Saving tax dollars often isn’t just about lowering what you owe this year or even lowering the next several years of tax bills. It’s about lowering taxes across your entire family for as long as possible.

If you’ve been paying taxes for the past few years, you are likely well-acquainted with the cap on deducting state and local taxes (SALT) on your personal tax returns. This limitation was part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.

With the end of the year quickly approaching and the Build Back Better bill still stuck in the Senate, what should you do? Here, we’ll discuss tax provisions currently in the bill that could impact you, what moves you may want to make over the next few weeks, and general year-end tax planning.

The IRS has surprisingly made its way from clueless to court cases in recent years. One important pronouncement that the IRS has made is that it considers cryptocurrencies as property, rather than a currency such as the US Dollar or the Euro.

With all the talk these days about potential changes to capital gains taxes, let’s take a step back and explore what capital gains are and how they’re currently taxed to better understand what related tax law changes could mean for you.

Expanding on the CARES Act of 2020, numerous tax-related provisions are contained in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) passed March 11, 2021. This article will cover a number of those, provides a brief update on programs created in last year’s CARES Act, and concludes with a comment on the state of the US tax system.

Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021 is a $900 billion pandemic-related stimulus attached to the $2.3 trillion Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 that provides funding for the federal government for the upcoming year. Most of the provisions contained in the supplemental act extended and/or amplified those contained in the CARES Act of March 2020.

I continue to hold the opinion that the IRS needs more funding and needs to put some commonsense, taxpayer-friendly measures in place.If you have any questions regarding how the strategies mentioned in this article may apply to your specific tax situation, don’t hesitate to reach out.

This article looks at a few key components of President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden’s tax positions from the perspective of whether their ideas meet the “good tax law” tests of being fair, neutral, simple, and economically efficient.

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, many workers were starting to enjoy the flexibility of remote work. Now even more workers are sheltering (and working) in place – in their homes, with relatives, in vacation homes or wherever they feel safe. While this added flexibility is a great thing on many fronts, it may create a tax issue for employees if their employers aren’t meeting tax withholding requirements for the tax jurisdictions where their team members are physically working.

Additional timeline options for incurring forgivable expenses are available under the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act passed on June 5, 2020. The covered period for loan forgiveness has been moved from 8 weeks after loan disbursement to 24 weeks. Borrowers who had already received PPP loans prior to June 5 have the option to use the 8-week covered period, however.

It's been a crazy year. For most of us, targets we’ve been chasing have multiplied and are moving faster – while we ourselves might be moving more slowly. Let's refocus on taxes with a mid-year check in. Here are some activities to be thinking about that are a mix of recent tax law changes and tried-and-true strategies.

What might have been a straightforward payment of $1,200/$2,400 to certain US households was anything but. Without upfront guidance from the IRS on how payments were being batched, many folks were left wondering where their payments were on the April 15 rollout date. Some still are; only about half of the total payments have been issued as of this writing.

My last article from April 7 was an observation on how the March 27 CARES Act was unfolding from a few perspectives. This article is a follow up on that – what I’ve seen over the last week and what that could mean for you. As I’ve said before, brace yourself for obsolesce by the time this writing makes it to you.

This article is a brief update on what I’m seeing regarding how the CARES Act that passed less than two weeks ago is impacting businesses and self-employed individuals. As with everything I write these days, this is probably all obsolete before the ink dries on the screen.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act - the CARES Act – became law Friday, March 27, 2020. This legislation is filled to the brim with various components covering employers, employees, self-employed, retirees, homeowners, etc. For applicable components, multiple government agencies will be working to get these programs in place as quickly as possible.

We’ve had quite a bit of federal legislation pass recently. Some of it is tax related. I will be talking in more detail about the tax components in a later article. Right now, though, many folks understandably want to know about the relief payments to individual taxpayers. Here’s what I know today. If new guidance is released, I will know more, so be sure to check with me on questions regarding your particular situation if you have any concerns. Also check in if your particular situation is not covered here.

The evening of Friday, March 20, the IRS provided even more details and clarification on 2019 tax return filings and payments. As with previous commentary, I have covered the most likely scenarios that my clients will face, but please reach out with any questions regarding specific concerns not noted below. This is likely the last of my communications regarding 2019 tax deadlines as I do not expect the IRS to provide further meaningful pronouncements on this topic in the near future, and it’s now a question of addressing states and, at some point, 2020 concerns.

The IRS offered some more details and clarification yesterday, March 18th, 2020, so here are more answers to some questions you may have. I have tried to cover the most likely scenarios that my clients will face, but please reach out with any questions regarding specific concerns not noted below.

I understand that many folks face at least some level of anxiety around their tax situation this time of the year and this particular year has been one like no other. Some of us are seeing financial struggles already. Some of us can see them on the horizon. Some of us are looking for opportunities in all of this. Some of us are worried for our health and the health of those close to us. Use your best judgment. Exercise excessive empathy, starting with yourself. Do what you’re able to stay safe and healthy. Help others if you can.