CBO reports on budget deficit

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that the federal budget deficit for the first four months of fiscal year 2023 was $459 billion. That’s $200 billion more than the shortfall in the same period in 2022. Receipts for FY23 totaled $1.5 trillion, about 3% less than the same period in 2022. Individual income and payroll […]

Child tax credit: The rules keep changing but it’s still valuable

If you’re a parent, you may be confused about the rules for claiming the Child Tax Credit (CTC). The rules and credit amounts have changed significantly over the last six years. This tax break became more generous in 2018 than it was under prior law — and it became even better in 2021 for eligible […]

Can a blog affect your taxes?

If you blog, beware: It could affect your taxes. Recently, the U.S. Tax Court allowed the IRS to introduce a taxpayer’s personal blog posts into evidence in a tax dispute. The taxpayer and her husband allegedly underpaid federal tax for multiple years. After the husband died, the wife sought “innocent spouse” relief, which the IRS […]

IRS highlights recent achievements

The IRS highlights recent achievements in its “Internal Revenue Service Progress Update for Fiscal Year 2022.” The agency’s 2022 accomplishments include processing 260 million federal tax returns and forms, collecting $4.9 trillion in tax and $72.4 billion in enforcement revenue, and delivering individual refunds averaging $3,176. The publication also discusses the agency’s five-year strategic plan, […]

Coming soon: 5 accounting rules that take effect in 2023

It can be challenging to keep track of which accounting rules are changing, when the changes kick in and for which types of entities. Plus, implementing the necessary revisions to your organization’s procedures and systems often takes time and resources. Here are five updates that go live for certain entities this year. 1. Targeted improvements […]

Guidance on energy projects for low-income communities provided

The U.S. Dept. of the Treasury and the IRS have established the Low-Income Communities Bonus Credit Program to provide solar and wind power to certain low-income areas. The program, initiated under the Inflation Reduction Act, provides a boost of up to 20 percentage points to the Section 48 investment tax credit for solar and wind […]

Broadband Grant Tax Treatment Act reintroduced

A bipartisan group of lawmakers recently reintroduced a bill that would shield certain federal grants for broadband internet deployment projects from taxation. The Broadband Grant Tax Treatment Act (BGTTA) would exempt funding provided by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and the American Rescue Plan Act. Those laws allocated $65 billion and $7 billion, […]

Happy Presidents Day

My Fellow Americans, Happy Presidents Day! If wrinkles must be written on our brow, let them not be written on our heart. The spirit should never grow old. —James Garfield

Presidential Tax Transparency Act introduced

A bill in Congress may mandate transparency in the White House. Members of the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee, Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ) and Anna G. Eshoo (D-CA) reintroduced the Presidential Tax Transparency Act on Feb. 9. If passed, this bill would require sitting presidents, vice presidents and major party candidates for those positions […]

State relief payments may excape taxation

State relief payments may be excludable from income for most taxpayers, the IRS announced. On Feb. 10, the tax agency said that taxpayers in 21 states can exclude from income certain special relief payments they received from their states, though the rules vary. In the following states, payments made for general welfare or for disaster […]