| 1/6/2012 | Claiming A Charitable Contribution Of Property | | Claiming a charitable deduction for a cash contribution is straightforward. The taxpayer claims the amount paid, whether by cash, check, credit card or some other method. Taxpayers need only a bank record or a written acknowledgment from the charity. For contributions of property, the rules can be more complex. |
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| 1/5/2012 | Top 10 Federal Tax Developments of 2011 | | Looking back over 2011, the IRS, Congress and the courts made many tax decisions impacting taxpayers of all types. Some tax developments were taxpayer-friendly; others imposed new requirements on taxpayers. Here is a brief rundown of the top 10 federal tax developments of 2011. |
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| 1/5/2012 | Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets | | The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), enacted in 2010, requires certain U.S. taxpayers to report their interests in specified foreign financial assets. The reporting requirement may apply if the assets have an aggregate value exceeding certain thresholds. The IRS has released Form 8938, Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets, for this reporting requirement under FATCA. |
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| 12/30/2011 | 2012 Federal Payroll Tax Reduction | | Under the new law, the reduced employee OASDI tax rate of 4.2% under the FICA tax, and the equivalent employee portion of the RRTA tax, is extended to apply to covered wages paid in the first two months of 2012. |
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| 12/9/2011 | Year-End Investment Strategies For 2011 | | As 2011 winds down, investors should consider several last-minute strategies to improve their bottom line tax liability. Many of these strategies follow traditional advice applicable to any year-end. Others, however, are unique to 2011, not only because of the continuing impact of the economy but also because of major tax changes that are threatening for 2013, which is just a little more than a year away. |
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| 12/9/2011 | Special Tax Treatment For Sick Pay? | | The term "sick pay" can refer to a variety of payments. Some of these payments are nontaxable, while others are treated as taxable income. Some of the taxable payments are treated as compensation, subject to income tax withholding and employment taxes; others are exempt from some employment taxes. |
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| 12/9/2011 | Projected 2012 Auto/Truck Fringe Benefit Maximum Values Available | | CCH tax publishers just released its projected estimated maximum fair market values (FMVs) for business automobiles, trucks and vans in 2012. The dollar amounts are all going up, quite significantly in some cases. The IRS will soon release the official figures for 2012, which may be used to determine the fringe benefit value of the personal use of employer-provided vehicles during 2012. |
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| 12/8/2011 | Placing Assets "In Service" For Depreciation Purposes | | Depreciation is a reasonable allowance for wear and tear on property used in a trade or business or for the production of income. Property is depreciable if it has a useful life greater than one year and depreciates in value. Property that appreciates in value may also depreciate if subject to wear and tear. Depreciation ends in the tax year that the asset is retired from service (by sale, exchange, abandonment or destruction) or that the asset is fully depreciated. |
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| 12/6/2011 | IRS Allows Taxpayer-Friendly Treatment For Deduction Of Employee Bonuses | | Just in time for year-end compensation planning, the IRS recently issued guidance that clarifies an accounting question for business taxpayers seeking the proper taxable year in which to take employee bonus deductions. According to the IRS, an employer using the accrual method of accounting can take the deduction for employee bonuses in the same year that the bonus recipient pool rendered the corresponding services to the employer—even though the employer may not know the identity of any particular bonus recipient (because of employees who may leave in the interim) or the amount payable until after the end of the taxable year (because the exact number of recipients may be determined later). |
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| 12/5/2011 | New Law Repeals 3% Government Withholding, Provides Hiring Credit For Veterans | | On November 21, President Obama signed into law the 3% Withholding Repeal and Job Creation Act. The new law does much more than merely repeal withholding on government contractors. The new law enhances the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) for veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces, expands the IRS' continuous levy authority, and more. |
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