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On Aug. 8, President Donald Trump issued a memorandum on deferring payroll tax obligations in light of the ongoing COVID-19 Disaster, which directed the Treasury Department to suspend collection of the employee portion of Social Security taxes from Sept. 1 through the end of 2020.

The IRS issued its annual inflation adjustments for key tax items for the tax year 2020. Among them are new amounts for standard deductions.

For the tax year 2020, the standard deduction for a married couple filing jointly will be raised from $24,400 to 24,800. For single taxpayers and married couples filing separately, the standard deduction will be raised from $12,200 to 12,400. For heads of households, the standard deduction will be $18, 650.

Margin tax rates will change as follows:

Well…it’s over.  This year’s individual tax return filing deadline has come and gone.  As the dust settles and we take stock of this year’s tax season, a few trends have appeared.

Should I Take the Educational Tax Breaks or My Child?

Every year, a group of adventurous souls decides: This is the year I’m going to prepare my own tax return! While we certainly applaud an individual’s right to establish self-reliance and try to save money on preparation fees, it’s rarely a good idea.

Who should take the educational tax breaks, me or my child?

That’s a great question! The answer is: It depends.

Tax season is here, once again! I anticipate that this season will be different than tax years of the recent past due to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (“TCJA”). While a lot has changed, there are a few things about tax season that never change – mistakes.

The IRS has announced the 2019 standard mileage rates used for calculating deductible costs for operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical or moving purposes. 

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.