Taxes

By approving a third round of economic impact payments (EIPs) and expanding refundability of the Child Tax Credit, Congress has made refundable tax credits a more important pillar of income support than ever. But using tax credits as a way to provide income security to low-income households creates a significant challenge: How can the IRS

Which is better, using appreciated securities or an IRA? Here’s a calculator to answer the question. The 2017 tax law, with its huge standard deduction, did serious damage to the tax benefits of philanthropy: Now, for a lot of taxpayers, cash donations don’t cut any ice on a tax return. There are two countermoves. One,

It’s a new legal development for private equity billionaire Robert F. Smith and his onetime mentor Bob Brockman, already accused of the biggest tax evasion in U.S. history. Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Justice announced the indictment of Carlos E. Kepke, a Houston tax attorney who prosecutors say conspired with Smith to hide $225 million in

Telecommunications giants Comcast CMCSA and Verizon VZ are the latest to sue Maryland over its first-in-the-nation digital advertising tax as the state moved to delay implementation of the controversial legislation this week. In a complaint filed Thursday, seven divisions of Comcast, along with Verizon Media Inc., asked the court to declare the tax illegal under

             The Biden administration has put forward its infrastructure proposals and is now seeking to garner bipartisan support. One area that has bipartisan support (and very much needs reform) is the tax incentives for charitable giving. Reform of the tax incentives for charitable giving has a two-fold benefit: getting charitable dollars into the hands of working charities that

By Ed Slott, Next Avenue If you are working with an eye towards retirement or even semi-retirement, you are probably (hopefully) saving more than you could in the past in your retirement accounts. You may have paid off the mortgage and paid for college and other heavy expenses of raising children. That all sounds like you

Governments are working together to hit up taxpayers for more money—here and around the world. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is calling for countries to enact a global minimum corporate tax rate. And schemes are afoot to do the same for individuals. Officials of the G-20, the world’s biggest economies, are busy formulating plans for a

Running your own business (or being self-employed) is a major part of the American Dream and a great way to quickly move towards financial freedom. This also leaves the heavy lifting of tax planning and setting up a retirement plan squarely on your shoulders, as if running a business wasn’t complicated enough. Keep reading as

Tax cases involving Native Americans are complex, highly fact-intensive, and if required, a court must weigh the competing interests of the tribe, the federal government, and the state to determine if the tax stands or falls.  There are instances in which a court, in order to reach the correct result, must examine the original treaty document

In a measure aimed at developing the UK’s post-Brexit international trading arrangements, it was announced last month that several Free Ports (sometimes referred to as Free Trade Zones) would open in the UK.  What are Free Ports? Free Ports are commonly used throughout the world, although less so within the EU, to promote international trade

When it comes to taxes, the good news is that we all have until May 17th to file and pay our federal income taxes. (Your state income tax deadline may be a different story.) Parents can also qualify for the higher child tax credit. The bad news is there isn’t much you can really do

Cities and states have increasingly been offering moving incentives to entice new residents in recent years and the pandemic has prompted more governments to get into the game. West Virginia became the latest place to do so this week and it’s offering one of the largest incentives yet: $12,000 cash to relocate to the “Wild

When President Joe Biden signed the $1.9 trillion-dollar American Rescue Plan last month, he launched a new and improved Child Tax Credit. The Child Tax Credit has been around since the Clinton Administration, yet this new version may have a positive effect on Americans who have been trying to find financial stability through the Covid-19 pandemic.

I recently wrote about how the IRS taxes legal malpractice settlements. I said a legal malpractice settlement should be tax free for an underlying physical injury case, where damages would have been tax free in the underlying physical injury case. Shortly thereafter, the Tax Court decided Blum v. Comm’r, T.C. Memo. 2021-18. Its harsh taxable

In the latest episode of Tax Notes Talk, Abdul Muheet Chowdhary of South Centre, an intergovernmental organization of developing countries, talks about how the U.N. Committee on Experts on International Cooperation in Tax Matters could be more transparent and effective for developing countries.  The post has been edited for length and clarity. Nana Ama Sarfo: Abdul,

Congress has returned to Washington after a two-week Easter vacation, and What’s Ahead explains why investors should be worried. The first thing on Congress’ plate is President Biden’s gargantuan infrastructure bill, most of which has little to do with such traditional infrastructure projects as highways and bridges. Unless changed, the legislation will hurt the economy—and,

How you prepare your taxes could help others make sense of your estate. Piecing together a person’s financial holdings when you don’t know where to start can be almost impossibly overwhelming. Let’s say you have to look after a parent suffering from diminished capacity, or are in charge of the affairs after a person has

By Doug Sheppard, Tax Notes State commentary editor Being the first American rock band of perhaps thousands to cover a reggae song would have to be considered a major milestone — if not something to brag about. If one knew that they were breaking new ground, that is. Informed years later that Brownsville Station’s 1973

It’s not how much you make but how much you keep. This fact of life doesn’t go away once you leave the workforce. Making intelligent tax-planning decisions before and during retirement can have a significant impact on your net retirement income.  In plain English, we are talking about reducing the taxes you have to pay

Are you comfortable signing your tax return under penalties of perjury? It’s almost April 15, but for most of us, Tax Day this year is May 17th. There’s a month left for you to stew about it, and the IRS and Department of Justice Tax Division want to make you think carefully. Willfully filing false