Affordable Health Care Act - Partial Reprieve. Under the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”), businesses with over 50 full time employees were required to provide minimum affordable coverage to all employees beginning in 2014 or pay a penalty of $2,000 per non-covered employee. The IRS just announced that the implementation of ...
The House, the Senate and the President are always wrangling over legislation. This did not begin in 2008 or in the recent election season. However, it seems that otherwise boring tax legislation has become more interesting to the average people. Publications, news agencies, TV and internet shows make money when people read their ...
The IRS is charged by Congress to enforce the Federal Income Tax laws. U.S. citizens and taxpayers also expect the same. There is always a “Goldilock’s and the Three Bears” effect. From time to time taxpayers and politicians claim that the IRS is too soft, too hard or just right in its enforcement of the myriad Tax laws. The...
It is common in life that people try to hid things from others. There are many reasons. One common reason why people try to hide assets is to try to avoid having to pay income tax on the income or include the assets in their estate for estate tax purposes. A 2008 U.S. Senate Report estimated that U.S. Taxpayers used secret offshor...
April 15th is upon us. Here are some tax reminders: Partnership Surprise: If 2 or more people operate a business that is not a corporation or LLC then they are likely considered to be Partners operating a Partnership for Income Tax purposes. If so, a Partnership Income Tax Return (Form 1065) may have t...
There are a number of Federal Income Tax laws that had expired on December 31, 2011 or on December 31, 2012 that were resurrected on January 2, 2013 when the President signed the “American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012”. This is relevant for impending preparation of the 2012 Income Tax Returns. Here is a brief summary of some of...
The Federal Income Tax laws are constantly changing. They change as a result of new legislation and they change as a result of the expiration of old legislation. Cinderella and the “Federal Godmother”: Some of the laws resulting from The “Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001” and the “Jobs an...
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...
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. ...
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...
