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New tax reduction strategies carefully explained and exhaustively researched every two weeks. Receive breaking news updates on tax law changes. Members only monthly AMA with TOTTB.tax.
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FEATURED CONTENT
How Do Community Property States Affect Tax Returns?
Question: How do community property states affect tax returns? Answer: While fairly easy to determine your filing status when married (either joint or separate), tax rules get more complicated when you live in a community property state. Generally, the state laws where you live govern whether you have community property and community income or separate property and separate income for federal tax purposes. Not only do these rules affect how much income is taxable to you, but they also impact rules in things such as deductions, credits, taxes and payments, basis for things like capital gains, and participation rules. In some states, the income you earn after you separate and before a final divorce decree continues to be community income. In other states, it is separate income. Under special rules, income that can otherwise be characterized as community income may not be treated as community income for federal income tax purposes in certain situations. This year particularly is important for evaluating whether or not to file separately if married, especially if there is a big difference in each spouse’s income. What may appear on the surface to qualify for stimulus and child tax credits, may, in fact, be disqualified once you report community property income. Click here to see if these disadvantages impact you and how to avoid them.
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CURRENT EDITION
Qualified Opportunity Zones After the One Big Beautiful Bill Act: What’s Changed and What It Means for Real Estate Investors
On July 4, 2025, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) became law, representing the most significant reform of the QOZ program since its inception. It made the program permanent, tightened eligibility rules, introduced a rural-focused investment vehicle, and imposed robust reporting requirements. For tax professionals and investors, understanding these changes isn’t just about compliance – it’s also about strategy.
Vibe Preparing: Ignoring Partnership Agreement Impacts on K1s
Nothing derails a busy season schedule like being forwarded emails from client’s investors asking “are you sure the loss is allocated correctly?” It can expose a weakness in technical expertise – especially when it’s a partnership K1. Whether the operating agreement includes Safe Harbor or Target Capital allocations is one of the most important places to start for a preparer. And knowing these basics can be the difference between a confident reply or a lost week.
Deducting Gambling Losses: Part 2: Sessions Method
Recently I polled my peers on a social media platform dedicated to tax professionals. My hope was to find a resource for tax rules on a state level for handling gambling sessions. I knew it would be an uphill battle to get the information needed for a comprehensive guide state-by-state.
What surprised me was the response. A large percentage of tax professionals were either unaware of gambling sessions or were unclear on how gambling sessions were handled in their state. Since gambling sessions might be the best way to reduce taxes on gambling wins, a lot of money might be left on the table with clients paying the price. Even if the state a tax professional prepares most tax returns for does not have gambling, the likelihood a client travels to a state that does, gambles, and wins is high.
SIMPLIFIED TAX STRATEGIES &
PRACTICAL IMPLEMENTATION
Think Outside the Tax Box provides tax reduction strategies along with practical
implementation advice in order to reduce your clients’ federal tax bill with ease.
