Featured

December 05, 2019
By Andre Benayoun, Partner, Tax & Business Services
On Monday, December 2, the Internal Revenue Service issued final regulations regarding Foreign Tax Credits.

October 21, 2019
Tax Flash - State & Local Taxation
Connecticut Legislature Increases Alcoholic Excise Tax
The 2019 regular session of the Connecticut General Assembly brought forth several changes in tax policy for the state of Connecticut.

October 15, 2019
Tax Flash
Supreme Court Declines to Hear Appeals Regarding New York's Taxation of Part-Time Residents
The U.S. Supreme Court recently declined to hear two appeals that would require the Court to rule on the constitutionality of New York’s part-time resident taxation regime.

October 14, 2019
Tax Flash
IRS Provides Relief for Taxpayers Affected By Tropical Storm Imelda
Affected taxpayers in areas designated by FEMA as qualifying for individual assistance have until January 31, 2020, to file returns and make payments originally due on or after September 17, 2019.

September 17, 2019
Tax Flash
Updated IRS Regulations for Bonus Depreciation under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
Treasury and IRS published regulations on September 13, 2019, providing guidance on the new bonus depreciation rules under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

September 09, 2019
Tax Flash - State & Local Taxation
New For 2018, Florida Corporate Income Tax Reporting of Additional Required Information
A Tax Information Publication was issued on August 26, 2019 and sent to taxpayers who may be effected by new requirements.

August 28, 2019
Tax Flash
Update from the Cryptocurrency Front
The Internal Revenue Service issued a statement that it would be sending letters during the month of August to more than 10,000 taxpayers that the Service has deemed to own or have owned cryptocurrency accounts.

August 19, 2019
Tax Flash - Tax Return Compliance
Nevada: Updated Commerce Tax Filing Requirements
Pursuant to State Senate Bill 497, businesses whose Nevada-sourced gross receipts for the 2018tax year are $4 million or less are no longer required to file a commerce tax return.

August 12, 2019
Tax Flash - Real Estate
Qualified Improvement Property: An Unintended Consequence of TCJA
An unintended consequence of the TCJA was an unfavorable change to depreciation rules for improvements made to real property, known as Qualified Improvement Property.

August 05, 2019
Tax Flash
Form 5471 - Information Return with Respect to Certain Foreign Corporations
Form 5471 is one of the most complex and complicated tax forms the IRS has ever created.

July 29, 2019
Tax Flash - Real Estate
The Real Estate Election Out of the Section 163(j) Business Interest Limitation
The election out of section 163(j) can be a beneficial choice for real estate businesses that have a significant amount of interest expense and qualify to make the election.

July 22, 2019
Tax Flash
Aggregation as it Relates to Section 199A
Taxpayers may elect to aggregate two or more trades or businesses to combine the respective wages and unadjusted basis.

July 19, 2019
Tax Flash - State & Local Taxation
Illinois Expands Manufacturing and Assembly Sales and Use Tax Exemption
Effective July 1, 2019, the sales and use tax exemption for manufacturers in Illinois, 35 ILCS 105/3-5, was expanded to include tangible personal property used or consumed in the manufacturing process, purchased after the effective date.

July 18, 2019
Tax Flash
Recent Changes to Regulations may affect Small Businesses
The IRS recently republished a regulation under IRC section 52, which can have a significant impact on a number of provisions enacted under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

July 15, 2019
Tax Flash - International Taxation
Proposed Regulations under Passive Foreign Investment Company Regime
The PFIC regime is a punitive tax regime established in 1986 with the purpose of denying the benefit of tax deferral to U.S. persons who invest in passive assets through the use of non-controlled foreign companies.

July 15, 2019
Tax Return Compliance
Refresher on What is a Real Estate Professional and the Importance of Time Logs
The passive activity loss rules introduced as part of the 1986 Tax Act made it more difficult for passive investors to deduct losses from investments against their other ordinary income.

