Newsletter

March 16 Employers: Deposit nonpayroll withheld income tax for February if the monthly deposit rule applies. Deposit Social Security, Medicare and withheld income taxes for February if the monthly deposit rule applies. Calendar-year partnerships: File a 2025 income tax return (Form 1065 or Form 1065-B) and provide each partner with a copy of Schedule K1 (Form 1065) or a substitute Schedule K1 — or request an automatic six-month extension (Form 7004). Calendar-year S corporati

If you’re thinking about starting a business, make sure you understand your federal tax responsibilities before opening your doors. IRS Publication 583, Starting a Business and Keeping Records, covers the basics. Your business structure (such as a sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability company or corporation) determines which forms you must file and which taxes apply, including income, self-employment, employment and excise taxes. You may also need an Employer Id

It’s not too late to boost your IRA for 2025. You have until April 15, 2026, to make contributions for the 2025 tax year. This deadline applies to both traditional and Roth IRAs and includes catch-up contributions for eligible individuals. You must indicate that the contribution is for the 2025 tax year, not 2026. This is important because contributions made from January 1 through April 15 can be designated for either the prior year or the current year. Contact the office if

Are you subject to the alternative minimum tax (AMT)? In general, this tax applies if your “tentative minimum tax” exceeds your regular income tax liability. Significant long-term capital gains and dividend income or recently exercised incentive stock options can trigger the AMT. Although the 2025 tax legislation, commonly known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, makes higher AMT exemptions permanent, it phases them out twice as fast beginning in 2026. Also, the legislation q

If you buy, sell or trade digital assets, such as cryptocurrency or certain nonfungible tokens (NFTs), new reporting requirements will likely affect how your transactions are reported to and reviewed by the IRS. While these rules don’t change how digital assets are taxed, they significantly impact information reporting, increasing transparency and scrutiny. Tax Treatment For federal tax purposes, digital assets continue to be treated as property, not currency. This means you

If your business conducts research or product development, a significant tax law change could unlock tax savings. The 2025 tax legislation, commonly known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), reinstated the ability to immediately deduct domestic research and experimental (R&E) expenses. This change reversed a key provision of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) that required businesses to capitalize and amortize domestic R&E expenses over five years and foreign R&E expense

Beginning in 2026, a significant change to retirement plan catch-up contributions takes effect. Part of the 2022 Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) 2.0 Act, the change affects higher-income taxpayers age 50 and older who contribute to certain types of employer-sponsored retirement plans. Catch-Up Contribution Basics For years, taxpayers age 50 or older have been able to make catch-up contributions to certain employer-sponsored retirement plans, up

Serious real estate investors rely on the Section 1031 exchange because it allows them to grow wealth faster while legally deferring federal income taxes. When you sell rental property without using a 1031 exchange, capital gains tax and depreciation recapture immediately reduce the cash you can reinvest. A properly structured exchange keeps all sale proceeds working for you. With a 1031 exchange, you can sell appreciated rental property, reinvest every dollar, and move into

We continue to see aggressive advice circulating about routing personal commissions through an S corporation to reduce self- employment tax. This strategy sounds attractive, but it fails under long-standing tax law and creates significant audit risk. Consider a common setup: An individual earns commissions under contracts issued in his personal name. He holds the required state license individually, and payors issue Forms 1099- NEC to his Social Security number. Despite these

If you receive mileage reimbursements from your employer or your corporation, you may face an unexpected tax result when you sell or trade your vehicle. Many employees assume that mileage reimbursements end the tax story. That assumption often leads taxpayers to miss a valuable deduction—or to get blindsided by a taxable gain. When your employer reimburses you at the IRS standard mileage rate under an accountable plan, the tax law treats your personal vehicle as a business ve

Taxpayers often assume that clothing purchased for work qualifies as a tax deduction. The tax law takes a much narrower view. As a general rule, the IRS does not allow a deduction for work clothing if it serves as everyday streetwear. This rule applies even when a taxpayer buys the clothing solely for work and never wears it outside the job. Business suits, skirts, dresses, and other professional attire do not qualify for a deduction. Casual work clothing, such as khaki pants

Many taxpayers panic when they hear the term “depreciation recapture” and decide to skip depreciation on a home office to avoid future tax. That strategy usually backfires. The tax law creates unexpected consequences when you claim zero depreciation, and those consequences often cost more than the recapture tax you tried to avoid. When you skip depreciation, the IRS applies the allowed-versus-allowable rule. The depreciation you claimed counts as the “allowed” amount. The dep

February 17 Employers: Deposit nonpayroll withheld income tax for January if the monthly deposit rule applies. Employers: Deposit Social Security, Medicare and withheld income taxes for January if the monthly deposit rule applies. Businesses: Provide Form 1099-B, 1099-S and certain Forms 1099-MISC (those in which payments in Box 8 or Box 10 are being reported) to recipients. Individuals: File a new Form W-4 to continue exemption for another year if you claimed exemption from

Closing a business can be overwhelming. But it’s important not to let tax duties fall through the cracks. File a federal income tax return for your business’s final year and, if you have employees, make final federal tax deposits and report employment taxes. If you engaged independent contractors and, in your final year, paid anyone $600 or more ($2,000 for 2026, indexed for inflation after that), report the payments. Also, cancel your employer identification number (EIN) by

IRS rules determine who can claim many child-related federal income tax breaks after parents divorce or legally separate. Generally, the parent with whom the child spends the most nights gets the benefits. But the rules allow this “custodial” parent to release to the other, “noncustodial,” parent the right to claim the child for certain tax breaks if specific tests are passed. Even then, some tax benefits, such as head of household filing status and the child and dependent ca

Here’s a sampling of some significant tax law changes going into effect this year: Increase of the Section 179 expensing limit to $2.56 million and the phaseout threshold to $4.09 million (up from $2.5 million and $4 million, respectively, for 2025). Expansion of the income ranges over which the Section 199A qualified business income deduction limitations phase in, generally to $201,750 — $276,750 (up from $197,300 — $247,300 for 2025), double those amounts for married couple

You have until April 15, 2026, the tax filing deadline, to make 2025 contributions to an IRA. If you’re seeking more than the traditional mix of stocks, bonds and mutual funds, a self-directed IRA offers greater autonomy and diversification. But it also introduces added complexity. Put Investment Decisions in Your Hands A self-directed IRA is simply an IRA that provides greater control over investment decisions. Traditional and Roth IRAs typically offer a selection of stocks,

Until recently, much tax uncertainty surrounded estate planning. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act doubled the federal gift and estate tax exemption to an inflation-adjusted $10 million, but only for 2018 through 2025. Fortunately for those with larger estates, in 2025, legislation was signed into law that increases the exemption to $15 million for 2026, with annual inflation adjustments going forward — and no expiration date. This provides more estate planning certainty, but not com

Many rental property owners are surprised to learn that federal tax law often restricts their ability to deduct losses, treating most rental activities as passive unless specific requirements are met. But if you can qualify for the real estate professional exception, you may be able to turn otherwise suspended losses into immediate tax savings. The Real Estate Professional Advantage For federal tax purposes, rental real estate losses are usually treated as passive, meaning th

For Families: Credits & Savings Deeper Dive into New Family Tax Benefits Permanent Child Tax Credit (CTC):  The credit is now $2,200 per child. The refundable portion (the amount you get back if you owe no tax) is $1,700 for 2025. You must provide a valid Social Security Number (SSN) for the child and the parents to claim this. Trump Accounts for Children:  Beginning in 2026, a new tax-deferred savings account will be available for children under age 18. $1,000 Kickstart: A p