The Service recently responded to widespread confusion surrounding changes made through the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act by announcing that taxpayers can often still deduct interest on a home equity loan, home equity line of credit or second mortgage, without regard to the label placed on the loan. Tax reform imposed a lower limit of […]
Displaying: 2018
IRS Recalculates HSA Family Coverage Deduction
Last week, IRS recalculated the previously released 2018 figures for Health Saving Account (HSA) family coverage deductions. Under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, inflation adjusted figures previously utilizing the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) would be indexed under the Chained Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (C-CPI-U). Though of little […]
Concerned about Accounting Fraud? Watch for Fraud Risk Factors
Under AU-C section 240, Consideration of Fraud in a Financial Statement Audit, the auditor is required to evaluate whether information obtained from risk assessment procedures and related activities performed indicates that one or more fraud risk factors are present. Management should also be looking for and responding to the presence of accounting fraud risk factors. […]
Tax Reform’s Impact on Financial Statements: Are You Ready?
You’ve probably seen the large impacts that many publicly traded entities have announced related to the accounting for the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. It’s important to remember that tax reform’s impact on financial statements isn’t just a large or publicly traded company issue. All corporations need to record the impact of the change in […]
Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 Provides Miscellaneous Tax Related Provisions
On February 9, 2018, Congress passed and President Trump signed into law the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018. The main purpose of the legislation was to fund the government through March 23, 2018, but it also provided a few relevant retroactive tax changes we should note and be aware of for tax year 2017. The […]
Assessing the Impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act on Financial Statements
So the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Act”) is here. While many are focusing on the impact of individual rate reduction and the impact on their itemized deductions, corporations need to assess the impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act on financial statements–specifically on their deferred tax balances as part of the 2017 […]
Avoiding Costly Mistakes Regarding Choice of Entity Post-Tax Reform
Choice of entity is undoubtedly a discussion for practitioners currently meeting with clients for tax return preparation. Clients are confused as to which structure–C corporation or S corporation–is best suited for their entity after tax reform. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act lowered the tax rate for C corps to 21%. Moreover, the new §199A […]
Want to Reduce Stress? Use the Secret of the Bicycle
With busy season looming while you’re furiously trying to learn all about the massive tax reform law, you’re probably looking for ways to reduce stress. I’m not talking about the stress that motivates us; I’m talking about the wasteful stress that just consumes energy and throws us off balance. You’ve heard many ways to fight […]
The Service Business Disadvantage of the New Section 199A
The tax reform law includes a new Section 199A which creates a deduction for Qualified Business Income (QBI). For tax years 2018 through 2025, an individual Taxpayer may deduct 20% of QBI from a partnership, S corporation, or sole proprietorship. QBI is the net amount of qualified items of income, gain, deduction, and loss with […]
QuickBooks Year End Questions & Answers
Since I frequently hear the same three questions about QuickBooks Desktop at the start of every new year, I thought I’d share these most-asked QuickBooks year end questions (and answers) with you! 1. How do I close the year in my QuickBooks file? Answer: You don’t! QuickBooks company files do not require or support a year-end […]