ONE YEAR TAX EXTENDERS PACKAGE PASSED IN HOUSE

Brian Wynne, CPA

On Wednesday, the House overwhelmingly passed a bill that will extend, for one year, a package of tax provisions into 2014. Though the year is almost over, these breaks had all previously expired as of December 31, 2013, and under this bill they will be extended through December 31, 2014. There has been considerable debate over the content of this package, and whether to pass a one-year extension or two. Last week, President Obama threatened to veto […]

December 8, 2014 Accounting, Tax Read more...

TELEPHONE SCAM WARNING ISSUED BY IRS

Scott Reddersen, CPA

Over the past several months, the IRS has issued several consumer alerts in response to telephone scam artists claiming to represent IRS agents.  Some of these callers use sophisticated and threatening tactics in an effort to persuade you to provide sensitive information.  While receiving one of these phone calls can be frightening, it is important to remember a few things about how these intimidation tactics differ from common IRS procedures.
The IRS will never call to demand immediate […]

November 7, 2014 Accounting, Forensic Accounting, Tax Read more...

IRS ANNOUNCES NEW PROVISIONS AFFECTING ESTATE PLANNING

Scott Reddersen, CPA

On Thursday, October 30, the IRS announced annual inflation adjustments for various 2015 tax provisions.  Two figures to note in the estate planning arena are the Federal estate (basic) lifetime exclusion, and the annual exclusion for gifts.

The Federal estate tax exemption increased to $5,430,000 for 2015, roughly a 1.7% increase from 2014’s $5,340,000.  For more information on estate planning and the basics of portability, please see our previous blog post here.

The annual gift exclusion for 2015 […]

November 6, 2014 Accounting, Tax Read more...

IRS Announces Cost-of-Living Adjustments

Posting by Sean Urbany

Earlier this week, both the Internal Revenue Service and the Social Security Administration announced cost-of-living adjustments impacting the 2015 tax year.

First, the IRS the announced a number of cost-of-living adjustments related to retirement items. Below are some of the main points announced by the IRS:

Taxpayers who participate in 401(k) plans, 403(b) plans, 457 plans, or the Federal government’s Thrift Savings Plan, may now choose to make annual elective deferrals of up to $18,000 in 2015. […]

October 24, 2014 Tax Read more...

Virginia Recognizes Sam-Sex Marriages for Tax Purposes

Posting by Brian Wynne

Last year, The Supreme Court ruled in United States v. Windsor that same-sex married couples could be treated as married under federal law.  This had broad implications for US federal taxes for same-sex married couples, but at the state level the laws continued to vary state by state.  When the IRS issued its guidance, they clarified that for tax purposes the IRS would recognize any marriage entered into legally in a state that allowed the marriage, […]

October 16, 2014 Tax Read more...

Virginia Recognizes Same-Sex Marriages for Tax Purposes

Posting by Brian Wynne

Last year, The Supreme Court ruled in United States v. Windsor that same-sex married couples could be treated as married under federal law.  This had broad implications for US federal taxes for same-sex married couples, but at the state level the laws continued to vary state by state.  When the IRS issued its guidance, they clarified that for tax purposes the IRS would recognize any marriage entered into legally in a state that allowed the marriage, […]

October 16, 2014 Tax Read more...

HIRING YOUR CHILDREN IN YOUR BUSINESS – IT’S NOT SO TAXING

Brian Wynne, CPA

If you own a business, employing your child can be a great opportunity to teach valuable lessons about earning, saving and hard work. It is also an excellent tax-savings strategy for you and your child. However, before you bring your college kid on your payroll for the summer, there are a number of regulations and savings strategies to keep in mind.
Hiring Your Child as an Employee
Before we look at the tax savings, it’s important to cover two […]

June 18, 2014 Accounting, Tax Read more...

Maryland State & County Tax Credit Ruling – Wynne V. Comptroller Update

Posting by Glenn Bailey

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case of Md. Comptroller of Treasury v. Wynne, (U.S., No. 13-485, cert. granted, 5/27/14) on whether a taxpayer’s resident municipality can tax all of a resident’s income or if it must provide a credit for taxes that person paid to other states. This case specifically addresses Maryland’s denial of credits against the MD county income tax; full details are available in our previous post on this case.

This […]

June 10, 2014 Tax Read more...

IRS Announces New Payment System: IRS Direct Pay

Posting by Sean Urbany

In an effort to provide taxpayers with more service options, the IRS has announced the start of a new web-based based payment system called IRS Direct Pay. Individual taxpayers filing 1040 return series can use IRS Direct Pay 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to pay any balance due on their tax returns or make estimated payments without incurring any additional fees or having to pre-register.

Some of the key features provided by IRS Direct […]

June 5, 2014 Tax Read more...