Blog & Newsroom

Current Law:

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 limits individual taxpayer's state and local tax (SALT), itemized deduction to $10,000 (including real estate taxes). The previous law allowed an unlimited deduction. This change may be detrimental to many individual taxpayers who relied heavily on these deductions in the past.

State Work-Arounds:

Some states have considered "work-arounds" to combat this limitation. Select states (California, Connecticut, Illinois, New York and New Jersey, thus far) have created state

Every year at this time, you start to hear more about the importance of year-end income tax planning in radio and television commentary. For many people with more complex businesses or investments, the beginning of the 4^th quarter of the year signals the time to start to organize their tax documents and to set-up an appointment with their advisors to review results.

This year is different! This year, tax planning should be important to everyone, not just for those that have complex tax situations. The implementation of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 has impacted every taxpayer. While we have all heard about it, not everyone has an applied working knowledge of what the impact will be in the first annual income tax filing season, which begins in about three months.

Every organization has that room where miscellaneous stuff accumulates. Most don't know what's in that room. There are holiday decorations, a couple broken chairs and rows and rows of filing cabinets. In those filing cabinets are thousands of files that everyone is afraid to get rid of, but never use.

If your organization is like most, you have thousands of documents you don't know what to do with. Well, never fear! 

High school and elementary school tuition can now be paid through a 529 savings plan.

For many families, use of Section 529 plans or “Qualified Tuition Programs” for college tuition planning has provided a great way to exempt the growth of a dedicated asset account when used for qualified education expenses. 

The 2017 Tax Cut and Jobs Act made changes to this tool to allow for up to $10,000 in annual expenses for tuition with enrollment or attendance at a qualified elementary or secondary public, private or religious school.

For many individuals, September means it is time to look for a new car since the upcoming year’s automobile models are introduced.

On July 24, Zinner & Co. honored Gabe Adler, CPA, CGMA, Partner and Howard Kass, CPA, CGMA, AEP, Partner, for their nearly 90 combined years of public accounting experience with a retirement party at Acacia Clubhouse in Lyndhurst.

Both Adler and Kass graduated from Cleveland Heights High School in 1971 and 47 years later, they are both retiring after successful careers.

“In today’s world, it’s almost unheard of to have that kind of longevity in a single field and most notably, together in the same firm for the last 19 years,” said Zinner & Co. Managing Partner Robin Baum, CPA.

The deadline is approaching for private employers to “true-up” with the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC).

A press release posted on the Ohio BWC website reminds employers they have until Aug. 15 to complete an important action necessary for the BWC to accurately calculate premiums.

According to the press release, prior to each policy year (July 1- June 30), employers' payroll amount, the basis for their premium, is estimated based on historical data. When the policy year-ends, employers are required to true-up, which means they must report the actual payroll for the policy year that ended on June 30 and reconcile any difference in premium paid.

Back to school shoppers have the opportunity to pay a little bit less for purchases in early August.

Ohio’s sales and use tax holiday begins at midnight on Aug. 3 and runs through Aug. 5 at 11:59 p.m.

The state’s legislature passed legislation in March to create a permanent sales tax holiday each year on the first Friday, Saturday and Sunday of August.

Zinner & Co. LLP Partner Susan Krantz, CPA, CGMA, was honored with a prestigious Rainmaker award as the Nonprofit Certified Public Accountant (CPA) member of the year.

Presented during the Rainmaker Companies’ annual SuperConference, held in Indianapolis from May 31 through June 2, the award is given annually to a member best described as someone who is a constant source of value to other members. Other criteria include an individual who engages in group activities and contributes to the success of the alliance through leadership, collaboration and the sharing of resources and best practices.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 generally lowered federal income tax rates, with some exceptions. Among the ways in which lower rates impact tax planning, they make unmatched contributions to traditional employer retirement plans less attractive.

Example 1: Chet Taylor has around $100,000 in taxable income a year. Chet contributed $12,000 to his company’s traditional 401(k) in 2017, reducing his taxable income. He was in the 28 percent tax bracket last year, so his federal tax savings were $3,360 (28 percent of $12,000). An identical contribution this year will save Chet only $2,880, because the same income would put him in a lower 24 percent bracket.

Not everyone will be in this situation.