Welcome to THINK OUTSIDE THE TAX BOX, the premier on-line publication for tax reduction information!
Here at TOTTB, we produce in-depth, easy to understand, exhaustively cited, essays on the topic of tax reduction for our subscribers! And, every two weeks, we add more articles and more features like our live webinar events, private Facebook group, downloadable “Client Alerts” and Infographics, features like our blog, Around the Tax World, an aggregator of all the news happening in the tax world!
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Around The Tax World- May 9, 2023
World NEWS - A group of U.S. Senators push the IRS to take action against AI-generated tax scams…
U.S. NEWS - New York and California tax revenue took a hit during COVID-19 as high-income earners moved to low-tax states
STATE NEWS - The Minnesota Senate passed a $4 billion tax bill…
TAX PLANNING - The deadline is approaching for the 1.5 million taxpayers with an unclaimed 2019 tax refund to file their return.
READ MOREAround The Tax World- April 20, 2023
World NEWS - President Joe Biden proposes increased taxes on the wealthy to fund Medicare…
U.S. NEWS - The Biden administration released new rules limiting which electric vehicles are eligible for tax credits
STATE NEWS -Massachusetts advances a $1.1 billion tax package…
TAX PLANNING - Early filers may need to file an amended tax return if they reported certain 2022 state refunds as taxable income.
Around The Tax World- April 10, 2023
World NEWS - The IRS has extended this year’s tax deadline for state disaster areas…
U.S. NEWS - The IRS releases its list of 2023 “Dirty Dozen” tax scams
STATE NEWS - Chicago’s recently-elected mayor proposed $800 million in new taxes…
TAX PLANNING - Social Security benefits may be taxed due to the 2022 cost-of-living adjustment.
Around The Tax World- March 28, 2023
World NEWS - Tesla’s lowest-price vehicle may soon lose eligibility for the EV tax credit…
U.S. NEWS - The U.S. Treasury is set to publish updated guidance for the EV tax credit before the end of March
STATE NEWS - Texas advances a new $16.5 billion proposal that includes property tax cuts…
TAX PLANNING - Student loan borrowers may see fewer deductions in the 2023 tax season.
Around The Tax World- March 7, 2023
World NEWS - Tax experts step up to refute social media claims that income taxes are not legally required…
U.S. NEWS - The federal government is opting not to tax one-time state-level payments to residents
STATE NEWS -The Michigan Senate eliminates a plan to remit $180 checks to residents…
TAX PLANNING - Taxpayers looking to boost this year’s tax refund could benefit from claiming a dependent—if they are eligible.
Around The Tax World- February 21, 2023
World NEWS - Oakland-area small business owners rally in support of the suspended police chief…
U.S. NEWS - Amazon’s average cut of small business sales surpasses 50%
STATE NEWS - Iowa small business owners join the Small Business Voices to petition Congress…
TAX PLANNING - Intuit purchases $1 million in goods from local small businesses to be donated to nonprofits
Around the Tax World- January 23, 2023
World NEWS - Walmart paid almost $1 billion in taxes after moving
PhonePe headquarters to India…
U.S. NEWS - 38 U.S. states will see tax changes in 2023—including significant tax reductions...
STATE NEWS - Kentucky legislators seek to pass an income tax reduction bill…
TAX PLANNING - New year, new tax brackets—taxpayers anticipate higher take-home pay in 2023...
Around the Tax World- January 10, 2023
World NEWS - Walmart paid almost $1 billion in taxes after moving
PhonePe headquarters to India…
U.S. NEWS - 38 U.S. states will see tax changes in 2023—including significant tax reductions...
STATE NEWS - Kentucky legislators seek to pass an income tax reduction bill…
TAX PLANNING - New year, new tax brackets—taxpayers anticipate higher take-home pay in 2023...
Around the Tax World- December 9, 2022
World NEWS - Prosecutors in the Trump Organization trial claim that the former president sanctioned tax fraud...
U.S. NEWS - Taxpayers may see a much smaller tax refund from their 2022 returns...
STATE NEWS - Texas’ tax relief plans may negatively impact public schools…
TAX PLANNING - E-Commerce platforms petition to increase the business transaction threshold under the new tax reporting rules...
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CURRENT EDITION
Divorce and Taxes
“Timalyn, Alyssa and I filed for divorce, and we will finalize everything before Thanksgiving. Does this change things for our taxes?”
“No! Can we wait until January 1?” were my initial thoughts. But then I realized that if this news blindsided me, the seemingly happy couple was probably also scrambling for answers. They were looking to me to be calm during an upcoming storm.
To give you some context, I had helped this family lower their back taxes by $16,000 and get a payment plan that worked well with their cash flow. Then, by implementing a few strategies they had just saved an extra $20,000 on their last tax return. We were planning on saving them even more money in upcoming years.
Then, that is when it happened. Divorce.
I never saw this happening, so I never prepared for it. But if it happened to me, it will happen to you. Clients divorce.
Some of the things we are going over today may seem obvious to you. But remember what is obvious to us as tax experts is not obvious to our clients, especially if they are going through a life-changing event such as divorce.
Here are four things you need to inform your client about when it comes to their divorce and taxes…
Facts, Circumstances, and Forever Stamps
The price of a forever stamp increased from $0.58 to $0.63 on January 1, 2023. A tax pro posted this fact as a public service announcement on Facebook. Of course, tax pros being tax pros, someone chimed in, “Do I have to recognize a capital gain upon disposition of my forever stamp?” And of course, someone (me) felt obliged to answer, “It depends.” A direct message followed this bit of tax drollery on Twitter that says, “In theory, if I’m holding stamps as an investment, they would be a capital asset.” And so it begins…
Crypto Charitable Deduction Compliance – Mission Impossible?
Reilly’s Fourth Law of Tax: “Execution isn’t everything, but it’s a lot” might be amended when it comes to charitable deduction of property, because there you have an area where execution is almost everything. It is also an area that dramatically illustrates the Seventh Law: “Read the instructions.”
In January, we received guidance from the IRS on the reporting requirements for charitable contributions of crypto currency . If you have followed IRS guidance on crypto and know something about charitable donation reporting requirements, the result shouldn’t surprise you , but maybe it will.
The most disturbing part of the story is that the IRS may be asking for something we can’t provide…