Is a QCD right for you?

If you’re age 70½ or older and have an IRA, qualified charitable distributions (QCDs) are an option for making tax-free gifts to charity of up to $100,000. Moreover, if you’re at least age 72, QCDs count toward your required minimum distribution for the year. Note that if you wish to make a QCD for 2022, […]

FTX cryptocurrency loss

Investors with inaccessible assets tied up in cryptocurrency exchange FTX Trading Ltd. will need to wait until court proceedings conclude before learning if loss deductions will be available. FTX filed for bankruptcy in early November. Legible, a cryptocurrency tax and accounting platform, has stated that consumers are likely to incur deductible losses but not soon. […]

Innocent Spouse relief?

Is the IRS holding you responsible for a debt that your spouse or ex-spouse owes? If you file jointly, the IRS may offset the debt using a refund that YOU have coming. Or the agency may file a federal tax lien or levy to collect the debt from you. The IRS Tax Advisor Service (TAS) […]

Do you have a profit motive?

Businesses can generally deduct related expenses on their tax returns. If there’s doubt that a profit motive exists, the IRS may deny deductions. One married couple purchased solar lenses that were supposed to eventually be leased. They claimed depreciation deductions and solar energy tax credits that allowed them to pay little or no income taxes. […]

Amending a return?

Some taxpayers may try to reduce the risk of accuracy-related tax penalties by filing a qualified amended return. These returns are filed after a regular return’s due date, but generally before the IRS contacts the taxpayer about conducting an audit. (Other rules apply for pass-through entities.) New regulations designed to ease the process for large […]

Extended COVID-19 penalty relief available in disaster areas

The IRS is reminding taxpayers in certain declared disaster areas that extended COVID-19 penalty relief is still available for 2019 and 2020 tax returns (but not 2021). The disaster areas with a deadline of Feb. 15, 2023: Florida, Puerto Rico, North Carolina, South Carolina, certain Alaska jurisdictions and Hinds County, Mississippi. The relief applies to […]

The House Ways and Means Committee

The Ways and Means Committee is the chief tax-writing committee in the U.S. House of Representatives. It also oversees Social Security, Medicare and other issues. Not surprisingly, it’s a popular assignment. Now that Republicans have secured a House majority, their representation on the committee is expected to increase from 17 to 25. (Democrats likely will […]

Former IRS Commissioners comment on IRA funding

Three former IRS commissioners said that the agency can best use its 10-year, $80 billion appropriation from the Inflation Reduction Act by improving its audit selection process rather than merely increasing the number of audits. The trio agreed that the money should also be put toward investments in technology that reduce the chance of a […]

Happy Thanksgiving

“I can no other answer make but thanks, and thanks, and ever thanks.”– William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night We wish you and your family a blessed and happy Thanksgiving. And thank you, thank you, thank you…

Lame Duck Session

With the 2022 midterm election mostly in the rearview mirror, the congressional agenda for the upcoming lame duck session is beginning to come into view. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR) said: “There’s going to be a clear debate about tax choices, and this whole debate about the child tax credit is front and […]