DOL proposes guidance on employee determination

The U.S. Dept. of Labor (DOL) has issued a proposed rule that revises earlier guidance on how to determine who’s an employee or independent contractor under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The proposed rule would reduce the risk that employees are misclassified as independent contractors, while providing added certainty for businesses that engage with […]

SS Benefits increases 8.7% in 2023

Due to current high inflation rates, Social Security benefits will increase by 8.7% for 2023. The increase marks the largest annual increase in roughly four decades. This year’s increase tops last year’s 5.9% increase, which at the time was the largest increase in nearly 40 years. According to AARP, the so called “cost-of-living adjustment” will […]

What local transportation costs can your business deduct?

You and your small business are likely to incur a variety of local transportation costs each year. There are various tax implications for these expenses. First, what is “local transportation?” It refers to travel in which you aren’t away from your tax home (the city or general area in which your main place of business […]

Cybersecurity Awareness Month

October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month. The IRS recently warned the public of scams called “smishing” that use texts to steal personal information or download malicious code to a phone. The IRS states it will never contact you by text. Therefore, any text claiming to be from the IRS is a scam. You can help IRS […]

low income housing rules

The IRS issued guidance on Oct. 7 that makes several changes to the low-income housing tax credit rules. The changes include extended housing credit program deadlines and finalization of a rule that will make more-affordable housing developments financially viable. The new guidance “will have an immediate impact, allowing stalled housing developments to move forward at […]

Tax and other financial consequences of tax-free bonds

If you’re interested in investing in tax-free municipal bonds, you may wonder if they’re really free of taxes. While the investment generally provides tax-free interest on the federal (and possibly state) level, there may be tax consequences. Here’s how the rules work. Purchasing a bond If you buy a tax-exempt bond for its face amount, […]

RMD relief

The IRS is providing relief for taxpayers who didn’t take certain required minimum distributions (RMDs) from inherited IRAs and other plans. The relief under Notice 2022-53 is for taxpayers subject to the “10-year rule” who didn’t take RMDs in 2021 or 2022 but were required to do so. The SECURE Act requires that inherited plans […]

Conservation Easement Deduction in the News

When a partnership claimed a $9.5 million tax deduction after donating 106 acres to a Tennessee land conservancy, the IRS challenged it. Both the U.S. Tax Court and the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals found in favor of the IRS, but the latter decision was split. This prompted the partnership to appeal to the U.S. […]

SEC Chair Gensler warns about conflicts of interest

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler spoke during a recent webcast to commemorate the 20-year anniversary of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Gensler recommended that the SEC take a “fresh look” at its rules on the issue of auditor conflicts of interest. He also asked the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) to add auditor […]

Backlog of Unprocessed tax returns update

The IRS has set a year-end deadline to clear its backlog of unprocessed tax returns. How’s it going? As of Sept. 30, there were 5.8 million individual returns outstanding (down from 8.7 million in August). Despite making progress, the IRS still faces challenges. The agency has hired 5,000 new workers at processing centers and the […]