Tax news and information - Journal of Accountancy

TOPICS

May 1, 2016

Foreign earned income exclusion denied for State Department employee

The Tax Court’s application of common law factors overrules a taxpayer’s belief he was an independent contractor.

May 1, 2016

New product or different presentation?

Courts and the IRS differ over a key qualification for the domestic production activities deduction.

April 29, 2016

IRS releases 2017 health savings account limits

The IRS issued the inflation-adjusted figures for calendar year 2017 for the annual contribution limits for health savings accounts.

April 13, 2016

Ways to make tax compliance less of a nightmare for small business

Troy Lewis, chair of the AICPA’s Tax Executive Committee, testified in favor or the Mobile Workforce State Income Tax Simplification Act.

April 6, 2016

Taxpayers can now pay federal tax at participating retail stores

A new program allows individuals who owe federal income taxes to pay in cash at 7-Eleven stores in 34 states.

April 5, 2016

IRS’s inversion rules include earnings-stripping provisions

These new rules aim to curtail an inverted company’s ability to access foreign subsidiaries’ earnings without paying U.S. tax.

April 4, 2016

Panama papers leak provides road map for tax investigations

Tax authorities in various countries announced the launch of investigations after 11.5 million documents were leaked from a Panamanian law firm that specializes in setting up offshore entities.

April 4, 2016

How clients can protect their tax data from hackers

Tax-related identity theft occurs when stolen Social Security numbers are used to file tax returns claiming fraudulent refunds.

April 1, 2016

IRS issues 2016 and revised 2015 vehicle depreciation limits

The IRS issued guidance providing the depreciation limits for automobiles for 2016 and revised limits for 2015 reflecting the retroactive increase in the amount of bonus depreciation permitted under recent legislation.

April 1, 2016

IRS withdraws controversial charitable donation information-reporting rules

After receiving tens of thousands of negative comment letters, the Service makes an about-face.

April 1, 2016

IRS provides guidance on like-kind exchanges of aircraft

Memorandum clarifies whether aircraft are “held for productive use in a trade or business” when held by a special-purpose entity.

April 1, 2016

AICPA meetings in D.C. seek path toward a 21st century IRS

AICPA tax advocacy committee members held two days of meetings with key members of Congress and IRS Commissioner John Koskinen in February.

April 1, 2016

Damages awarded to taxpayers for IRS violation of bankruptcy stay

Sovereign immunity is not a protection, a bankruptcy court holds.

April 1, 2016

Shooting wild hogs counts toward a lawyer’s material participation in a farming activity

The Tax Court allows a taxpayer’s passive losses despite his lack of contemporary logs of hours spent.

April 1, 2016

FBAR compliance

Heightened tax compliance efforts worldwide make this a good time to review the complicated rules that apply to reporting foreign accounts on FinCEN Form 114, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts, commonly known as FBAR.

April 1, 2016

$50,000 in tax debt can ground travelers

New law denies or revokes passports for “seriously delinquent” accounts over $50,000.

April 1, 2016

The importance of appraisals when gifting art

Charitable deductions stand a much better chance of being upheld when taxpayers closely follow the qualified appraiser rules.

April 1, 2016

Tax debts from late-filed returns held dischargeable in bankruptcy

Ninth Circuit BAP rejects a literal application of a Bankruptcy Code provision, splitting from 3 other circuits.

April 1, 2016

Line items

Tangible property de minimis safe-harbor amount is higher … Tax Court proposes petition e-filing … One-fourth of advance premium tax credits paid went unreported on returns

March 28, 2016

A closer look at sales and use taxation of the cloud

The growth of cloud technology means that what used to be clearly the sale of tangible personal property is now digital and challenging to classify for sales and use tax purposes.

FROM THIS MONTH'S ISSUE

4 ways solo practitioners can stand out

Five years ago, a grieving Angel Zhen started his own CPA firm with no clients and no revenue. Today, he has 300 clients, $600,000 in revenue and 12 weeks of annual vacation. In this JofA article, he shares how he set up his firm and how you could do the same.