Ring in the New 2013 Tax Year – As Updated May15

Ring in the New 2013 Tax Year – As Updated

In the December, 2012 edition of Tax Law Explained, I summarized some of the key tax laws that would be affected by a failure of the Federal Government to reach a new set of tax laws and avoid the so-called “fiscal cliff”. As we now know, the world is still here (despite how some interpreted a Mayan calendar) and while we actu...

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Taxing Athletes May15

Taxing Athletes

I have a number of clients who are current or former Major League Baseball players, coaches and managers. Even people who are not big sports fans find sports more interesting than the Income Tax Laws. There are some rare occasions where Income Tax Laws become interesting because of the interplay with professional athletes.   ...

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Commonly Misunderstood Business Expenses May15

Commonly Misunderstood Business Expenses

The Federal Income Tax laws are vast, complex and ever changing. This contributes to misunderstandings and errors. Here are a few common misconceptions relating to business expenses.   Entertainment: A common misconception for a taxpayer is that entertaining a client, supplier or business associate (i.e. lunch, din...

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Section 1231: Best of Both Worlds? May15

Section 1231: Best of Both Worlds?

IRC Section 1231 deals with gains and losses from the sale of property used in a trade or business as well as certain involuntary conversions. Section 1231 has been labeled as providing the “best of both worlds” for allowing net losses to be treated as “Ordinary Losses” and net gains to be treated as “Long-Term Capital Gain...

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Spirit of the Olympics May15

Spirit of the Olympics

Many U.S. athletes had great success at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. We all know that winning an Olympic medal means, well, one is physically presented with an Olympic medal (gold, silver or bronze) on the podium. The medals themselves have an economic value, albeit fairly low if determined based upon the actual amount of p...

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Tax Problems for Famous People May15

Tax Problems for Famous People

Every day, taxpayers get into trouble with the IRS. Some have violated the Federal Income Tax laws, some are “unjustly accused” and others are merely misunderstood. We rarely hear about them. However, we often hear about the famous and infamous. Here are just some of those people.   Scarface: It is not possible...

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Filing and Paying Tax May15

Filing and Paying Tax

Spring is in the air... and Taxpayers are scrambling to get their Federal, State and local income tax returns prepared and filed. Some are struggling to pay their income tax.   Due Dates: Here are the key Income Tax Return deadlines for 2011 calendar year taxpayers (filing Returns and paying the taxes due): ...

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Assorted Tax Issues May15

Assorted Tax Issues

Here are a few Income Tax issues to be aware of as we head into the filing season for 2011 Individual Income Tax Returns: Changes to Federal Individual Income Tax Returns (IRS Form 1040): Here is a non-exhaustive list of changes affecting the 2011 Federal Individual Income Tax Returns (Form 1040): Schedule D u...

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PTIN’s and Deadlines and FICA, Oh My! May15

PTIN’s and Deadlines and FICA, Oh My!

Happy New Year! Here are some things that you may want to know for 2012. Tax Preparers: Preparers of Federal Income Tax Returns face a series of new and more stringent requirements and risks. Among other things, all preparers must obtain a Preparer Tax Identification Number “PTIN”. Those preparers that already had a PT...

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Tax Hoax Headlines May15

Tax Hoax Headlines

If it is in writing it must be true, right? If it is written on the internet then it must be true, right, and thus must be spread to inform everyone that you know. I am a skeptic by nature. Accordingly, I take the exact opposite presumption; that just because it is written on the internet does not necessarily mean that it is fals...

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