ATTENTION TO DETAIL! You would think that this space need not be taken up with a reminder of the obvious importance of beneficiary designations for life insurance policies and retirement accounts (qualified and non-qualified). But those of us who practice in the trusts and estates area are frequently reminded, through painful experiences with clients, that …
Year-End Tax Planning: Maximizing the Tax Benefits of Charitable Contributions Under the TCJA
Many charities feared that the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) would have an adverse impact on charitable giving during 2018 and after. The significant increase to the standard deduction available to most individuals means that more taxpayers do not itemize their deductions, including charitable contributions. In effect, “losing” the charitable tax deduction and …
F Drops: It is Not a Profane Concept for S Corporations!
While partnership vehicles (particularly multi-member LLCs) are ordinarily the flow-through entity of choice, many businesses – especially long-standing closely-held businesses and healthcare businesses – opt for S corporations status. S corporations can present tax efficiency challenges, particularly on the exit of a business. Purchasers rarely desire to acquire an historic corporation (which may end up …
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There’s Nothing Like the Feelings of a New Pencil for School: Michigan’s Proposed Tax Holiday for Back-To-School Supplies
House Bills 4824 and 4825 were introduced and referred to the Tax Policy committee early August. These house bills propose what will be, if passed by the Michigan Legislature and signed by the Governor, the only annual tax holiday in Michigan. The proposed tax holiday provides an exemption on certain school supplies from the state …
IRS Notifying Owners of Virtual Currency to Report Transactions
The IRS has recently began sending letters to certain owners of virtual currency (e.g., Bitcoin, Ether, etc.) regarding requirements for reporting transactions involving such virtual currencies. See IRS Information Release 2019-132. The IRS is concerned that taxpayers have been entering into virtual currency transactions and failing to properly report them. The letters are an offshoot …
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An Alternative to 1031 Exchanges
IRC § 1400Z-2, under The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, established an investment program designed to provide preferential tax treatment for investment in developments located within certain designated economically distressed communities known as “Opportunity Zones”. All 50 states, the District of Columbia, and each of the five U.S. territories, have Opportunity Zones within …
Ohio General Assembly Extends County’s Option to Grant “Payment In Lieu Of Taxes” For Energy Projects
As the renewable energy industry continues to grow and alternative forms of clean energy (wind, solar, hydro, geothermal, biomass, etc.) proliferate nationwide, state lawmakers are more than ever discussing comprehensive approaches to energy policy. Indeed, states across the country are rapidly reconsidering the diverse array of laws that impact energy developers / public utilities, including …
IRS Beginning to Send Affordable Care Act Notices to Religious Organizations
According to statements made by the acting director of exempt organizations at the IRS, churches and other religious organizations will soon start to receive questions from the IRS about potential liabilities under the Affordable Care Act. Over the last few years, the IRS has sent letters to employers that it suspects have failed to comply …
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Protect Your Assets by Having a Will or Trust in Place
Has a client decided to leave their bank account or entire estate to one of their children, who will “do the right thing, and distribute it equally among all of my children”? Discuss with your client that this scenario creates 2 problems: 1) Child receiving the account/inheritance is not legally obligated to give any of …
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Automatic Allocation of GST Tax Exemption
The Generation-Skipping Transfer (“GST”) tax is designed to prevent taxpayers from avoiding estate tax on a child’s inheritance at the child’s death by “skipping” inheritances over children to grandchildren. Each person currently has a lifetime GST exemption amount of $11,400,000 (in 2019, and indexed for inflation). If you make a transfer during lifetime or at …
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