While the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) reduces most income tax rates and expands some tax breaks, it limits or eliminates several itemized deductions that have been valuable to many individual taxpayers. Here are five deductions you may see shrink or disappear when you file your 2018 income tax return: 1. State and local […]
When you file your 2018 income tax return, you’ll likely find that some big tax law changes affect you — besides the much-discussed tax rate cuts and reduced itemized deductions. For 2018 through 2025, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) makes significant changes to personal exemptions, standard deductions and the child credit. The degree
3 big TCJA changes affecting 2018 individual tax returns and beyond Read More »
The flat 21% federal income tax rate for C corporations under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) has been great news for these entities and their owners. But some fundamental tax truths for C corporations largely remain the same: C corporations are subject to double taxation. Double taxation occurs when corporate income is taxed
Fundamental tax truths for C corporations Read More »
The IRS opened the 2018 income tax return filing season on January 28. Even if you typically don’t file until much closer to the April 15 deadline, this year consider filing as soon as you can. Why? You can potentially protect yourself from tax identity theft — and reap other benefits, too. What is tax
Why you shouldn’t wait to file your 2018 income tax return Read More »
The recently enacted Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) introduces two elections, one to defer gain from the sale of property that is reinvested in an investment in a Qualified Opportunity (QO) Fund and another to permanently exclude gain from the sale or exchange of the investment in the QO Fund. These elections can provide
Qualified Opportunity Fund Under the TCJA Read More »
As you likely know by now, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) reduced or eliminated many deductions for individuals. One itemized deduction the TCJA kept intact is for investment interest expense. This is interest on debt used to buy assets held for investment, such as margin debt used to buy securities. But if you
Commercial buildings and improvements generally are depreciated over 39 years, which essentially means you can deduct a portion of the cost every year over the depreciation period. (Land isn’t depreciable.) But special tax breaks that allow deductions to be taken more quickly are available for certain real estate investments. Some of these were enhanced by
A variety of tax-related limits affecting businesses are annually indexed for inflation, and many have gone up for 2019. Here’s a look at some that may affect you and your business. Deductions. Section 179 expensing:Limit: $1.02 million (up from $1 million) Phaseout: $2.55 million (up from $2.5 million) Income-based phase-ins for certain limits on the
Many tax-related limits affecting businesses increase for 2019 Read More »
This year, the optional standard mileage rate used to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business increased by 3.5 cents, to the highest level since 2008. As a result, you might be able to claim a larger deduction for vehicle-related expense for 2019 than you can for 2018. Actual costs vs. mileage
Higher mileage rate may mean larger tax deductions for business miles in 2019 Read More »
Under the TCJA, unmarried taxpayers could see their taxes go up due to their filing status. To further eliminate the marriage “penalty,” the TCJA changed some of the middle tax brackets, negatively affecting some unmarried filers. For example, single and head of household filers could be pushed into the 32% (33% in 2017) and 35%
What will your marginal income tax rate be? Read More »