One traditional estate planning technique that has become increasingly popular in recent months is the Grantor Retained Annuity Trust (GRAT). Simply stated, a GRAT is an irrevocable trust where the grantor contributes property to the GRAT and retains the right to receive a percentage of the assets back over a designated period of years; any …
IRS Announces No Information Returns to be Filed for PPP Loan Forgiveness
Under the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) established by the CARES Act, a borrower is eligible for forgiveness of all or a portion of the principal amount of a loan made in accordance with the PPP if certain conditions are satisfied (“qualifying forgiveness”). While the Internal Revenue Code generally requires a borrower to include the amount …
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IRS Guidance on Retirement Plan Qualified Birth or Adoption Distributions
The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (“SECURE Act”) established a new in-service distribution known as a qualified birth or adoption distribution (“QBOAD”). Generally, a QBOAD is any distribution of up to $5,000 from an “eligible retirement plan” (other than a defined benefit plan), made to an individual during the one-year …
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Practical Estate Planning Tips That Are Often Overlooked
So you have gone through all of the work to get your estate planning documents finalized, you have had your signing meeting with your attorney, and now it is time to celebrate that you are done, right? In most cases, the answer is not quite yet. There are few items that are often overlooked that are …
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Do I Need to Make a Large Gift Now?
Many wealthy individuals are asking that question out of fear that the historically high estate/gift tax exemption of $11,580,000 ($23,160,000 for a married couple), indexed annually for inflation, could be significantly decreased prior to its scheduled “sun-setting” on December 31, 2025 to $5,490,000 (indexed for inflation) if the Democratic party sweeps Congress and the White …
August 31 Deadline Looming for Coronavirus Related Return of Required Minimum Distributions
The IRS this week issued Information Release 2020-187 to remind IRA owners and beneficiaries, as well as participants in workplace retirement arrangements, that they have until August 31 to return required minimum distributions (“RMDs”)received earlier this year and, thereby, avoid paying income tax on the distribution in 2020. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security …
IRS Grants Relief for 2020 RMDS
The IRS recently granted additional relief for retirement account owners due to Covid-19. Generally, when a person attains age 72 (previously age 70 ½) that person is required to begin taking required minimum distributions (“RMDs”) from their retirement account each year based on their life expectancy. Individuals with inherited IRAs are required to take annual …
Don’t Forget Your Charitable Contributions
The CARES Act made a number of well publicized revisions to the tax code, including as to the payment of employee wages and the deduction of interest and net operating losses. Perhaps lesser known are the revisions in the CARES Act relating to charitable giving. For non-itemizers, there is a new $300 “above the line” …
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Tax Tip for Tax-Exempt Hospitals: IRS Relief for the Community Health Needs Assessments Requirements
Recognizing the increased burdens that the COVID-19 pandemic has placed on hospitals, the IRS has relaxed its deadline for meeting the Community Health Needs Assessments (CHNA) requirements per Internal Revenue Code Section 501(r)(3). See Notice 2020-56. To maintain their tax-exempt status, non-profit entities that operate hospitals must meet additional requirements, one of which relates to …
Cancellation of Non-Qualified Plan Deferral Election Due to a Coronavirus-Related Distribution
In general, a participant must make a deferral election to a non-qualified deferred compensation plan before the beginning of the plan year and the election must remain in effect for the entire plan year. Participants made their deferral elections by December 31, 2019 to calendar year plans, before anyone knew how impactful the COVID-19 virus …