IRS Releases Updated Withholdings Calculator and 2018 W-4 Form
The IRS has completed updating its online withholding calculator that individual taxpayers can use to determine how many withholding allowances they should claim for 2018. The IRS also issued a new 2018 Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate. The IRS [...]
Fringe Benefits – Transportation Updates
In years prior to the recently passed Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, Congress encouraged "green"efforts to protect the environment by giving employees tax breaks for carpooling and using mass transit. For employees, the TCJA doesn't [...]
Disaster Relief Provisions in the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018
On February 9, Congress passed, and the President signed into law, H.R. 1892, the “Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018” (the Budget Act, P.L. 115-123). In addition to providing a continuing resolution to fund the federal government through [...]
Tax Extenders Reinstated
In the massive budget deal passed last week, Congress has bestowed surprise tax breaks on homeowners, students and the climate conscious. There are tax breaks for mortgage insurance premiums, higher-education expenses, energy-efficient home-improvement projects and [...]
Reminder: Property Tax Relief Available for Those Impacted by Fires
If your property has been damaged by the recent fires, mudslides, erosion, and flash flooding you may be eligible for property tax relief. In many cases, the damaged property can be reappraised in its current [...]
IRS Releases Updated 2018 Withholding Tables
The IRS has released updated withholding tables for 2018. The tables reflect major changes made by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), including an increase in the standard deduction, elimination of personal exemptions, and [...]
Expanded Use of 529 Account Funds
Under pre-Act law, funds in a Code Sec. 529 college savings account could only be used for qualified higher education expenses. If funds were withdrawn from the account for other purposes, each withdrawal was treated as containing [...]
AMT Retained with Higher Exemption Amounts
The alternative minimum tax (AMT) is a tax system separate from the regular tax that is intended to prevent a taxpayer with substantial income from avoiding tax liability by using various exclusions, deductions, and credits. Under [...]
Miscellaneous and Overall Limitation on Itemized Deductions Suspended
Miscellaneous Itemized Deductions Suspended Under pre-Act law, taxpayers were allowed to deduct certain miscellaneous itemized deductions to the extent they exceeded, in the aggregate, 2% of the taxpayer’s adjusted gross income. New law. For tax years [...]
Charitable Contribution Deduction Limitation Increased
The deduction for an individual’s charitable contribution is limited to prescribed percentages of the taxpayer’s “contribution base.” Under pre-Act law, the applicable percentages were 50%, 30%, or 20%, and depended on the type of organization to which [...]