News Briefings - Federal Tax                                                                                                                                                  Beginning July 1, the 0.2% federal unemployment tax (FUTA) surtax is no longer in effect. Thus, the FUTA tax rate, before consideration of state unemployment tax credits, is now 6.0%...More     IRS Finalizes Automatic Five-Month Extension for Partnership, Trust and Estate Returns                                                                                                                              Final regulations set the time for automatic extensions of partnership, trust and estate income tax returns at five months (TD 9531). Under this rule, the extended returns and Schedules K-1 for partners and beneficiaries will generally be due Sept. 15. The regulations also provide for an automatic six-month extension for pension excise tax returns…More   Estate Planning Myths: Why estate planning is important for all clients.                     Many of our clients rely on the common myth that “estate planning is only for people who are richer than we are” to prevent them from taking that first step towards planning. That is not true. Putting an estate plan in place is important no matter what your net worth is…More IRS Publishes Interim Guidance on Stock Basis Reporting                                                                On June 22, the IRS issued interim guidance on issues relating to the basis of stock subject to broker reporting. The guidance responds to stakeholder comments received in response to final regulations on the topic issued last year (T.D. 9504). The IRS says it plans to issue proposed regulations on the subject…More      U.S. targets tax break tied to facade easements                                                                                             The federal government is aggressively trying to halt the abuse of an obscure tax break by examining the tax returns of hundreds of Washington area property owners and seeking the identities of hundreds more in an attempt to reclaim hundreds of millions of dollars…More    IRS Raises Standard Mileage Rate for Second Half of 2011  In response to rising gasoline prices, the IRS has raised the standard mileage rate for business use of an automobile from 51 cents per mile to 55½ per mile, effective July 1 . The medical and moving standard mileage rate is increasing to 23½ per mile, also on July 1...More  IRS Announces “Good Faith” Extension of Voluntary Disclosure Deadline  The IRS said on Thursday that it is making available to taxpayers a 90-day deadline extension to participate in the 2011 offshore voluntary disclosure initiative (OVDI). The extension would be available to taxpayers who have made a good faith attempt to fully comply by Aug. 31, but are unable to submit a complete package…More    IRS Gives Relief for Late Elections to Combine Real Estate Activities The IRS established a special procedure by which taxpayers can make a late election to treat all their real estate activities as a single activity for purposes of meeting material participation rules…More Retirement Plans Make Comeback, With Limits Many U.S. companies that during the recession cut 401(k) matching contributions—one of the most valuable employee benefits—are beginning to restore them. But a number of firms are contributing less than before, are linking contributions to profits or are making workers save more on their own before kicking in…More     Retirement Planners Beware: DOL, IRS Beefing Up Enforcement                                    Retirement planning officials take note: The Obama administration is ramping up enforcement efforts to combat the large number of retirement plans that it says are not compliant with retirement planning rules and regulations…More    The Tax Law That Could Make Your Grandchildren Super-rich Sometimes Congress hands out a break that is so generous it seems it must be a mistake. This one’s a doozy: the ability to receive a tax-free inheritance of $400 million or more. Thanks to two recent changes in the tax code, investors with huge 401(k) accounts have a way to turn them into tax-free income for their grandchildren’s lifetimes…More   Capital Gain Exclusion on Small Business Stock   One of the more intriguing provisions of the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010, P.L. 110-240 (the Jobs Act), is the 100% exclusion from gross income of capital gains from the sale of certain qualified small business stock (QSBS). Generally this provision will allow taxpayers to pay no federal tax on up to $10 million in gain from the sale of certain QSBS…More    Not So Fast: Clients rushing to recharacterize their 2010 Roth conversions should slow down and take another look. Just as 2010 may have been the year of the Roth conversion, 2011 may be the year of the Roth recharacterization. After clients visit their accountants and see the tax bill from their Roth conversions, many may get sticker shock and want to undo those conversions…More Small Businesses Fight IRS Over Data   The Internal Revenue Service, moving aggressively to collect more taxes from small businesses, is telling companies being audited to turn over exact copies of the electronic records kept in their business-software programs, according to a letter from an agency official to the American Institute of CPAs. The accounting group fears this will force small businesses to turn over customer lists, personnel data, confidential client information and other unrelated information often contained in the off-the-shelf software programs many businesses use to manage all aspects of their finances…More   Senate Bill Would Limit Savers Using 401(k)s as Rainy-Day Funds Workers will be limited in tapping their 401(k) retirement plans for loans under legislation two senators introduced today that’s designed to counter the erosion of retirement assets. “Because of the difficult economic times, more and more Americans are treating their retirement accounts as rainy day funds,” Senator Herb Kohl, a Wisconsin Democrat, said in a statement today. “A 401(k) savings account should not be used as a piggy bank.”…More  Just What You Needed: Higher Taxes The often-overlooked Social Security tax is expected to start rising again next year. While you hear a lot about the federal income tax, you don't hear much about the Social Security tax. That's odd because for many folks especially the self-employed Social Security tax can be the bigger hit. Here are some little-known truths about how the Social Security tax works and how much it can amount to…More Tax Break for Self-Employed Likely to Vanish   The Small Business Jobs Act nixed the tax that self-employed workers pay on health insurance for 2010. Small biz advocates doubt Congress will extend it. Paula Fleming, a freelance copy editor in Minneapolis, spends $3,600 a year on bare-bones health insurance for herself and her husband. For the 2010 tax year, for the first time, she could deduct that amount from her income when she pays the self-employment tax…saving her $540. Fleming's not counting on the same break for the 2011 tax year, though, because Congress passed it solely for 2010…More   Business standard mileage and other rates decrease for 2011.   The IRS has announced that the optional mileage allowance for owned or leased autos (including vans, pickups, and panel trucks) is 51 cents per mile for business travel after 2010. That’s one cent more than the 50 cents allowance for business mileage in 2010. Further, 2011 rate for using a car to get medical care or in connection with a move that qualifies for moving expense deduction is 19 cents per mile, 2.5 cents more per mile than 16.5 cents for 2010. The mileage rate for driving an auto for charitable use during 2011 will remain unchanged at 14 cents per mile. If you would like to look through three full length articles on current tax issues click here.