5 Steps to Building a Successful Family Foundation

Posting by Joel C. Susco, CPA, Principal

After experiencing success in the business world, many families decide to establish a family foundation to give back to the community or to a specific organization that is near and dear to their hearts.  In addition to favorable tax benefits, family foundations can engage younger family members in philanthropy and establish a legacy of giving in your family for generations to come.

As with many large undertakings, getting started can be the hardest part. […]

February 19, 2013 Family Owned Businesses, Tax Read more...

Delayed Tax-Filing Season and Your FAFSA

Posting by Sean Urbany

With the fiscal-cliff deal being reached on the last day of 2012, the IRS announced that it was going to delay the opening of the 2012 tax-filing season until January 30, 2013. Along with this delayed start, there has also been a delay in the release of several of the forms that are used in the preparation of tax returns. Some of the delayed forms commonly used include: Form 4952 (Deprecation & Amortization), Form 8863 (Education […]

February 13, 2013 Tax Read more...

Protecting Yourself from Income Tax-Related Fraud

John Merchant, CPA, CFE

As the 2013 income tax filing season gets underway, taxpayers are beginning to gather information in anticipation of filing income tax returns.  Identity thieves have begun to do the same thing. The difference is identity thieves are not gathering their own information.  They are gathering information to allow them to file returns using stolen identities.

Identity theft in income tax filings has become a major problem, both for the Internal Revenue Service and for taxpayers.  What the […]

February 13, 2013 Accounting, Forensic Accounting, Tax Read more...

MARYLAND STATE & COUNTY TAX CREDIT RULING – WYNNE V COMPTROLLER

Billy Thomas, CPA

In 2011, a ruling in the Maryland court system had very interesting implications for many resident taxpayers with out-of-state sourced taxable income.

The court case: Brian and Karen Wynne, et al v. Comptroller of Treasury.
In court the Wynne’s argued that it is unconstitutional for the state of Maryland to disallow a tax credit for taxes paid to another state against the income taxes paid to a Maryland county.
The case was originally heard in Howard County, MD and the […]

January 31, 2013 Accounting, Tax Read more...

UPDATED GUIDANCE PROVIDED FOR TRANSIT BENEFITS UNDER THE SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE

Thomas Parisi, CPA

The IRS has issued a clarification to IRS Notice 2013-8 as to the reporting of the 2012 retroactive adjustment to the tax-free exclusion of transit passes and transportation in a commuter highway vehicle on the 2012 fourth quarter Form 941.

Upon review the original guidance instructions on how to complete Form 941 (and Form 941 Schedule B, Report of Tax Liability for Semiweekly Schedule Depositors), IRS has noted the potential for a mismatch to occur in the filing […]

January 23, 2013 Accounting, Tax Read more...

QUALIFIED EXCLUDABLE TRANSPORTATION BENEFITS – RETROACTIVE GUIDANCE FOR 2012

Posting by Thomas Parisi

The IRS has issued Notice 2013-8, which provides employers guidance on how to deal with the retroactive (part of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 passed 1/1/13) increase in the maximum monthly exclusion afforded employees from $125 to $240 for 2012. The increased exclusion is applicable to employer-provided transit passes and commuter highway vehicle (vanpooling) transportation benefits and puts them on par with the exclusion for qualified parking for tax year 2012 and 2013.  Such […]

January 17, 2013 Tax Read more...

W-2 REQUIREMENTS FOR COMPANIES PER AFFORDABLE CARE ACT

Brian Wynne, CPA

You may have new reporting responsibilities when filing your W-2’s this month.  Employers sponsoring group coverage will have new reporting responsibilities according to the Affordable Care Act and the Internal Revenue Service.  You may need to report costs associated with employer-sponsored health coverage on IRS Form W-2.

 

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act requires employers who issue 250 or more W-2’s in a year to report the aggregate cost of coverage under an employer-sponsored group health plan […]

January 16, 2013 Accounting, Tax Read more...

Tax Filing Issues for Same-Sex Couples in MD, DC and VA

Posting by Jobe Dupre

With Maryland being the latest state to recognize same-sex marriages and the tax filing season inching ever closer, same-sex couples should be aware of their rights and obligations when properly filing their tax returns.  Since the laws and requirements are different for each taxing jurisdiction: Federal, Maryland, Virginia, and the District, this article will be broken up into four parts.

Federal Filing:

The Federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) restricts the term “marriage” for federal purposes to the […]

January 15, 2013 Tax Read more...

FISCAL CLIFF NOTES: ANALYSIS OF THE AMERICAN TAXPAYER RELIEF ACT OF 2012

Congress passed the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (“The Act”) on January 1st, 2013 to avoid the much-discussed “fiscal cliff,” and the President quickly signed it into law on January 2nd.  The Act prevented drastic tax increases on millions of Americans, but several increases were still enacted.  Here’s how you and/or your business might be affected:

Download a PDF Overview
Individual Tax Provisions
Though there were several big changes to the tax code in the Act, they were all tied to […]

January 15, 2013 Accounting, Tax Read more...

Fiscal Cliff Averted: Estate and Transfer Tax Certainty

Posting by Billy Thomas

By now it is no secret; we have been saved from tumbling off the ‘Fiscal Cliff’ after Congress and the President passed the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012.  Granted, the legislation came right down to the wire before an affirmative vote.  We are now entering a time of increased certainty with respect to U.S. transfer taxes (estate, gift, generation-skipping transfer, etc.).

There are three main provisions from the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 for Estate […]

January 14, 2013 Tax Read more...