A CHANGE TO THE IRA ROLLOVER RULES

Glenn Bailey, CPA

A Tax Court ruling in January 2014 (Bobrow; TC Memo 2014-21) changed long-standing IRS rules defining when and how often you can rollover money tax-free from one IRA to another.

A “rollover” is defined here as withdrawing money from an IRA and then re-depositing it in the same or a different IRA within 60 days of the original withdrawal. These are considered tax-free transactions and are generally used to change the investment custodian or manager. They are occasionally […]

IRS PROVIDES GUIDANCE ON ANNUAL IRA ROLLOVER LIMIT

Kelly Lopez, CPA
IRS Issued Announcement 2014-32 last week, which provides guidance on the IRA one-rollover-per-year Rule.
Generally, you are not allowed to withdraw money from  an IRA until you reach age 59 1/2. If you do, the cash is subject to a 10%  penalty in addition to tax, making early distributions potentially very costly.
If a distribution from an IRA is  paid directly to you, you can avoid the related tax and penalty as long as you deposit the distribution in […]

REPORTING FOREIGN ASSETS: ANSWERS TO YOUR TOP QUESTIONS

Brian Wynne, CPA

With the June 30 deadline approaching for filing FinCEN Form 114, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR), we’ve posted over at JDKatz’s “The Joy of Tax Law” blog, providing a number of details on the requirements for reporting foreign assets. Specifically, we answer the following questions:

What is FATCA and what do I need to disclose?
What is a foreign financial asset?
What forms do I have to file for FATCA?
What happens if I […]

ESTATE TAX EXEMPTION LIKELY TO INCREASE IN MARYLAND

Sean Urbany, CPA

Late last week, the Maryland Senate passed a measure that will gradually raise Maryland’s $1 million estate tax exemption to match the much-higher federal exemption. The measure has already passed the House. If signed into law by Governor O’Malley, in 2015 the exemption will be $1.5 million and in 2016, it will be raised to $2 million. The increase will continue to rise to $3 million in 2017 and $4 million in 2018 before matching the federal […]

CHANGING MENU: CAFETERIA PLAN ELECTIONS AVAILABLE FOR SAME-SEX COUPLES

Billy Thomas, CPA

A few months ago, the IRS released changes to the flexible spending accounts (FSAs) under cafeteria plans targeting the “Use-it-or-Lose-it” provision. We highlighted these changes and shortly thereafter, the IRS issued further guidance on FSAs for same-sex married couples, in light of the Windsor decision.

In brief, same-sex married couples are now eligible for certain employee benefits under §125 of the Internal Revenue Code, particularly for cafeteria plans. This eligibility begins with the plan year that includes the […]

SENATE REPORT REVEALS ‘GAPING HOLES’ IN US EFFORT TO CURB OFFSHORE TAX EVASION

Brian Wynne, CPA

We’ve invited Davis Burroughs of JD Katz, a Bethesda-based law firm, to share some tax law insights with our readers.  This post reviews the latest developments in offshore reporting requirements in advance of FATCA’s implementation later this year.  For more information on JD Katz, visit www.jdkatz.com.  If you are interested in guest-posting for It’s Taxing, contact us.

A new report (PDF) from the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (SPSI) ripped into several ongoing endeavors by the Securities […]

6 STRATEGIES FOR YOUR 2013 TAX FILING

Brian Wynne, CPA

For many people, there is nothing as dreadful as dealing with income taxes each year. When you first sit down with all the forms and receipts, you may feel overwhelmed; our goal is to simplify the process while keeping you in compliance with the tax codes so you can preserve, grow & protect your assets.

A lot has changed for 2013 – there are a number of new taxes and tax increases. If you are just sitting down […]