Tagged: tax law

Posted: June 20, 2017
IRS Standard Mileage Rates For 2017 The Internal Revenue Service has recently issued the 2017 optional standard mileage rates used to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical or moving purposes. Beginning on Jan. 1, 2017, the standard mileage rates for the use of a car (also vans, pickups or… Read more »

Posted: February 28, 2017
IRS Installment Agreements: 2017 User Fee Schedule and Options Starting in 2017, the IRS has revised its user fee schedule for installment agreements. The new fee schedule applies to installment agreements entered into, restructured or reinstated on or after January 2, 2017. The final regulations increase the existing user fees (except for low-income taxpayers) and… Read more »

Posted: December 15, 2016
2016 Tax Scam Alert As tax season approaches, the Internal Revenue Service, in IR-2016-164, has just reminded taxpayers to be on the lookout for an array of evolving tax scams related to identity theft and refund fraud. Every tax season, there is an increase in schemes that target innocent taxpayers by email, by phone and… Read more »

Posted: December 06, 2016
IRS Online Tool The Internal Revenue Service announced on December 1, 2016 (IR-2016-155) the launch of an online application that will assist taxpayers with straightforward balance inquiries in a safe, easy and convenient way. This new and secure tool, available on IRS.gov allows taxpayers to view their IRS account balance, which will include the amount… Read more »

Posted: November 16, 2016
IMPORTANT TAX ALERT: New Jersey Governor Chris Christie on Tuesday, November 22, 2016, reinstated a four-decade old tax reciprocity agreement with Pennsylvania that allows residents who work in either state to pay income taxes at their home state’s rate. You can almost hear the collective sigh of relief of the many commuters that would have been… Read more »

Posted: July 12, 2016
Philadelphia Landmark: The Famous and Quirky 45 Foot Steel Clothes Pin Created by Sculptor Claes Oldenburg Across from City Hall City of Philadelphia Wage Tax Reduction For July 1, 2016 The City of Philadelphia has reduced the City Wage Tax rate effective July 1, 2016. The new Wage Tax rate for residents of Philadelphia is… Read more »

Posted: June 06, 2016
IRS LETTERS: WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU GET ONE Each year, the IRS mails millions of notices and letters to taxpayers for a variety of reasons. This can be extremely upsetting when receiving this form of communication, whether it is from the IRS or any other taxing authority. The following tips are presented to reduce… Read more »

Posted: December 18, 2015
2016 Standard Mileage Rates for Business, Medical and Moving The Internal Revenue Service on December 18, 2015 issued the 2016 optional standard mileage rates used to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical or moving purposes. Beginning on Jan. 1, 2016, the standard mileage rates for the use of a… Read more »

Posted: August 09, 2015
Overview of 2015 Tax Law Changes On Friday, July 31, 2015, President Barack Obama signed HR 3236, the “Surface Transportation and Veterans Health Care Choice Improvement Act of 2015” (the “Act”). Not sure how this name relates to taxes but in any event the following tax law changes and provisions became law under this Act:… Read more »
Posted: March 17, 2015
My Very Own Philadelphia Estate and Tax Attorney Blog Has Just Won as the Best Tax Blog In America for 2015! I am most appreciative of all of you who took the time to vote for my blog. You can see the final voting results by going to: http://wallethub.com/blog/best-tax-blog/10470/?user=sjfpc. Thanks so much to everyone who voted!

Posted: December 26, 2014
Overview of 2014 Year-End Tax Planning The arrival of year-end presents special opportunities for most small businesses to take steps in lowering their tax liability. The starting point is to run projections to determine the income and tax bracket for this year and what it may be next year. Once this is known, decisions can… Read more »

Posted: January 10, 2014
The Really Bad Idea of Transferring Real Estate When You Are Older Can Result in Needless Income Taxes Being Paid By the Family With the increase of the federal estate tax exemption to $11,700,000 in 2021, most taxpayers are not subject to federal estate taxes. The focus for many now has shifted to the income… Read more »

Posted: December 22, 2013
Year-End Tax Planning For Businesses The arrival of year-end presents special opportunities for most small businesses to take steps in lowering their tax liability. The starting point is to run projections to determine the income and tax bracket for this year and what it may be next year. Once this is known, decisions can be… Read more »

Posted: October 17, 2013
Same-Sex Marriage Tax Guide: Essential Tax Rules and Tips Federal tax rules for same-sex couples have recently been issued in response to the Supreme Court decision in Windsor, No. 12-307 (U.S. 6/26/13). This landmark case invalidated a key provision of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”) and resulted in major changes in the tax… Read more »

Posted: July 09, 2013
The IRS Is Aware That Employers Do Not Comply With Employment Tax Rules and Have Increased Enforcement The Treasury Inspector General of For Tax Administration recently issued a report entitled Employers Do Not Always Follow Internal Revenue Service Determination Rulings that indicated the employers just do not get it when it comes to treating workers… Read more »

Posted: November 06, 2012
Casualty Loss Deduction For Hurricane Sandy My last post talked about when we can trash tax and other important records. Well, Hurricane Sandy brought a whole new meaning to the concept of trashing records and a whole lot more. Experts estimate that Hurricane Sandy has caused $50 billion of damage. Eqecat Inc., a financial advisory… Read more »

Posted: October 23, 2012
Tax Record Retention Guidelines Papers, papers and still more papers. When can I destroy these documents? There are no hard and fast rules in this area. The following offers some general guidance to carefully consider when determining any destruction of documents. Against the urge to purge, remember that maintaining documents and records is often essential… Read more »

Posted: August 17, 2012
Failure To Pay Attention To Detailed Tax Requirements and Contemporaneous Documentation Can Result in IRS Disallowing Tax Deductions Taxpayers found out the hard way that the documentation rules imposed by the IRS better be followed exactly and to the letter. In Durden, TC Memo, 2012-140, taxpayers claimed a $22,517 charitable contribution for 2007. The IRS… Read more »
Posted: September 30, 2011
The IRS has just introduced a new Voluntary Worker Classification Settlement Program offering past payroll tax relief when the employer agrees to reclassify workers as employees. For the details and discussion of this VCSP program please see my just published article at my website at the following link: Employers Playing Tax Games with Workers: IRS Offers Way… Read more »
Posted: April 27, 2011
Hidden Offshore Bank Accounts: IRS Offers Another Chance To Come Clean The Internal Revenue Service announced on February 8, 2011 a special voluntary disclosure initiative designed to bring offshore money back into the U.S. tax system and help people with undisclosed income from hidden offshore accounts get current with their taxes. Here are some of… Read more »

Posted: August 26, 2009
Correcting Failures To Update Retirement Plans: The IRS Offers a Special Program To Help Taxpayers In our fast paced world, many retirement plans are drafted and then often neglected. In extreme cases, plans are put aside without ever being updated. Some plan sponsors have failed to restate their plans for years or even decades. For many individuals, retirement… Read more »
Posted: June 05, 2009
Gifting Shares of Stock In a Closely Held Business When Business Is Bad Presents Certain Tax Opportunities As with most things in life, when things are bad, there usually is something good that can come out of it. Our current economic troubles have resulted in many closely held or small businesses being worth far less… Read more »