July 09, 2019
Tax Flash
Final Regulations Issued for Partners Providing Services; Treatment as Employee
The IRS finalized regulations stating that a partner providing services to a disregarded entity owned by a partnership cannot be treated as an employee but will be subject to self-employment tax.

July 08, 2019
Trusts & Estates
Tax Benefits of Implementing a Retirement Plan or Upgrading Your Current Plan
Looking for deductions to lower your tax bill for your small business? Consider the tax benefits of implementing a retirement plan or upgrading your current plan.

June 26, 2019
Tax Flash - International Taxation
245A (Participation Exemption) Temporary Regulations Eliminating Deduction for Some Foreign Corporation Dividends to U.S. Taxpayers
The new participation exemption (245A) regulations eliminate the deduction for certain dividends received by U.S. taxpayers from foreign controlled corporations.

June 24, 2019
Tax Flash
The United States Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Trust
The Court stated that the presence of in-state beneficiaries will not empower a state to tax trust income should the beneficiaries have no right to demand or receive income.

June 24, 2019
Tax Return Compliance
Section 179 Deductions: Update
Section 179 of the Internal Revenue Code allows a taxpayer to deduct the cost of qualifying property as an expense.

June 21, 2019
Tax Flash - International Taxation
GILTI Final and Proposed Regulations
On Friday, June 14, 2019, the Internal Revenue Service issued final regulations, as well as new proposed regulations, for the new anti-deferral regime known as Global Intangible Low Taxed Income.

June 17, 2019
Tax Return Compliance
The Kiddie Tax: Reverting to Prior Law
The kiddie tax was originally created to prevent wealthy parents from shifting income to their children to benefit from their lower tax rate, in order to decrease the overall family tax burden.

June 13, 2019
Tax Flash - State & Local Taxation
IRS Issues Final Regulations for SALT Charitable Contribution Workarounds
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act limits the deduction for state and local income taxes (SALT) for those living in states and localities with high income or property taxes.

June 10, 2019
Tax Flash - Nonprofit & Social Sector
The Impact of the TCJA on Charitable Organizations
Many sources are predicting that charities may see a substantial difference when individuals start filing their 2019 returns as individuals become more familiar with potential changes due to new law.

May 27, 2019
Tax Return Compliance
2017 TCJA and Preparing Dependents’ Tax Returns
There are many things to consider in the preparation of dependent children’s tax returns.

May 23, 2019
Tax Flash - State & Local Taxation
The Tennessee Department of Revenue Authorized to Enforce Sales Tax Economic Nexus Rule
Effective July 1, 2019, any out-of-state dealer that exceeds $500,000 in sales during the prior 12 months and engages in regular or systematic solicitation of consumers in the state will be required to register, collect and remit Tennessee sales tax.

May 20, 2019
Tax Return Compliance
199A Deduction and New Form 8995/8995-A
The Section 199A deduction was enacted as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.

May 07, 2019
Tax Flash - State & Local Taxation
City of Santa Monica, CA Six-Week Tax Amnesty Program
The City of Santa Monica will be conducting a six-week tax amnesty program intended to bring unlicensed businesses into compliance with the city’s business license taxes.

May 06, 2019
State & Local Taxation
State of New Jersey: Combined Corporate Reporting Requirement
In 2018, the New Jersey Division of Taxation enacted legislation that mandates combined reporting for tax years ending on and after July 31, 2019.

April 26, 2019
Tax Flash
IRS Issues Proposed Regulations on Qualified Opportunity Zones
The Treasury and IRS issued a new set of proposed regulations on Qualified Opportunity Zones last week, which provides additional guidance and offers considerably greater flexibility in structuring business arrangements which satisfy the QOZ rules.

April 18, 2019
Tax Flash - State & Local Taxation
Massachusetts Decides to Retroactively Tax IRC Section 965 Repatriation Income
For personal income tax purposes, Massachusetts does not automatically update to the current Federal Internal Revenue Code, including some provisions that may have changed under the Tax Cut and Jobs Act of 2017.

