The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was enacted in late December, 2017 and it significantly altered the tax laws applicable to individual taxpayers. The significant changes included: reduction in tax rates and modification of brackets, increase in the standard deduction, repeal of personal exemptions, limitation on deductions for state and local taxes, mortgage interest, home equity loan interest and elimination of deduction for miscellaneous itemized deductions. (more…)
In this podcast, Chris Madrid from our Family Wealth and Individual Tax Planning Group discusses the recently released draft of the new Form 1040 and the changes taxpayer’s should look out for.
The IRS recently released a draft of the new Form 1040, which has had a dramatic makeover. The new form is a large postcard-size document (half the normal page size), which may be a nod to President Trump’s campaign promise to simplify the tax code to the point that an average American could fill out their form on a postcard. Forms 1040EZ and 1040A have been eliminated, so all taxpayers will be using this new Form 1040 beginning with the 2018 tax year. (more…)
Historically a taxpayer selling tangible property was not required to collect a state’s sales tax unless the taxpayer had “nexus” within the state. Nexus is generally defined as a “connection to the state”. My prior blog discussed the changing concept of nexus: Do You Meet the Newest Invisible Tax Filing Requirement?. The landmark 1992 Supreme Court case of Quill v. North Dakota established a physical presence standard. For a state to impose an obligation for a taxpayer to collect sales tax, the taxpayer must have a physical presence within the state. In recent years to generate new sources of tax revenue states have sought to expand the concept of nexus far beyond the physical presence test. These new standards look at economic nexus. (more…)
In a move that surprised many taxpayers Congress enacted legislation in mid-December, 2015 that extended many tax provisions that had lapsed as of January 1, 2015. The President signed the “Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes” (PATH) Act on December 18th. Even more surprising than Congress acting before the end of the year was the fact that many provisions were actually enhanced and made permanent. This action alone will help taxpayers better plan for the future knowing which deductions and credits are available when making business decisions. (more…)
The House of Representatives voted on Wednesday to renew more than 50 expired tax provisions for individuals and businesses through the end of 2014. The vote was overwhelmingly in favor of the limited extension of these provisions in spite of not making anyone happy. If the Senate agrees with the proposal and there is a strong indication they will, the bill will proceed to President Obama for his signature. While not what Obama wanted, the bill represents a compromise in order to get something done before Congress adjourns for the holidays on December 11. This one year renewal essentially establishes tax laws that will have a shelf life of less than 30 days as they will again expire on December 31.
