When your business hires independent contractors, you’re generally not responsible for withholding tax from their compensation. But there are circumstances in which you should withhold a certain percentage of tax (backup withholding) to help ensure the IRS receives it. The most common reason is that a contractor has failed to provide a valid Taxpayer Identification […]

The U.S. Treasury Dept. has released a draft list of occupations it proposes to be eligible for a federal tax break on tips. The list contains 68 jobs, broken into eight categories: 1) beverage/food service, 2) entertainment/events, 3) hospitality / guest services, 4) home services, 5) personal services, 6) personal appearance / wellness, 7) recreation/instruction […]

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) reinstates immediate deductions for domestic research and experimental (R&E) costs beginning in 2025. The IRS has issued transitional guidance (Revenue Procedure 2025-28) on the change. Among many other things, the guidance explains the procedures for how, if you began to amortize R&E expenses in 2022, 2023 and/or 2024, […]

President Trump has removed the de minimis exemption on low-value trade items. In a nutshell, imported goods valued at $800 or less sent through the international postal network are now subject to applicable duties. As a result, 92% of all U.S. cargo shipments (and up to 4 million daily packages) have lost their duty-free status, […]

Spouses filing joint tax returns are generally both liable for the tax owed. But sometimes a spouse may qualify for innocent spouse relief. In one case, a husband owned an insurance firm and his wife ran a small business. She helped their accountant prepare joint tax returns by supplying financial information and signing the returns. […]

The newly enacted One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) represents a major move by President Trump and congressional Republicans to roll back a number of clean energy tax incentives originally introduced or expanded under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Below is a summary of the key individual tax credits that will soon be scaled back […]

September is National Preparedness Month. The IRS is reminding taxpayers to develop an emergency preparedness plan or to update their existing plan for 2025. This time of year is the peak season for extreme weather events, such as hurricanes and flash floods. So it’s in your best interest to have a plan for your home […]

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), signed into law in July 2025, doesn’t only affect taxpayers at the federal level. It also affects them at the state level, depending on the extent to which a taxpayer’s state conforms with federal tax law. There generally are three degrees of conformity: 1) rolling conformity, which automatically […]