsure of the “cost” (or “basis”) for tax purposes. How do the rules work? Under the current fair market value basis rules (also known as the “step-up and step-down” rules), an heir receives a basis in inherited property equal to its date-of-death […]

Extra time for Vermont Floods

Victims of flooding in Vermont have extra time for certain tax-related tasks. Following a disaster declaration issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the IRS granted tax relief to those affected by flooding that began on July 9. These victims now have until Nov. 15, 2023, to file various individual and business tax returns and […]

Tax Court says no

The U.S. Tax Court said “no” to several taxpayers who tried to claim charitable contribution deductions related to a sale of property owned by their family’s S corporation. After a “bargain” sale of the property for $5.25 million to a government entity, they claimed $5.22 million in charitable contribution deductions on their individual tax returns. […]

Supplement your financial statements with timely flash reports

Timely financial information is critical to a successful business or nonprofit organization. In today’s dynamic marketplace, you may need to act fast to ward off potential threats and risks — and jump on new opportunities. But if you wait until your financial statements are released to react, you’ll likely miss out. Flash reports can provide […]