Accounting News

You may have heard a lot of talk in the news about a new deduction for “pass-through” income, but it’s actually available for qualified business income from a sole proprietorship (including a farm), as well as from pass-through entities such as partnerships, LLCs, and...

As tax reform efforts progressed late last year, there were high hopes that the individual Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) would be repealed. Unfortunately, it still exists under the TCJA. The good news is that you are allowed a relatively generous AMT exemption, which...

States react differently to changes to federal tax law. For example, some states automatically conform to federal tax law as soon as legislation is  passed. Other states require their legislatures to adopt federal tax law as of a fixed date. This generally occurs on...

Tucked away in the TCJA is the creation of Qualified Opportunity Zones (QO Zones). These are low-income communities that meet certain requirements. Investing in QO Zones can result in two major tax breaks: (1) temporary deferral of gain from the sale of property and...

Under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, certain future alimony payments will no longer be deductible by the payer. Also, alimony will no longer be considered income to the recipient. Therefore, for divorces and legal separations that are executed (that come into legal...

Although the details of Qualified Tuition Plans (QTPs) can vary widely, they generally allow parents and grandparents to set up college accounts  for children and grandchildren before they reach college age. Once established, QTPs qualify for favorable federal (and...

The TCJA temporarily increases the limit on cash contributions to public charities and certain private foundations from 50% to 60% of AGI. However, as we mentioned earlier, the standard deduction has almost doubled. Combined with the capping of the state and local tax...

Under pre-TCJA law, the child tax credit was $1,000 per qualifying child, but it was reduced for married couples filing jointly by $50 for every  $1,000 (or part of $1,000) by which their Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) exceeded $110,000. (The threshold was $55,000 for...