Taxes

There is a big difference between managing direct taxes, such as corporate tax, and indirect taxes, such as sales tax and value added tax (VAT). While for corporate taxes, it is irrelevant where the customer is located or the goods are shipped to, for indirect taxes, every transaction detail matters and is crucial to determining

Taxpayers lose quite a bit of money in flexible spending accounts (FSAs) each year while trying to save a few tax dollars. FSAs are fairly simple. Before the start of the year, an employee elects to defer part of his or her compensation into an FSA. The deferred amount is excluded from gross income for

The Congressional Budget Office estimates the national debt will increase by $19 trillion over the next decade under current law, $3 trillion more than it projected last May. But for all the squawking in Washington over how to deal with deficits and debt, nearly all of the increases will come in spending Congress and President

Trader tax status (TTS) is the ticket to tax savings. If you qualify, you can claim some tax breaks, such as business expenses, after the fact and elect and set up other tax breaks — like Section 475 MTM accounting (tax loss insurance) and health insurance and retirement plan deductions through an S-Corp— on a

Today’s Social Security column addresses questions about whether Social Security spousal benefits can only be paid for a limited time, eligibility for survivor’s benefits and how Social Security taxed wages are reported to Social Security. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University and the founder and president of Economic Security Planning, Inc.

Many taxpayers got their first glimpse of President Biden’s nominee to lead the Internal Revenue Service on Wednesday as Daniel Werfel appeared before the Senate Finance Committee for his confirmation hearing. Others, however, may have experienced deja vu—Werfel served as the interim IRS Commissioner for several months in 2013 after Steven T. Miller resigned under

Paying for college is a big topic of conversation in my house. That’s to be expected, as I have three kids. But the best way to pay—and what happens when things don’t go as planned—is something that we can never seem to nail down. As parents like me struggle to figure it out, lawmakers have

It’s hard for people to keep up with the more than 100 changes the SECURE Act 2.0 made in retirement plans and related tax code provisions. Here’s a summary of the key changes in required minimum distributions (RMDs) in the law that was enacted at the end of 2022. The beginning age for RMDs of

On February 10, after appeals from many in the tax industry, the IRS issued guidance on the taxability of state-issued economic impact payments. Of the twenty-one states that issued some type of payment, the IRS determined that seventeen (including California) were made “for the promotion of the general welfare or as a disaster relief payment”

Professor Steven A. Dean of Brooklyn Law School discusses Treasury’s Equity Action Plan and its progress on examining potential racial bias in the tax code. This transcript has been edited for length and clarity. David D. Stewart: Welcome to the podcast. I’m David Stewart, editor in chief of Tax Notes Today International. This week: bias

If you are a successful business owner, you are likely looking for a way to pay fewer taxes. Hiring your spouse to work in your small business can be a smart tax move for many business owners. To make these tax-planning strategies work, your spouse must do actual work in your business, and you must

Topline Only two weeks after the start of tax season, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) told millions of Americans to hold off on filing their taxes to deal with special tax refunds or payments issued by states in 2022—but Friday, told them to proceed. Key Facts Tax season started on January 23, but just two

In the lead-up to a thrilling Super Bowl, it was noted this was the first time two Black starting quarterbacks faced each other. While that shows commendable progress, the NFL—and all of us—still must deal with the ongoing legacy and current impacts of racism. First, the quarterbacks. The Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes and the Eagles’ Jalen

High taxes getting you down? California’s 13.3% rate is the same on ordinary income and capital gain, and there have been several proposals to increase the top 13.3% rate as high as 16.8%. Moving sounds easy, but if you aren’t careful how you do it, you could end up saying goodbye California taxes, and hello

Today’s Social Security column addresses questions about how birth year can affect benefit amounts, eligibility for divorced spousal benefits and the ability to claim retroactive auxiliary benefits based on a worker’s record. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University and the founder and president of Economic Security Planning, Inc. See more Ask

On Sunday, February 12, 2023, nearly 73,000 fans will fill seats in Glendale, Arizona, to watch the Super Bowl match-up between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles. Arizona got the nod in 2018 to host Super Bowl LVII. One reason? State Farm Stadium officially seats 63,400 fans with the ability to expand to

Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Since WWII, the U.S. has had what’s called the nuclear triad to deter a possible strike from an adversary: land-based missiles, submarine-launched missiles and long-range bombers. After the war the U.S. also pursued what might be called an economic triad, which was immensely successful for us

This year, the tax filing season is starting off strong. The initial data from the IRS indicates that taxpayers are getting their returns in more quickly than they did last year. Tax season opened on Jan. 23, 2023, one day earlier than in 2022. The IRS has now made data available from the beginning of

The IRS has announced that special payments made by 21 states in 2022 are not taxable and don’t need to be reported on your 2022 taxes. It means that people in the following states do not need to report these state payments on their 2022 tax return: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois,

We’ve all heard complaints from disgruntled taxpayers about tax preparers that they claim did a lousy job. A Connecticut state senator believes she has a solution: make them pay. Patricia Miller, who represents the 27th district in the Connecticut state senate, recently introduced a bill that would hold tax preparers financially responsible for errors. S.B.