April 09, 2019
Tax Flash
Kentucky Bill Signed Into Law: Immediate Action Required Regarding Estimated Payments
On March 26, 2019, Governor Matthew Bevin signed into law House Bill 354, which enacts many tax-related provisions.

April 08, 2019
Tax Flash
The New York Legislature Passes 2019-2020 Budget Bill
The New York State 2019 budget bill was delivered to Governor Cuomo on April 1, 2019, and he is expected to sign it in short order.

March 27, 2019
Tax Flash
IRS Gives Taxpayers Greater Relief from Penalties for Underpayment of Estimated Taxes
The IRS has issued additional relief from penalties on those taxpayers who have underpaid their 2018 income taxes.

March 04, 2019
Tax Flash
No More Parking Expense Deduction?
The qualified transportation fringe benefit companies provided to their employees is one of the expenses that generally has been eliminated (IRC Section 274(a)(4)).

March 04, 2019
Marital Dissolution
The Effect of the 2019 Tax Law on Divorce
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 modified the treatment of alimony payments.

February 25, 2019
Tax Return Compliance
New Depreciation Rules Could Mean More Passenger Vehicles for Business Use
Tax season is upon us, and with it invariably come over-the-top car commercials exhorting businesses to take advantage of the opportunity for a write-off.

February 22, 2019
Tax Flash - State & Local Taxation
Connecticut Governor’s Budget Proposes Expanding Sales Tax and Eliminating Business Entity and Gift Taxes
Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont has proposed a new budget for the 2020 fiscal year, beginning July 1, 2019 and ending June 30, 2020, that includes a number of tax changes impacting both businesses and individual taxpayers.

February 20, 2019
Tax Flash
Maryland Taxes Single Member Limited Liability Company
On January 17, 2019, the Maryland Tax Court ruled that multiple single member LLCs were subject to the 8.25% nonresident tax on income allocable to Maryland.

February 18, 2019
Trusts & Estates
Fiduciary Income Tax Planning Utilizing the § 645 Election
Given the possibility of having to file an income tax return for both the estate and the trust, a unique opportunity presents itself to utilize the Internal Revenue Code 645 election to combine the trust and estate into one entity for tax purposes.

February 18, 2019
Tax Compliance
A New Tax Credit Based on an Old Law
Since the Family and Medical Leave Act was enacted in 1993, employers have been required to provide employees with temporary leave, up to 12 weeks, for either family or medical reasons.

February 11, 2019
Tax Compliance
Sales of Publicly Traded Partnerships Are No Easy Task to Report on Your Taxes
Sales reporting of publicly traded partnerships, also known as master limited partnerships, is governed by the IRS rules and regulations on partnerships.

February 04, 2019
Tax Flash - International Taxation
Pennsylvania Treatment of GILTI and FDII: Corporation Tax Bulletin 2019-02
On January 24, Pennsylvania’s Department of Revenue released Corporate Tax Bulletin 2019-02, addressing the Pennsylvania tax treatment of GILTI and FDII.

January 16, 2019
Tax Flash - State & Local Taxation
New York Issues Guidance in Response to the United States Supreme Court decision in South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc.
New York State today published a notice announcing that the State intends to immediately enforce existing rules requiring the collection and remitting of New York State sales tax by remote retailers transacting business in New York.

January 14, 2019
Tax Flash - State & Local Taxation
State of Connecticut Pass-Through Entity Re-characterization
The State of Connecticut's Department of Revenue Services (DRS) has issued notices informing many taxpayers that their elections to re-characterize personal estimated tax payments as payments against the pass-through entity tax for 2018 have been rejected.

January 04, 2019
Tax Flash
Connecticut LLC Entities: Beware of Tax Scam in Mail
The Connecticut CPA Society (CTCPA) has issued a notice informing business owners organized as Limited Liability Companies (LLCs) of a fraudulent request for payment being received via the U.S. mail.

January 03, 2019
Tax Flash
Form 1099 Filings for Year-End 2018 Due January 2019
Happy New Year to our readers! Now that 2019 is upon us, businesses are gearing up for reporting season.