Category: Taxation-Individuals

Spending bill extends tax breaks, adds retirement account provisions With its winter recess looming before it, Congress has engaged in a flurry of activity. Most notably, it reached agreement on a massive governmentwide spending package titled the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020. The legislation extends certain income tax provisions that had expired, as well as some that were due to expire at the end of 2019. Congress traditionally passes so-called “extenders” annually, but it neglected to do so for 2018…. Read more ›

A PDF version of CBM’s year-end tax planning letter for individuals can be accessed by clicking here. To Clients and Friends: As the end of 2019 approaches, additional guidance continues to be released by the IRS relating to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), as well as other areas not necessarily impacted by the landmark tax reform act. While one of the claimed benefits of tax reform was the simplification of filing and the lowering of income tax rates,… Read more ›

The IRS recently issued its 2020 cost-of-living adjustments. With inflation remaining largely in check, many amounts increased slightly, and some stayed at 2019 levels. As you implement 2019 year-end tax planning strategies, be sure to take these 2020 adjustments into account in your planning. Also, keep in mind that, under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), annual inflation adjustments are calculated using the chained consumer price index (also known as C-CPI-U). This increases tax bracket thresholds, the standard deduction,… Read more ›

On May 23, the House of Representatives passed the Setting Every Community Up For Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act, a bill endorsed by both Republicans and Democrats designed to improve the retirement system of our nation. Approximately one out of five working Americans has no savings for retirement. According to a survey conducted by Bankrate.com, not saving enough for retirement is Americans’ top financial regret. The proposed bill would bring significant changes to retirement plans. The bill includes 29 provisions, many… Read more ›

Some individuals may have received an alert regarding new filing requirements for the 2020 DC personal property tax return. Washington, DC has now required this return to be filed online. To do so, taxpayers will need to log into or create an online account on the MyTax DC website at https://mytax.dc.gov. Taxpayers will need to enter a notice number under the account validation section, which is the number starting with “L” that should appear on a notice received from the… Read more ›

Electric Vehicles: The Good News and the Bad News As of March 26, 2019, General Motors, LLC (GM) crossed their appointed electric car (EV) threshold of 200,000 EVs sold, marking their official entry into the race to the tax credit finish line. The GM tax credit, issued through the Energy Improvement and Extension Act of 2008, started at its peak value of $7,500. Hitting the 200k threshold signals a year-long phase-out, dropping to $3,750 for every EV sold from April… Read more ›

Congress has yet to tackle several outstanding uncertainties frustrating both businesses and individual taxpayers. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), for example, contains several “glitches” requiring legislative fixes. Congress also has neglected to pass the traditional “extenders” legislation that retroactively extends certain tax relief provisions that expired at the end of an earlier year, in this case 2017. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act Glitches The sprawling TCJA signed into law in late 2017 contains some inadvertent glitches that range… Read more ›

The Trump administration has released its long-awaited proposed rule to update the overtime exemptions for so-called white-collar workers under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The rule increases the minimum weekly standard salary level for both regular workers and highly compensated employees (HCEs). It also increases the total annual compensation requirement for HCEs that’s required to qualify them as exempt. In addition, it retains the often confusing “duties test.” The Trump administration rule generally is more favorable to employers than the… Read more ›

The IRS has some good news for certain taxpayers — it’s waiving underpayment penalties for those whose 2018 federal income tax withholding and estimated tax payments came in under their actual tax liabilities for the year. The waiver recognizes that the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act’s (TCJA’s) overhaul of the federal income tax regime made it difficult for some taxpayers to determine the proper amount to have withheld from their paychecks or include in their quarterly estimated tax payments for… Read more ›

The IRS has announced that it will begin accepting paper and electronic tax returns for the 2018 tax year on January 28, but much remains to be seen about how the ongoing shutdown of the federal government will affect this year’s filings. Although the Trump administration has stated that the IRS will pay refunds during the closure — a shift from IRS practice in previous government shutdowns — it’s not clear how quickly such refunds can be processed. Effects of… Read more ›