CURRENT EDITION
2024 Summer Education Series Event Calendar
We are so excited to announce the 2024 Summer Education Series! All summer long we will be bringing our loyal subscribers monthly webinars featuring some of the brightest minds in tax. Each webinar will feature our usual blend of high-quality education and entertainment and include continuing education credits for those who qualify. All of this is included in your regular subscription! Continue reading to see what we have in store...
READ MOREYour Questions Answered: The Dubious Anonymity of Virtual Currency Transactions
Question: Bitcoin being treated as property by the IRS was partially related to not being “legal tender in any nation.” Does the fact that El Salvador is now using cryptocurrency have any cascading ramifications for tax/currency treatment of bitcoin in the U.S.? Answer: The Department of Justice recently issued a news release to strike terror in the hearts of anyone attempting to execute cryptocurrency tax shenanigans. Similarly, the federal court for the Northern District of California entered an order authorizing a John Doe’s summons on Payward Venture Inc. and subsidiaries d/b/a Kraken. The IRS wants to look at the records of U.S. taxpayers who conducted at least the equivalent of $20,000 in transactions in cryptocurrency during the years 2016 to 2020. What’s with all the sudden interest in crypto, and why are the feds looking to snoop around retroactively? If you’re curious to find out why and how to stay off its radar, keep reading.
Read MoreConservation Easements: Good Execution Is the Key
If someone approaches your client offering four to one deductions on conservation easements (probably somewhere in the Southeast), you need to do your best to talk them out of it. And if you cannot, it may be best to let some other practitioner have the honor of preparing their return. On the other hand, if your client has land or a building they would like to preserve forever, a conservation easement may be just the thing. Assuming the desire to have the property preserved anyway, it is about as close to a free lunch as you can get. Good execution is the key to making it work. Read on to learn how!
Read MoreHow to Qualify for More Interest Deductions You Didn’t Pay
Question: Can I increase my business tax deductions with interest the Small Business Administration (SBA) paid during the COVID-19 pandemic? Answer: In short, yes. But it depends on the type of loan, forgiveness options, and loan status. We here at Think Outside the Tax Box sure like the way you’re thinking! One of the benefits created through the CARES Act included payments on existing SBA loans. In addition, new SBA loans created through the PPP and EIDL programs included deferred payments for the first six months of the loan. Depending on your current situation, you may actually qualify for the interest deduction, even if the SBA paid it on your behalf! To learn how to qualify, continue reading.
Read MoreJust Good Business: What to Consider When Choosing an Entity
It’s every tax professional’s favorite answer to the question “How is your business organized?” “I have an LLC.” It’s the non-answer answer. Unfortunately for many clients and practitioners, clients often decide to form an LLC for no reason other than “they said I should” and more often cannot provide a good answer when the practitioner asks, “Who is ‘they?” Ideally, small business clients should consult both an attorney and a tax professional when deciding to form a business entity under state law. Because while state law governs entity formation and many aspects of entity administrative compliance, federal and state tax law determines which tax returns you need to file and which tax laws apply to the entity. It is just good business to make a mindful, proactive choice when choosing a type of business entity. Making a conscientious choice means asking the right questions. And when choosing a business entity, asking the right questions means asking questions about matters other than simply tax considerations.
Read MoreOffice in the Home – Partnerships
The COVID-19 pandemic has altered many aspects of our society, perhaps permanently. One of these is the need to physically go to the office to get work done. Like all businesses, partnerships are no exception. While the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) suspended this deduction for employees of the partnership until 2025 . However, partners may still take advantage of this often-overlooked tax benefit. The key is in how to report it. Read on to learn how!
Read MoreQualified Small Business Stock and Your LLC or S Corporation
Your optimal choice of entity depends on many factors, including which tax breaks and loopholes are available for that entity type. The C corporation leaps to the top of entity choices if your C corporation stock will qualify as small business stock (QSBS). The tax law gives two huge tax breaks to QSBS: 1. Up to $10 million of gain exclusion upon sale or the stock’s liquidation; or 2. Tax-deferred rollover of gains if the taxpayer purchases additional QSBS. But beware: There are two issues that are ambiguous under the law that could cause you to not qualify for either of these tax benefits. Read on to learn more!
Read MoreClosing the Tax Gap – An Enticing Alternative to Raising Taxes
The tax hikes on wealthy Americans included in President Biden’s economic recovery plan last spring have been a battleground for bipartisan debate for most of 2021. Now, the Senate Republicans have pushed aside the administration's proposal to increase funding for the Internal Revenue Service, for the moment. We will take a closer look at the proposed IRS funding, the reasons it is necessary, and how the same wealthy Americans could end up the most impacted by the proposal.
Read MoreJust Good Business: How to Keep Business Records for Tax Compliance
One of the most common non-tax questions clients ask tax professionals is “How long should I keep this?” “This” could mean bank records, copies of tax returns, or virtually any other piece of business information. This reasonably comprehensive overview focuses on keeping business records for tax compliance, specifically, what to keep and how long to keep it in case a taxing authority ever decides to examine (audit) a business return. Records management is an entire field unto itself! Hiring an in-house records manager is beyond the needs or the budget of most small businesses, but it’s important to understand that proper records management is serious business.
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CURRENT EDITION
2024 Summer Education Series Event Calendar
We are so excited to announce the 2024 Summer Education Series! All summer long we will be bringing our loyal subscribers monthly webinars featuring some of the brightest minds in tax. Each webinar will feature our usual blend of high-quality education and entertainment and include continuing education credits for those who qualify. All of this is included in your regular subscription! Continue reading to see what we have in store…
Working With the IRS Now
The IRS has spent the past several months crowing about the relative ease of filing season 2023 and improvements the service has made on behalf of American taxpayers. Filing season 2024 opened on Monday, January 29 with Commissioner Danny Werfel thanking the tax professional and assuring us that “your efforts make a difference, not just for your clients, but for the IRS and the entire nation.”
Despite Werfel’s rose-colored press releases, there’s still plenty of room for improvement, especially on the tax-professional-facing side of the service.
When Does Married Filing Separately Make Sense?
If your clients are married, at this time of year they’re probably choosing to file their taxes under the status of Married Filing Jointly. But is MFJ the best move? Married folks have other options; one of them is Married Filing Separately (MFS). Despite this status sounding like someone’s dressing for divorce court, it can be useful in certain circumstances – or harmful.