Taxes

In a tremendously unpleasant surprise for owners of S-corporations and C-Corporations and their tax advisors, the IRS issued Notice 2021-49 on August 4th which states that the Employee Retention Credit (ERC), made available for businesses suffering from the COVID-19 crisis, will not be available with respect to wages paid to a majority owner, or such

Let me tell you about Ember, a small business owner. Her PPP loan through Bank BAC of America was approved for $76,773. A year later, BofA sent her an email that they were retroactively qualifying her for just $4,377! Is this really how Bank of America chooses to treat their best customers? I wrote in

In a sign of the political divide over death taxes, Iowa is repealing its inheritance tax, with a phased-in reduction of the tax bite retroactive to January 1, and full repeal as of January 1, 2025. Abolishing the state inheritance tax was a key priority for Republican Governor Kim Reynolds; it was part of a

The Small Business Administration (SBA) has just made a number of updates to the regulations governing PPP loans that are being welcomed by borrowers and their advisors. These new rules will save tens of thousands of hours for borrowers, accountants, banks and the SBA. Please join Brandon Ketron, JD, CPA and I on Saturday August

By: Alan Gassman and Tina Bhatt The good news and the bad news about the newest Stark Law advisory opinion issue under the Stark Law by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) (Opinion No. CMS-AO-2021-01 issued June 2021).  Many medical practices and their owners that bill Medicare for medical, diagnostic, and treatment services

Today’s column addresses questions about whether it’s possible to reapply for a retirement benefit so it starts earlier, the procedure for switching from a spousal benefit to a retirement benefit at 70 and the earnings test’s potential effects on survivor’s benefits. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University and the founder and

Today Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore.; Pat Toomey, R-Pa.; and Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo. introduced an amendment to the latest version of the Senate infrastructure bill that would significantly limit those who are considered to be “brokers” and must adhere to information reporting requirements related to cryptocurrency transactions. The original definition of a “broker” who is required

Selling crypto can obviously trigger taxes, but even buying something using crypto—a house, a car, a new suit of clothes—can trigger taxes. Even paying taxes in crypto can trigger taxes. The tax paradox started when the IRS ruled that cryptocurrency is property in Notice 2014-21. That classification has some big tax consequences, accentuated by wild price swings. If you

Are you disenfranchised from state and local tax deductions because you exceed the SALT cap of $10,000 per year?  Organizing an LLC for your business can convert non-deductible SALT into a business expense. Seventeen states have enacted SALT cap workaround laws, and several others are working towards enactment. IRS Notice 2020-75, issued on Nov. 9, 2020, gave

In the latest installment of the “Five Minutes on” video series, Tax Notes contributing editors Robert Goulder and Joseph J. Thorndike discuss the relationship between taxes and infrastructure. This transcript has been edited for length and clarity. Robert Goulder: It’s summertime in Washington, D.C., and the heat index isn’t the only thing that’s rising. There’s been a spike in congressional

The Senate is poised to vote on an infrastructure bill containing tax-reporting “revenue” provisions that could have devastating effects on the business model of cryptocurrency products and services. The crypto community is rightly outraged over sweeping language that could harm not just cryptocurrency exchanges such as Coinbase (COIN), but the software developers and other small

When not in government service Dawn Johnson, Acting Assistant Attorney General, has been a professor teaching constitutional law at the Maurer School of Law at Indiana University in Bloomington. That definitely shows in the Memorandum Opinion that she signed indicating that the Treasury Department should turn over tax returns filed by Donald Trump and some

While the White House and congressional Democrats are feverishly trying to enact massive, economy-killing tax increases, numerous states are going in the opposite direction by cutting them. These local officials recognize that reducing the tax burden on their citizens will give them more prosperity and the higher revenues that come with better times. Arizona, Ohio,

The Senate’s infrastructure bill is out, and as expected, it includes tax information reporting on cryptocurrencies. What will this mean for the digital currency industry? And why has Congress suddenly decided to require this information reporting?  Let’s answer the second question first: $28 billion. That’s the estimate of how much the proposed reporting requirements might

As the cryptoasset industry awaits a much-discussed European Commission proposal that would extend EU tax reporting rules to cryptoassets and e-money, at least one tax-tech startup is courting investors in anticipation. Austria-based Blockpit is one of a growing number of companies providing automated tax calculations for cryptocurrency trades, income generated from staking, and other crypto-related activities. The

The Senate released 2,702 pages of the latest version of the bi-partisan infrastructure bill early Sunday evening. Notably absent is funding for increased IRS enforcement, but notably included is increased information reporting for cryptocurrency exchanges, or “brokers” of cryptocurrency transactions. Increased information reporting necessarily includes increased information reporting penalties. And these particular information reporting penalties

Today’s column addresses questions about how spousal benefit rates are calculated, whether it’s possible to reapply to increase benefits and whether early spousal benefits would reduce later survivor’s benefits. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University and the founder and president of Economic Security Planning, Inc, which markets Maximize My Social Security

Henry David Thoreau was a supremely efficient tax protester. Measured in terms of social impact per unit of personal sacrifice, he managed something remarkable 175 years ago, when he was jailed — briefly, but significantly — for refusing to pay his taxes in Concord, Massachusetts.  On July 23, 1846, Thoreau was walking from his rustic

It has been two weeks since the new Advanced Child Tax Credit started paying out to taxpayers.  For many taxpayers, the tax credit payment has been a relatively straightforward process given the direct deposit into their bank accounts. However, this is a program the IRS anticipates involving 39 million American families. Given the scope, there were

The Internal Revenue Service is delivering a fourth round of special tax refunds this week to 1.5 million taxpayers who paid taxes on unemployment benefits when they filed their 2020 tax returns. For this round, the average refund is $1,686; direct deposit refunds started going out Wednesday, and paper checks today. Still waiting for your