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When the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TJCA) was enacted in 2017, it limited the amount of state and local taxes (SALT) that individuals can deduct for federal income tax purposes to $10,000 (or $5,000 for a married individual filing separately). This “SALT cap” has brought on a flurry of legislative action as states enact Pass-Through Entity (PTE) tax elections that allow owners of PTEs such as S-Corporations and Partnerships to bypass the SALT cap by allowing their share of taxes to be paid by the entity at the entity level, and therefore lowering the owner’s federal income tax liability.

A business may be able to claim a federal income tax deduction for a theft loss. But does embezzlement count as theft? In most cases it does but you’ll have to substantiate the loss. A recent U.S. Tax Court decision illustrates how that’s sometimes difficult to do.

With the election behind us, and tax season ahead of us, tax planning is at the forefront of the minds of many. Although President Elect Joe Biden has shared his proposed tax plan, much is still up in the air as we await the January runoff elections to determine control of the US Senate.

The results are in, and regardless of which side you were rooting for, now is a good time to prepare for changes ahead in the new year. While President-elect Joe Biden has not yet provided concrete details on his plans to modify estate taxes, he has indicated that he supports raising estate taxes and changing the taxation of capital assets upon death.

If you’re one of those people who is scrambling to finish your taxes by the end of the year, you may want to change your strategy by reviewing your finances mid-year. This is typically a great time for a check-up to make sure you are receiving optimal tax benefits and minimizing tax liabilities that may arise from changes in your life. Here are some things you should focus on for your mid-year tax checkup:

As you may be aware, the IRS recently provided a safe harbor to determine when a rental real estate enterprise will qualify as a trade or business, and thus able to receive the 20% Qualified Business Income (QBI) tax deduction. This IRS notice states that a rental enterprise will be treated as a qualifying trade or business if the following three requirements are met:

If you receive a paycheck, you have probably noticed an increase in take home pay this year. No, it's not from an unexpected raise, but rather a decrease in the amount of income tax withheld. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) made sweeping changes to the tax law, not the least of which is new lower income tax withholding rates. But before you go out and spend all of that extra money, keep in mind that withholding only represents the amount of tax paid to the IRS on your behalf, not necessarily the amount you owe.