Tax news and information - Journal of Accountancy

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October 19, 2015

Why new tax return due date changes are important

This article examines why the tax return due date change was needed and what it means for practitioners.

October 15, 2015

2016 Social Security wage base is released

The good news for workers is that there will also be no increase in the amount of wages subject to Social Security taxes (old age, survivor, and disability insurance).

October 7, 2015

IRS gives South Carolina flood victims tax relief

The IRS announced that taxpayers who live or have a business in the South Carolina counties that have been declared disaster areas will have extra time to file their returns and pay any taxes owed.

October 5, 2015

The IRS digital-first future needs to start now

The IRS is struggling with how to become more efficient and serve taxpayers with lower levels of staffing and an outdated, manual service model.

October 1, 2015

Benefits of an employee stock ownership plan in succession planning

Practitioners should be aware of the many advantages of using an ESOP when a business owner is near retirement.

October 1, 2015

GASB requiring new government tax incentive disclosures

The standard aims to provide more information for financial statement users.

October 1, 2015

D.C. Circuit confirms Tax Court’s jurisdiction in son-of-boss case

The court will determine the partners’ accuracy-related penalties in a partnership proceeding.

October 1, 2015

PTO and constructive receipt

Paid-time-off plans can create problems with the timing of, and cross-year accounting for, payroll tax liabilities.

October 1, 2015

Estimated tax issues for divorcing couples

Problems can arise when taxpayers try to properly allocate estimated tax payments.

October 1, 2015

Regs. direct where to file refund claims

The rules apply to claims for credit or refund filed on or after July 24, 2015.

October 1, 2015

Property-related litigation costs held includible in home office deduction

The IRS failed to show that combating ‘running wild’ dogs, mold, and noise was exclusively a personal expense.

October 1, 2015

Crowdfunding and income taxes

See how to address this increasingly common source of income with tax clients.

October 1, 2015

Substance-over-form doctrine used to nix growth within Roth IRAs

Purported DISC commissions paid to Roth IRAs as owners of a holding company are recharacterized as dividends to shareholders and excess contributions.

October 1, 2015

IRS will no longer require additional Sec. 83(b) election statement with return

To facilitate e-filing, the IRS proposed to amend Regs. Sec. 1.83-2(c) to eliminate its requirement that taxpayers making a Sec. 83(b) election file a copy of the election statement with their tax return for the year of the transfer of property for which the election is made.

October 1, 2015

Return due dates changed

Tax provisions in the highway funding act also overturn the Supreme Court’s Home Concrete holding that an overstatement of basis does not cause a substantial omission of gross income triggering the extended six-year statute of limitation for assessment.

October 1, 2015

Taxpayer is awarded attorneys’ fees and court costs

The IRS’s concession on the time limit for claiming equitable innocent spouse relief was not a settlement that would disqualify the taxpayer from reimbursement as a ‘prevailing party.’

October 1, 2015

Rules for disguised payments to partners are proposed

Payment for services would be determined by six nonexclusive factors.

September 28, 2015

Get a head start on preparing for tax season

The AICPA Private Companies Practice Section team shares best practices on preparing for busy season.

September 16, 2015

Special per-diem rates issued for 2015–2016 travel

The IRS issued per-diem rates for use in substantiating business expenses taxpayers incur while traveling away from home.

September 16, 2015

Charities would be permitted to issue information returns to donors

Charities will be allowed to file information returns instead of providing contemporaneous written acknowledgment of charitable donations under proposed regulations issued by the IRS.

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.